Check Out - In the Boat Shed

Mostly I use this blog for myself as a place to find my recreational reading.  I like the fact that the blogs on the right are in order of the most recent post so I am prompted to check out the new writing.

On the left I have added a link to http://intheboatshed.net/ ; I like going there and reading the blogs and looking at all the plans.  Check it out; you might like it too!

Soon to be a rowing rig

I plan to go  back to rowing a canoe like I started doing when I first moved to North Carolina. This is my first aluminum canoe, but the first canoes I paddled were aluminum so I am going back to what I used to do in two ways.

Two Generation Canoe

Jim's old canoe needed a refit years ago and I patched it up and then his friend Walter patched it some more and painted it.  Now it is time for another patch and paint refit, so Mike helped me load it on the car and I took it to Daniel.

I saw this picture shortly after he got it.  It looks like he went directly to using it in spite of its condition. In the past I have done a similar thing with this very boat.  It wore layers of duct tape for about 2 years before I patched it.  It looks like Daniel is carrying on the tradition of using boats a lot and working on them as little as needed.

New Car with Old Racks

My son came over today to help me drill holes in the roof to add a set of tracks from Proline.  The tracks were about $50 and will allow me to use my old Yakima racks that have served me through several cars. 

I decided to reuse them instead of buying new racks because they are still in great shape.  If later I choose to spend several hundred dollars to upgrade to wider Thule racks I can get ones that fit these rack tracks. 

It took about an hour after I went to the sotre to buy new drill bits.  Unfortunately they were having a tools sale so I bought more than just the bits.

The racks can be removed in about two minutes but the tracks are now a permanent part of the roof.  I think it looks good on this car.  Even better than it did on the old Focus.

Maybe the is even better looking on this new car than it was on the old Buick Roadmaster.  The new Caliber hauls gear more like the Buick Roadmaster. Get fuel mileage like the Focus, and with 7 inches of ground clearance handles dirt roads and trails better than either of them. 

Jim Ladd

 

Jim Ladd

Rest in peace little brother.

We had some mighty fine canoe trips together.

I'll miss you.

 

Problem Solvers

For a few years I've been looking for the a kayak that will paddle to the inlets where I like to surf.  I  mostly like to play near inlets that are a few miles out from any car parking as these places have the  fewest board surfers and swimmers that I might disturb.  Also inlets usually provide a good mix of conditions in a small area so I can almost always find something challenging without being over my head.

But the perfect boat for this mission has eluded me.  I really like how a Dagger Kaos and Cobra Revision surf, but they can't keep up with my sea kayaking buddies on the paddle out or back.  If I try a maneuverable sea kayak for surfing like a Dagger Alchemy, I miss the real feeling of surfing. There is no bottom turn, cut back, or even a faded entry for me with these boats. They just are not as easy to turn and it is really had to set a rail when all you have is a softish rounded chine.

But finally Clipper canoes had published the answer on their Facebook Page!

I guess Clipper makes the best surf boat hauler.  I think I want one set up with oars. I let you know how the experiments turn out.

Consciously Incompetant

The shape of this boat makes it handle much differently than my other boats

My new Cobra Revision  does not respond well to an outside edge but really turns with an inside edge which is opposite of what I use in my other boats most of the time.  It is really taking me a long time to adjust. I hope to become unconsciously competent with it, but then I wonder if I'll be able to go back to a sea kayak and paddle using mostly the outside edge.

I noticed when helping with a class last year that one of the students asked the instructor if they were making correction strokes and edging the boat as the class weaved its way along the shore.  The instructor guessed so but stated that she was not aware of it, she was just naturally paddling along.  This month I got reminded of how it feels to not have a feel for a skill, I hope I can learn to use the boat better, maybe it will make me a better mentor as well.