Okey, since it's raining, here's the plan...
Got temps in the 50's today an' no sun shinin' through the clouds, so here's what's happened. Like, anyone can have a kayak- well, DUH!- an' be paddlin' around with it. But, there's more to havin' just the craft. At least that's true for me. In order to carry out the maxim "more is less", I made a kwik run to town- it's only a half-gallon of gas away in the Taurus- and spent a couple of bucks on some gifts for the SunDog. To whit: nice, shiny nylon spray skirt, just the right size; a second/spare collapsible (read: two-piece) paddle; a couple of stow-bags (okey- three); a diving knife (cuz it's stainless and has a plastic sheath so I won't 'have' to ruin the leather sheath for my Western 902); and a lensatic compass just in case I forget to pack the Michael's (cuz it's on the 902's sheath). Somthing else was in the bag, too, but I can't recall wut it wuz just yet.
Took a while to figure how to close those 'waterproof ' bags- in fact, a second trip to the shop I got them at. They don't really seem water-tight to me, but the guy says they are and if anyone'd know, it's him. His family's been runin' that shop since the 80's (last century), so that's a long time.
I dunno how many times I ever used the spare paddle in the Grummy becuz I lost or broke the main one, recalling only once when I duck-taped them together to make a kayak style paddle so I could fight the wind better on one trip. Oh, yes- I do recall one time we wuz bein' stoopud white men and run some rapids, capsized (talk about wet sleepin' bags!) and hadda run downstream, then go swimmin' across the river to get the paddles outta the brush pile they washed into. Of course,the paddles were made by me, built to last and one piece of ash: I've bent them into 'C' shape and not broke them. (Love to see someone do that with a tin paddle.) Anyway, having a spare paddle is only common sense if someone's plannin' some wild country trips, which I is planning. Or is it 'are plannin'? Hmm..grammar grammar gramercy... Back to the paddle. It's a shorty, like the one piece, splits in the middle and is adjustable for angle/cant/opposition of the blades (terminology is coming- be patient). Here again, I don't see how it can be more efficient than blades parallel, but I'll learn. Oh, yes- the blades are yellow on this one. Color coordinated paddling, something I never would'a thunk of.
Actually, kayakers seem to be kind of like bicyclists to me, in that people seem to be a pretty flamboyant group and like bright, flashy colors. (Hmmm...I wonder- isn't that what 'flamboyant' means?) In a world where 'not being noticed' is my priority, all of a sudden I'm making myself into a neon sign. Go figure.
Back to the paddle...nope, we're gonna talk skirts next. (If anyone calls me a sissy for wearin' a skirt, I'm gonna use the dive knife on 'em.) The canoe never wore a skirt but they are available in single and two-person configurations. Just never made sense to me, even when the canoe was fillin' with waves. The gear got wet- no biggie. (Until setting up camp and I hadda sleep in a wet down bag.) Anyway, I had a dickens of a time figuring how that skirt goes on: easy as pie. I was makin' it more complicated than it is. Lights go on in my head sometimes and they did after spending enough time figuring how to use the skirt I could have built a boat. Couldn't understand why they'd put suspenders on it. (Now the lite comes on.) Duh (only small one this time): the skirt comes off when you capsize so you can get water inside the boat. Well, actually- so you can escape the craft if your Eskimo roll don't work. (And mine doesn't, yet.) So that's why it doesn't fit really, really tite on the coving. Interesting. Now I'm tempted to go paddling in the rain and see if it works at keepin' water offa my scrawny legs. Not to mention my butt. (Gotta put in a chuckle here, thinkin' about my scrawny butt...no, second thot, not now: this is a 'G' rated page. Will make the next one 'X' rated an' tell ya wut my GF said about the kayak...)
So the skirt comes off with the wearer, which seems to be a good idea right now.
A Micheal's Forester compass has been in my pack forever. Love it, never been lost with it (not that I get lost, I just misplace the road home), but since the SunDog is a new vehicle, it deserves its own guidance system, too. (Not a chance I'll let it get OnStar- I wanna stay away from people, not attract them. Besides, those kind of things are for people that sweat getting stranded. Dang, I love being stranded. In fact, the note on my windshield reads "Have gone camping out here, will be back sometime".) Back to the compass...it's a 'lensatic' type, aka miltary style, oil dampened needle/dial with sight wire and window. Was looking at the type mounted on the deck of the kayak, but thot two things: 1) sticks up too high and will get peeled off eventually; 2) wut if I get separated from the SunDog? Won't do me no good then. Anyway, I like the feel of a compass hangin' on my neck. Gives me a false sense of security.
Why get a dive knife for a kayak? Welllllll, ever tried cutting rope with your teeth? (Or in my case, your gums.) And it's really stainless steel, with a rubber/kraton handle that won't swell or rot or do anything but stay like it's s'posed to. Also, knives come in handy when you don't wanna grab the hatchet to slice a chunk of firewood or filet a fish (oops..forgot: some PETA folks mite be readin' this...good: it's about time they learnt P.E.T.A. means "People Eating Tastey Animals", fish included). Oh, speakin of eatin' critters: you vegans oughtta stick to your diet an' don't be tellin me I'm mean for likeing wut I eat.
Sorry, I get side-tracked too easy and have to examine other tracks I notice. Kind of like a dog sniffin' every footprint an' turd it runs across.
Oh, yah- I remember wut I forgot. Never would'a thunk of gettin' on for the canoe. When it fills with water, just get under it, kick like hell and lift it outta water, upside down. Water falls right out. Can't do that with a kayak. So I got a hand operated bilge pump and sponge. Pump will do eight gallons a minute (probably if you're in good shape and not fightin' more waves) so I figured that'd be enough water for me to get ridda. And the sponge will work nice on my butt an' legs.
An' that's it: all the new goodies for a while.
'Nuff for now- got some paddlin' to do...oh- anyone interested in a paddling partner? Look me up.
SunDog
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