Sunday, June 29, 2008

Getting the paddle wet...


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







Thursday, June 26, 2008

SunDog


Can't teach an old dog new tricks.


We've all heard that one. Well, this old dog is going to try just the same, thank you.


Just turned 61, pretty much retired, but mostly just plain old tired, bored with sittin' at home babysittin' dogs and cat. No money to speak of to paint the town every nite even if I wanted to. Well, a little goes a long way when you don't do nothin', an' I don't do nothin'. Well, not a lot, anyways.
Or that used to be the case.
My birthday gift to myself this year wuz a kayak. Single seater, twelve feet long, sunburst orange color, made by Old Town. Kind of a pretty kayak- at least, compared to the ol' Grumman 17 foot double-ender I've been paddlin' since April '72. I got that canoe off the showroom floor and paid a lot of '72 dollars for it, complete with number three Duluth bag, tent, sleeping bag, eatin' and cookin' utensils, paddles and life jacket. Oh, yes, there was also a number two camp axe in that pile as well. Lots of miles under that canoe now, a few rapids and many, many lakes an' streams all over Minnesota. But even as I paid for the Grumman, my eyes wuz on the 'glass kayaks on the showroom floor and walls and... you know what I mean.
Sleek lines, small cockpit and single shaft double-bit paddles, spray skirt and light weight.
However, life has a habit of gettin' in the way of things. It got in my way by wreckin' my back, laying me up for three years. Now weight restrictions and mobility problems have pretty much relegated the old Grumman to the side of the shop. Unless the Kid wants to use it now and then.
Water has a way of getting into one's blood, though, and I heard its call, felt its pull.
Since I'd always wanted one, anyway, I went shopping in town. Not a big town- has two stores with kayaks and I aint drivin' to God-knows-where for a kayak, but I found one. Well, several. But most were well beyond my price range. Unless I wanted to spend a few months income or a year payin' for it on credit card.
No Thanks.
Took a good chunk of the bank account to buy, but I bought it- all 12 feet of it. Plastic, but what isn't these days? Recycled milk bottles or pop bottles or water bottles, whatever. So what- I'm 61, ain't gonna live forever even if I try. So what the hell, hey? It'll probably out-live me, still. Only cuz I ain't young no more.
A kwik spin on a nearby lake an' I was hooked, regretted not gettin' this years ago. Oh, there were a few problems encountered: like scrapin' my knuckles on the deck with every stroke of the 220 cm paddle. (I got the short one cuz I'm a river dog an' a long one'd just get in the way.) And I was kinda disappointed with the speed factor and the trackin'. It didn't track like the canoe- has a bit more rocker- and short length with no keel doesn't help trackin'. But I like its looks more'n most the others I saw- got canoe in my bloodlines and they look good to me. So sittin' in the cockpit lookin' over a bow shaped like a conoe is kinda like bein' home to me.
Couple things I felt I needed right away, too. And after talkin' with a couple of guys, one thing to dump is the safety rope: kayaks don't run away when capsized like a canoe does (they head for greener pastures). Then I learned I needed to be able to get back in if I tumble, an the easiest way short of Eskimo roll is a paddle bladder for outrigger. And I couldn't get the packs to sit inside right. Just to big. So some kayak shape packs are in order.
And where the hell does the camera go? If I can't take my cameras, I ain't goin'. Period. So for now they get to sit in a plastic bag in the hatch-covered area. I reach around and grab when I want it. I will be gettin' a pack for between my knees to keep them in. One, anyway. Depends which I'm using- still or vid.
Another thing I felt was kinda 'wrong' wuz there wuz too much freeboard, but I think that'll disappear when I get a camp load in it. I weigh 160, so another hundred pounds will still be way inside the margin of safety.
I picked a perfect day for the first try-out. Well, not that I chose it, God just gave it to me. Calm waters, no wind to speak of, sunny and not too hot, but not cold, and no crowds (I hate crowds) of people to get in the way (or witness my screw-up gettin' in the first time). Only I didn't screw up an' capsize. Got in right away, no problems. Paddled away, no problems. Well, not really. I think the canoe'd've been a bit easier gettin' off the sandy beach. Still, made it. Didn't take long to get used to the paddlin' technique- I'd done it a few times in the Grumman- and soon I was just enjoying the day and lake.
But that doggone bug bit deep an hard an' now the local merchants 're gonna make a few bucks from me. It sure won't hurt to find some kind of waterproof bags for gear, new tent, sleepin' bag........
SunDog