Ian McColgin
08-04-2003, 12:40 PM
Inspired by Becquers' thread on canoe stability, I'll share here the joy of a new kayak.
First, for boat names. In keeping with the Granuaile theme:
The dink is named Tibbotts, after her son;
The orange kayak is Lacey (a 17' nordcap type, tres-tippy but fast as a rocket), after Hugh d'Lacey her finest lover; and
The new boat, a Nigel Foster Shadow, is Clare, after the island in Clew Bay that Grace made her refuge and where her heart was buried.
Jamie (the surferdude kayak hauler who brought Clare from my sister and brother-in-law's kayak business in California) just dropped her off Friday in Sisuit and I went out there to pick it up.
Testimoney to how kayaking has taken off - Sesuit Outfitters is primarily a fishing gear and bait store with more and more kayaks around. The guys know a lot about fish and nothing at all about kayaks. They's never even seen a real ocean boat like this one. But they are pleasant and friendly. They open at 0600 - fishermen! - so I was there.
Saturday I played around Hyannis Port - had so much fun I neglected breakfast and didn't come in till about 1300.
I can easily bring her around 120 degrees with a highbrace sort of sweep if moving forwards or backwards. Can do about 90 degrees per sweep if still - 4 strokes to a complete revolution.
Paddled quickly up to friend's boats like I was planning a T-bone ram and then swept her 90 degrees in a proper doffed-cap raised-pinky "derrick."
I was sure I'd have to modify the seat, especially after last weekend's agony in a borrowed boat with 6 hours of Master Derrick himself. Learning for this year, I really got the hang of paddling backwards.
Anyway, back to the present, Care is supercomfortable. No tingly loss of lower leg function after an hour or so, like I've become so used to I didn't realize there was an alternative. Sorta like how I started skiing in those old fachioned low lace up ski boots that cut me above the ankles and pinched and were cold. Then, when I was about 16, I finally got into nice boots. What a revelation.
I'm not used to that adjustable back pad yet. As I slide in I tend to push it down. If I just learn to keep my weight on my arms till my butt is well forward and then go down, rather than just slithering down from the back of the cockpit combing, that would be that. I actually tried taking it off but the seat is just enough further ahead of the rear combing, compared to Lacey's small cockpit, that without that seat back I slid back a bit when really hanging on my knee. So the seat back stays I just learn to do things like normal people.
Yesterday was a Slavin family gathering down at Mary Ellen's sister's place in Falmouth. Kathleen (and her husband Dan) have 5 kids and the other cousins brought kids. We took both boats and 8 of the kids down to the creek to play. These kids are fish anyway and one of the families have whitewater kayaks so that boy and girl already knew something. Except they couldn't turn a big ocean kayak very well at first.
I had everyone show they could do an underwater sommersault before getting in a boat and then do a wet exit with me right there.
(Old Salt type aside - Dan was struck by this - he's sorta new to boating in general and not yet used to thinking about what can go wrong. He just powers up his Grady-White and cruises. But his learning curve is good and he'll get there.)
Except the youngest. 9 year old and small for her age Sabrina swims quite well but doesn't like to put her head under. She gamely tried to tip over but actually was too light. She could actually get in and out and stand in the boat without tipping so she was exempted from wet exit drill. I had her in Lacy which is quite stabile with its ballasts in place, none of the kids had a tippyness problem with her. She was a little small and weak to actually turn the boat so I swam along about 6' from her with an hand on the bow painter so I could turn the boat.
Some of the kids really had a hard time turning the boat, but there were at least 2 kids swimming at each end of the the part of the creek I wanted to stay in so they could catch the bow and turn the boat.
Races.
Underwater pirate attacks and capsize.
A joust with in each boat one kid paddeling and one standing just behind the cockpit with one hand on the paddler's head and one hand for combat.
I figured that for the kids under 14 or so the kayaks would be more like big water toys than boats. That was certainly the case, but there's a lot of balance and skill building in just playing around - with the younger kids half the time the paddles were just floating off till I got them and the kids were just rolling about.
They got so one kid could swim into the cockpit with the boat on one side and then another would roll it upright. Who cares if the cockpit is flooded!
And of course they loved swimming in the airpocket with the boat upside down. A passing rower looked a bit startled to see two upside-down boats cross right in front of her.
For the two older kids - one from the family with whitewater boats and Mary Ellen's nephew Patrick, a 15 year old amazingly good guitarist who has been after Dan to get a kayak - I did a bit of demonstrating how to get the boat on her bilges to turn.
Especially got them into moving their hands around on the paddle and learning a good extended paddle high brace. All three versions: First hand on underside of one plade (I only use 90 degree feather) and outboard hand about an arm length down from that blade; and then cradeling the blade on the shoulder first in front of the face and then behind the head so they got the hang of where the stresses were.
Got them first just skimming the water back and forth, then tipping and knee hanging braced on the sculling moting, and finally developing a bit of blade angle for both forward and reverse sweeps.
From there, it's an easy step to the lovely gliding turn we call the 'derrick' (paddlers will know Derrick Hutchinson's fun approach to teaching this) where the paddle shaft rests behind the neck, outboard hand is relaxed enough to raise the pinky, and you doff your cap with the free hand at the apex of the turn.
They both began to get it (faster than I first learned) and were really having fun. I mentioned to Dan he'd not be wasting any money to get Patrick into competant lessons - there's a good outfit just up the beach from them. Kid's pumping gas now, very personable and attentive to customers. I bet the kayak shop would employ him next summer if they get a look at him. If he gets really good, I'd love to have my sister give him a clinic during some visit.
So all in all, I had a nice 4 hours around Clare yesterday but really only about 1/2 hr in the boat and the rest of the time swimming about. Still huge fun.
A bit stiff today! I'm going to try to get a paddle in every morning or evening - start sheding this weight and see my toes again.
Sayanora
First, for boat names. In keeping with the Granuaile theme:
The dink is named Tibbotts, after her son;
The orange kayak is Lacey (a 17' nordcap type, tres-tippy but fast as a rocket), after Hugh d'Lacey her finest lover; and
The new boat, a Nigel Foster Shadow, is Clare, after the island in Clew Bay that Grace made her refuge and where her heart was buried.
Jamie (the surferdude kayak hauler who brought Clare from my sister and brother-in-law's kayak business in California) just dropped her off Friday in Sisuit and I went out there to pick it up.
Testimoney to how kayaking has taken off - Sesuit Outfitters is primarily a fishing gear and bait store with more and more kayaks around. The guys know a lot about fish and nothing at all about kayaks. They's never even seen a real ocean boat like this one. But they are pleasant and friendly. They open at 0600 - fishermen! - so I was there.
Saturday I played around Hyannis Port - had so much fun I neglected breakfast and didn't come in till about 1300.
I can easily bring her around 120 degrees with a highbrace sort of sweep if moving forwards or backwards. Can do about 90 degrees per sweep if still - 4 strokes to a complete revolution.
Paddled quickly up to friend's boats like I was planning a T-bone ram and then swept her 90 degrees in a proper doffed-cap raised-pinky "derrick."
I was sure I'd have to modify the seat, especially after last weekend's agony in a borrowed boat with 6 hours of Master Derrick himself. Learning for this year, I really got the hang of paddling backwards.
Anyway, back to the present, Care is supercomfortable. No tingly loss of lower leg function after an hour or so, like I've become so used to I didn't realize there was an alternative. Sorta like how I started skiing in those old fachioned low lace up ski boots that cut me above the ankles and pinched and were cold. Then, when I was about 16, I finally got into nice boots. What a revelation.
I'm not used to that adjustable back pad yet. As I slide in I tend to push it down. If I just learn to keep my weight on my arms till my butt is well forward and then go down, rather than just slithering down from the back of the cockpit combing, that would be that. I actually tried taking it off but the seat is just enough further ahead of the rear combing, compared to Lacey's small cockpit, that without that seat back I slid back a bit when really hanging on my knee. So the seat back stays I just learn to do things like normal people.
Yesterday was a Slavin family gathering down at Mary Ellen's sister's place in Falmouth. Kathleen (and her husband Dan) have 5 kids and the other cousins brought kids. We took both boats and 8 of the kids down to the creek to play. These kids are fish anyway and one of the families have whitewater kayaks so that boy and girl already knew something. Except they couldn't turn a big ocean kayak very well at first.
I had everyone show they could do an underwater sommersault before getting in a boat and then do a wet exit with me right there.
(Old Salt type aside - Dan was struck by this - he's sorta new to boating in general and not yet used to thinking about what can go wrong. He just powers up his Grady-White and cruises. But his learning curve is good and he'll get there.)
Except the youngest. 9 year old and small for her age Sabrina swims quite well but doesn't like to put her head under. She gamely tried to tip over but actually was too light. She could actually get in and out and stand in the boat without tipping so she was exempted from wet exit drill. I had her in Lacy which is quite stabile with its ballasts in place, none of the kids had a tippyness problem with her. She was a little small and weak to actually turn the boat so I swam along about 6' from her with an hand on the bow painter so I could turn the boat.
Some of the kids really had a hard time turning the boat, but there were at least 2 kids swimming at each end of the the part of the creek I wanted to stay in so they could catch the bow and turn the boat.
Races.
Underwater pirate attacks and capsize.
A joust with in each boat one kid paddeling and one standing just behind the cockpit with one hand on the paddler's head and one hand for combat.
I figured that for the kids under 14 or so the kayaks would be more like big water toys than boats. That was certainly the case, but there's a lot of balance and skill building in just playing around - with the younger kids half the time the paddles were just floating off till I got them and the kids were just rolling about.
They got so one kid could swim into the cockpit with the boat on one side and then another would roll it upright. Who cares if the cockpit is flooded!
And of course they loved swimming in the airpocket with the boat upside down. A passing rower looked a bit startled to see two upside-down boats cross right in front of her.
For the two older kids - one from the family with whitewater boats and Mary Ellen's nephew Patrick, a 15 year old amazingly good guitarist who has been after Dan to get a kayak - I did a bit of demonstrating how to get the boat on her bilges to turn.
Especially got them into moving their hands around on the paddle and learning a good extended paddle high brace. All three versions: First hand on underside of one plade (I only use 90 degree feather) and outboard hand about an arm length down from that blade; and then cradeling the blade on the shoulder first in front of the face and then behind the head so they got the hang of where the stresses were.
Got them first just skimming the water back and forth, then tipping and knee hanging braced on the sculling moting, and finally developing a bit of blade angle for both forward and reverse sweeps.
From there, it's an easy step to the lovely gliding turn we call the 'derrick' (paddlers will know Derrick Hutchinson's fun approach to teaching this) where the paddle shaft rests behind the neck, outboard hand is relaxed enough to raise the pinky, and you doff your cap with the free hand at the apex of the turn.
They both began to get it (faster than I first learned) and were really having fun. I mentioned to Dan he'd not be wasting any money to get Patrick into competant lessons - there's a good outfit just up the beach from them. Kid's pumping gas now, very personable and attentive to customers. I bet the kayak shop would employ him next summer if they get a look at him. If he gets really good, I'd love to have my sister give him a clinic during some visit.
So all in all, I had a nice 4 hours around Clare yesterday but really only about 1/2 hr in the boat and the rest of the time swimming about. Still huge fun.
A bit stiff today! I'm going to try to get a paddle in every morning or evening - start sheding this weight and see my toes again.
Sayanora