Advice needed for old guy who wants to paddle
 

"David Kiewit" ) writes:

For a short trip from garage to lagoon and back (i.e., the put-in is the
take-out are the same spot so that the cart stays on shore until you come
back), you can make a truly superior (and equally truly weird looking) cart
out of a two-wheeled wheelbarrow. Replace 4 of the bolts holding the load
body to the frame with eye-bolts. Get few pieces of hot water pipe
insulation (a longitudinally split foam tube) and glue them on the edges of
the load bed. Toss the kayak/canoe on top of the load bed and bungee it down
using the eye bolts.

a discarded 2-wheel golf bag cart is another possibility. I made a garden cart
out of one. Sliced a 55 gal plastic drum in half and bolted it on after
disassembling the cart and flipping the frame upside down. It rides high
which is good in tall grass, and you don't have to bend down to use it.
worth keeping a lookout for one of these being tossed out.


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Advice needed for old guy who wants to paddle
 

Canoe!

Bell Magic or Merlin II ? Either of them weighs thirty-something pounds in
the KevCrystal or Black Gold lay-up. I have a Magic in White Gold
(fiberglass/Kevlar - 42 pounds) and I LOVE to paddle this boat. (I'm 6'2",
255 lbs.) I kind of wish I had bought the Black Gold version but it was
hard to justify spending an additional $600 to cut four pounds of weight.

If you really want a kayak, I think the Wilderness Systems Pungo 140 is a
great boat. It's stable but cruises nicely. It has a comfortable seat and
a large cockpit. I think they weigh about 50 pounds. I was paddling one
today and enjoyed it.

Good paddling,
Bob Scott




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Advice needed for old guy who wants to paddle
 

"Fred Klingener" wrote:

"PMH" wrote in message ...

Tim Smith wrote:

I'd like to get a paddle boat that I can store in the garage, and
portage out to the lagoon. Problem is, I'm still rather overweight,
and much too ample around the midsection, so I doubt I'd fit in a
standard sea kayak (something I would like to work up towards).
...
...
Although kayaks are all the rage these days, consider that the basic
canoe form is old from time out of mind yet remains one of the ideal -
some would say THE ideal - form of personal water transportation.
...

My heart is with Pete 100% on this, but the fact is that there's a lot to
learn paddling a canoe solo, and a lot of it has to be learned all at once
at the beginning. Too, some maneuvers (even some you'll encounter in
fla****er) use muscles that modern man uses for nothing else. (Ever wonder
what that useless rib-meat is for? Cross draws.) If you're deconditioned,
you're in line for a few bad mornings. Your response depends on whether or
not you buy into the "No pain, no gain" business.

I used to canoe a fair amount when I was a teenager (many years ago)
on the rivers and lakes in upstate New York. Don't know if that's like
riding a bicycle, which you are not supposed to forget, but actually
while you might always remember how to balance a bike, your overall
riding skills decline when not used. Probably the same with canoes.

For some reason, canoes seem to be a lot less popular out here on the
west coast than in the east or midwest of the USA. Don't know why.
Tradition?

I might go with a sit-on-top. Stable, easy to propel and control, trivial
self-rescue, not hard to sell when you're ready.

Probably what I'll do. But I'm just starting to shop around.

But you really should be working toward the supreme expression of the human
spirit on the water, the solo canoe.

:-) My thanks to you and all the others who've responded. I've gotten
a lot of good advice from this group.

Advice needed for old guy who wants to paddle
 

FWIW-- my wife is a large lady, and she fits just fine into her Pungo kayak.
This and several other recreational yaks have nice roomy cockpits. It weighs 40
something pounds, so portaging may or may not be a problem, depending on your
strength. If you're just going over grass though, you could drag it.

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Advice needed for old guy who wants to paddle
 

Try a canoe with spray cover, a nice beamy one with outriggers can be had
for a rwasnabel price from most outfitters.

"Tim Smith" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm 64 years old, and started a serious (i.e. lifetime, however much
that will be :-) fitness program two months ago. I am riding my bike 6
days a week, walking as much as I can, and have started using light
weights to get some upper body strength. I thought about joining a
fitness center, but I hate gyms, always have.

I am lucky enough to live in a community that has a number of
interconnected salt-water sloughs (or lagoons), and our garage is only
about 150 yards from one of them. Calm water, but deep enough for the
14-16 foot centerboard sailboats that you occasionally see out there.

I'd like to get a paddle boat that I can store in the garage, and
portage out to the lagoon. Problem is, I'm still rather overweight,
and much too ample around the midsection, so I doubt I'd fit in a
standard sea kayak (something I would like to work up towards).

Anyone have any suggestions about a boat light enough to carry the 150
yards, but ample and stable enough for someone like me? I live in
Northern California, in the Bay Area. Any good shops in this area
(there are several listed on google and in the local YP, but I need
one that isn't dedicated to the true kayak people)? California Canoe
and Kayak over in Oakland looks promising, and I am thinking of going
over there next week, but I'd like to get whatever advice I can here
first, so I know what questions to ask.

Thanks a lot!