Brian Nystrom wrote in
news:09KRe.21382$LK.21269@trndny09:



It IS possible that the boat is slightly "bent", but it's pretty
unlikely.

I've seen one brand new plastic boat that had a visible bend to one side at
the bow. A couple of people complained about being unable to keep it from
turning to the right but when I paddled I think I just naturally compensated
for it and was able to maintain a straight course as long as I was paddling.
If I stopped paddling and let it glide it would drift slightly to the left.

BTW, I also agree with Brian that the Squall is a fine boat. If I were to
rate the top 10 plastic touring kayaks I would get on the list.

"John Fereira" wrote in message
.. .
Brian Nystrom wrote in
news:09KRe.21382$LK.21269@trndny09:



It IS possible that the boat is slightly "bent", but it's pretty
unlikely.

I've seen one brand new plastic boat that had a visible bend to one side
at
the bow. A couple of people complained about being unable to keep it from
turning to the right but when I paddled I think I just naturally
compensated
for it and was able to maintain a straight course as long as I was
paddling.
If I stopped paddling and let it glide it would drift slightly to the
left.

BTW, I also agree with Brian that the Squall is a fine boat. If I were to
rate the top 10 plastic touring kayaks I would get on the list.


Thank you, John, Brian and Mike for your comments. Checked the boat, and it
doesn't LOOK bent. It also goes pretty straight when I or one of my
daughters paddle it, so I think John's analysis is correct. Didn't know
about the backward figure 8 test in BCU 3, but now that I do, I will take
John's suggestions regarding the lean of the boat and experiment with this.

I own a number of small watercraft (canoe, rec boats, small speedboat), and
the Squall is my first "real" kayak. I am very happy with it, as I have
been able to explore many of the waterways near where I live in a way that
is different from the other craft. The canoe is good for two or more
people, excellent for doing stuff together with my better half, not so good
in windy conditions, and difficult to move solo in anything else other that
calm conditions (it's a long boat). The rec boats are fun, great for
splashing around, perfect for ponds and mucking around in the reeds and
close to the shore, but practically useless for going any distance. The
speedboat is great for fishing, trolling, and taking our family to visit
friends on the other side of the lake. However, it smells (gas and exhaust
fumes), is comparatively noisy, and is not the best for closeup looks of
wildlife (and we're not talking the beercan-in-hand kind). With my Squall,
I can get away for some solitude (no need to coordinate group schedules), go
quietly close to the shore (and see the fronts of animals, not their fleeing
hind quarter...), get some great exercise when I need to do some heavy
breathing, and explore new areas that were too far for the canoe, and too
shallow/weedy/narrow for the speedboat.

This past weekend, we rented a second sea kayak for my daughter and went out
twice in two different lakes. The first trip started out not so well, as my
daughter had to get used to a new boat, and the wind was blowing in excess
of 20 mph (gusting to 40), raising waves of about 2-3 feet. Before leaving,
we practised some basic rescue techniques; turning, stopping and reversing
manoevres, and forward paddling technique (she only paddled the rec boats
and the canoe before). Despite the wind and waves, we were able to paddle
about 5 miles and in the process, she learned how to surf the waves when we
were going downwind. When we were doing one lake crossing, we were going
perpendicular to the wind direction, and the several times the whitecaps
would wash over us, but since we both had our spray skirts on, that wasn't
much of a problem - actually was a bit of fun.

The next day, we went to a lake near the city and the conditions were better
than the day before, with the wind blowing steadily at about 10-15 mph. We
took our time, explored a number of inlets and bays, snuck up on some
basking fish (a large-mouth bass and several gars), rescued a turtle that
was snagged by some discarded fishing line, and generally just mosied along.
Although the lake we were on usually has a huge amount of pleasure-craft
traffic, we were in an area where the average depth was about 2 feet, with
frequent rocks at or just below the surface, so the motor craft were
elsewhere. At one point, she carried out a t-rescue since I got carried
away watching stuff in the water and flipped over. Since I haven't learned
to roll yet, it was going to be a wet exit, but she came right up as we had
discussed the day before and I was able to pull myself up by holding to the
bow of her boat. Now I know she pays attention!. On the way back, the wind
came up and I practiced doing a tow with her enjoying the scenery as I got
my exercise in.

Yes, I really do enjoy the Squall and we're even thinking of doing a
week-end camping/paddling trip (one-nighter, provincial campground, so we're
not really roughing it...) before it gets cold. And in the meantime, I'll
continue to read the wise words of the experienced paddlers, and practice
what I need to perfect.

Happy paddling and safe Labour Day's weekend to all

Paul

"PG" wrote in
:

Although the lake we were on usually has a
huge amount of pleasure-craft traffic, we were in an area where the
average depth was about 2 feet, with frequent rocks at or just below
the surface, so the motor craft were elsewhere. At one point, she
carried out a t-rescue since I got carried away watching stuff in the
water and flipped over. Since I haven't learned to roll yet, it was
going to be a wet exit, but she came right up as we had discussed the
day before and I was able to pull myself up by holding to the bow of
her boat. Now I know she pays attention!. On the way back, the wind
came up and I practiced doing a tow with her enjoying the scenery as I
got my exercise in.

That's great that you're doing that. Few people practice towing and the
time to find out what works and what doesn't isn't when a tow is really
needed.

You might also want to try an assisted rescue using the paddle as well as
the bow rescue you did. For the paddle version you brisklypaddle up
parallel to the capsized boat. When you reach the boat you basically fall
onto the upturned hull and lay your paddle across it. Grab the victims hand
and place it on the paddle shaft and they'll come up between the boats. Be
careful about not letting the paddle shaft go to the opposite side. If it
does and they grab onto it and try to come up on the other side it won't
work. At first many that try this rescue will not get close enough to the
victims boat and shoot right by. You can practice paddling up to a partners
boat while they're sitting right side up to judge how close you need to be
and how fast you can come in. The advantage of using the paddle for the
resue rather than a bow is that when a capsize occurs you're usually
paddling in the same direction. For a t-bow resuce you have to be somewhat
perpendicular althouth with practice you'll find that the best way to
present your bow to a capsized paddler is to aim between the cockpit and the
bow or stern at an angle and then slide it up. It's also worth practice
these rescues when the victim capsized behind you. It'll usually prompt you
to practice reverse paddling more.

In a previous article, said:
Michael Hearn Anna Houpt wrote:
Just for the fun of it, Why does a racing scull go faster when the oars are
out of the water, and slower with the blasdes in the water? (no it is not
drag)... Mike

Because as the paddler slides toward the stern, the motion plus the
inertia of the oars drives the hull forward momentarily. It's really
somewhat illusory, as the rower is actually slowing down and the boat is
just moving relative to his/her body. It's more of a "windup" than
anything else.

In other words, the center of mass of the boat+rower is actually moving
more slowly.

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
SCSI is *NOT* magic. There are *fundamental technical reasons* why it is
necessary to sacrifice a young goat to your SCSI chain now and then.

"John Fereira" wrote in message
.. .
Stuff deleted

One of the skills you're tested on when taking
a BCU 3 star assessment is paddling backwards in a figure 8. It turns out
to be one of the skills that prevents a successful completion of the
assessment. After a day of training and assessment with 11 other people
the
most common problem was being able to change directions once you started
to
turn. First, if you *want* to turn you should edge the boat to the
outside
of the turn. Once you've started to turn the boat will tend to continue
to
turn in that direction, even if you edge in the opposite direction. The
trick is to bring the hull to a flat position, initiate the turn in the
opposite direction with a sweep stroke, then edge away from the direction
you want to go. Most likely there is something asymetric in your
technique
that is causing the boat to start to turn right and once it starts it
tends
to go that way.

I like using a reverse stroke when teaching beginners torso rotation.
Rotating the torso until the paddleshaft is nearly parallel with the boat,
then present the backface of the blade to the water for the catch, then
uncoil you body and repeat on the opposite side. Start slowly and
gradually
put a little more into the stroke and you should be able to maintain a
straight course.


John, I tried your suggestions this weekend, and it works! My problem with
the kayak turning while going backward was due to an unconsious lean. I
experimented with edging the boat on both sides and once I made sure that
the boat was level, it went backwards in a straight line. However, a bit of
lean, and away in a turn I went! With this new knowledge in hand, it was
time to practice the backward figure 8 you mentioned. Did three in a row,
with the smallest having a radius of about 15 ft. (moving slowly) and the
largest about 25 ft. (moving about 3 mph). And you're also right about the
backward turns using full torso rotation - it didn't work well when I was
lazy and didn't do the full windup - but when I did, the turn was relatively
easy.

On Saturday, my wife went sailing with friends and I went with my kayak.
After a while we parted ways, as a catamaran at speed is 'way faster than a
kayak. So I paddled a stretch of shoreline that I haven't seen before.
Coming back about an hour and a half later, I discovered the cat stranded on
a mud bar about 50 feet from the shore. Put my towing practice into use and
towed the cat away from the mud bar. Since I was going against a 3 mph
current at the same time, it became quite a workout. However after about 10
minutes of work, they were in a clear channel and were able to line up with
the dock.

Yesterday, my wife and I went for an early morning canoe ride on Lake
Champlain. Although her enthusiasm for water is more restrained than mine,
she's a strong paddler and had good endurance. The surface was perfectly
still - just like glass, and the water was clear down to 10-15 ft. It felt
that we were suspended above the lake bottom, with the grasses, fish, rocks,
and thousands of zebra mussels really clear and easy to see. No motor boats
were out, just a few (quiet) fishermen. It felt like the gates of Heaven
opened up and we didn't even notice we paddled through. After about four
hours of paddling, we finally came back for lunch. After a quick lunch, I
went out for a kayak ride as the waters continued to be calm and inviting.
After three more hours on the water, it was time to come home as there were
at least fifty boats going back and forth (ok, maybe not that many, but
there were at least 10 power boat towing tubes or water-skis, a gaggle of
jet skis, maybe 10-15 cabin cruisers, three cigar boats, and a handful of
sailboats under motor). The drone of various motors and whine of the jet
skis (not to mention the continuous criss-crossing wake waves) made any
on-water contemplation to be an exercise in deep concentration. It was time
to catch up with the chores. After this weekend, the boat traffic should be
considerably reduced, and the water will stay warm to the end of September.
After that, it'll be time to get the wet suit and farmer johns out.