Subject: RE: [Catalina22] OT: Kayak

From: "Ashley, Miles H, WCS" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:55:23 -0600

Jim, 
 
Then try running up through the culvert over on Alum Creek's east side
behind the ramp, north of the causeway.   Take a small spinning rod and
go after some of those Muskies in the back side as you run towards Plum
Road.  It's a great area to Kayak, with no current and lots of quiet
about a quarter of a mile in.  You'll love it!
Captain  Miles  Ashley
Hull # 940 - Swing Keel
'72   C-22    Dragonass  
Chincoteague Island, VA

  _____  

From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]
On Behalf Of Dennis, Jim
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 4:38 PM
To: [email-masked]'
Subject: RE: [Catalina22] OT: Kayak

Miles and Chip, thank you for your responses.
 
Miles,
 
That sounds like a great place to kayak.  Until I feel comfortable about
bobbing around in a big trashcan, I think I will stick to the nice, flat
Alum Creek and Hoover reservoirs.

Chip,
 
A while back you had mentioned that you sail in the St. Lawrence River,
so I had to lookup on Mapquest just where Dexter was.  Ah yes, God's
country.  I grew up north of you, in a little town between Massena and
Potsdam.  If we wanted something other than McDonald's or Domino's we
would have to drive to Canada.  We were probably in the car for two
hours before we got to Watertown.  It was a really fun place to be a
kid, you could do anything and mom never worried about you.
 
I bought a Wilderness Systems Pamlico 100 kayak.  It has this hatch in
the back, kind of like a rubber tupperware lid.  It just opens to the
hull which is open to the cockpit, so there is no protection from water
at all.  I was thinking of building some sort of bulkhead to protect my
stuff.  Is there any reason I should not?
 
I am surprised the store did not try to sell me some of these things you
mentioned.  
 
Does the 'paddle float' just keep the paddle floating (which I would
have guessed was intrinsically buoyant) or is it used to help me get the
boat righted?
 
Thanks again for your help.
Jim
Columbus, Ohio

	-----Original Message-----
	From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Charles S. Lee
	Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 2:49 PM
	To: [email-masked]
	Subject: RE: [Catalina22] OT: Kayak

	Jim,

	Sorry, I haven't been paying too much attention to this thread,
even though I kayak a fair amount.

	1.	You do not have to expect to get wet, but you should be
prepared, nonetheless. Always wear a life jacket, especially near
powerboat traffic, since they can swamp you if you don't see the wake
coming. Best way to take a wake is head on. Many of the recreational
kayaks have nonstandard cockpit dimensions, but some of the
manufacturers offer splash skirts for recreational kayaks. The true sea
kayaks usually have a standard size cockpit, so you can use any
manufacturer's skirt for that size. Splash skirts on recreational kayaks
help keep you warm and dry, but don't usually stay on if you roll, so
you can't "eskimo roll" back upright. These kayaks are too wide for that
maneuver anyways, so you wind up doing a wet exit, pulling the skirt
away from the cockpit coaming and swimming out of the boat. 

	2.	Purchase two items for safety and lash them to the deck:
1) a paddle float, which looks like the inflatable "swimmy" that kids
put on their arms to help them float; 2) a kayak bilge pump, which is
usually shorter and fatter than a regular hand bilge pump. This pump
also has a foam collar so it floats if it gets away from you when
capsized. 

	You can go to any kayak store and they will show you how to put
the float on your paddle, and then use the paddle as an outrigger to get
you back on board. Once in the swamped boat, the paddle float helps keep
you stable  while you pump out the boat. Buying an inflatable flotation
bag for the bow and stern also takes up volume and prevents having to
pump extra gallons from the boat when you right it.

	Finally, if your boat doesn't have one, have the dealer install
a drain plug at the tip of the bow or stern. This helps you get the last
of the water out of the boat.

	There - I've just added about $100 to the purchase of your first
kayak. But most Catalina owners can look at this stuff in the kayak
store, listen to what the salesperson says, and then go home to make
their own floats, pumps and plugs for a lot less.

	Chip Lee

	#9742 Martha Pearl

	1980 C22 swing keel

	Dexter, NY

	-----Original Message-----
	From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Dennis, Jim
	Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 1:00 PM
	To: [email-masked]'
	Subject: RE: [Catalina22] OT: Kayak

	Okay, all this talk about kayaks made me think, so I went to the
local sporting goods store this weekend and they were having a sale...
so now I am the proud owner of an expensive piece of orange plastic
(bright orange so that the power boaters will be less likely to drive
over me).

	I figure it is a half-hour to get to my C-22 and often it will
be windy at my house and not at the lake and vice-versa.  So, if I drag
along the kayak, it would not be a wasted trip, plus it would be good
exercise.

	I have two general kayak questions:

	1.  Is this a sport where every time you go out you should
expect to get wet?  It is still pretty cold in Ohio and I don't know if
I should try it in the next week or wait until the water warms up.

	2.  If you capsize:

	        A.  How do you bail the water out?

	        B.  What is the right way to get back in?

	Thanks,
	Jim

		-----Original Message-----
		From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Ashley, Miles H, WCS
		Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 8:37 AM
		To: [email-masked]
		Subject: RE: [Catalina22] kayak

		Since you're considering a rigid Kayak, I've been using
and towing a 12' Poke Boat with great success.  Check out their products
at www.pokeboat.com .  I've had mine since 1992.  I went to the Factory
in Berea KY and picked it up.  Weighs under 30#, so it is easy to pick
it up and toss around.  It is also very stable compared to a canoe.  I
run with Sea Kayaks often, and because of the light weight, I can keep
up with the leaders with no extra effort.  The bow shape causes me to
use a spray skirt in chop, but the forward buoyancy is adequate for all
of the situations I've run into.  The Poke Boat tracks well when towed
from the forward rope carry handle, but I had to re-bed the rope once.
The mfg will work with you on those type of issues if you tell them how
you will be using the boat when you order it.

		Captain  Miles  Ashley
		Hull # 940 - Swing Keel
		'72   C-22    Dragonass  
		Chincoteague Island, VA

  _____  

		From: [email-masked]
[mailto:[email-masked]] On Behalf Of Dan & Bobbi Batchelor
		Sent: Friday, March 18, 2005 6:14 AM
		To: [email-masked]
		Subject: [Catalina22] kayak

		Thanks to Andre and Brian for your input regarding
kayaks.  I have done quite abit of research and feel a rigid plastic
kayak will suit my needs.  I plan on going to the Paddle Sport 2005 show
on Saturday here in NJ.  I don't think I will be able to transport a
rigid kayak on a c22, but I can certainly tow it behind so I can explore
when we anchor.

		Butchie
		C22 Swing Keel
		#13320 1986
		"Sandy Bottoms"
		Beachwood, NJ (Barnegat Bay)
		http://home.comcast.net/~d.batch/