Touring Kayaks

[Rick]

Jay - I just sold a couple of yak systems on Ebay.
What I use now is the yak doublecross towers with roundbars. On them I have yak stackers with foam pipe insulation on both the crossbar and the stacker bars. I wrap the foam with Duct tape to keep it in place (replace the foam and tape every season. Stackers are great if you have both 2 kayaks and some bikes to carry - If you have one boat, you can use the land sharks - they are pretty inexpensive and will mount right to the manufacture stock roof rack cross bars.
One thing to look at when loading your yak is to mount it so that the deck (top part) of the boat is against the stackers - This is usually flat (or flatter) than the hull and it will distort much less, it will likely fit flush with the upright stacker bar.
I can take a PIC of my sys and email it if you' like.

I would like to point out that with my cheaper polyethelyene boat, there have been some hull distortions over time that have left a little bit of "rumpling" to the boat, but the super PE boats usually have a bit more memory - Especially if you leave them in the sun for a day.
Speaking of leaving in the sun - Lighter colors usually fade less than darker colors.

Cheers
Rick

 

[Jay H]

Thanks Rick, probably not necessary, I understand what you wrote regarding placing the kayak deck down on the carrier.

I have bought a bunch of pipe insulation tubes when I shipped my bike to France and I still have some left over so I'm sure I can use that on parts of the J-carrier or cross bar, whichever I decide to get.

Jay

 

[Jay H]

Well, after returning from Paddlesport'04, just thought I'd expunge to the paddling folks here on VFTT that I got a brand spanking new bright yellow/white '04 Impex Mystic. Woohoo, now I need to get a spray skirt cause they didn't have one in my size that I needed at the show. I did get a chance to meet and talk to the fine folks at Impex and P&H and Subaru (spondor) and a bunch of org. and schools in the area. Had a good time, picked up a bunch of free magazines and stickers.

The Mystic is a 14'/21.5" beam with a retractable skeg and it is fiberglass. A shorter relative LV boat that is made for smaller paddlers.

Check this out:

http://www.paddleboy.com/pages/product_pages/pb_flyer.html

A kayak carrier for a bike! Except it states up to 15' Oh well.. That would be cool though... Maybe with a little welding, we could extend the bow a bit.



Jay

If you see me out on the lakes in NJ/NY, make sure you wave...

 

[darren]

Jay,

Nice purchase! I have a Mystic. It's too small for me, I bought it for my ex-g. The kayak outlasted her. Now I have it for friends to use. The P&H's are nice too, huh? Did you get to paddle any? I love my Orion.

I'm going to have a "VFTT kayak fest" at my house this summer. You'll have to make the drive out here.

- darren

 

[Jay H]

OK, let me know when it is or is it going to be in the "trips and events" section. I'll have to see if I can go.

Right now, as I'm really itching to take it on the water but I am trying my best to be patient as the water temps are still cold, we've had 1 fatality already of a 33 year old lady on Culver's lake and one near fatality of another lady in Greenwood Lake. So I am going to try to stay a little cautious here. I have a drytop but not a drysuit.

I sat in a P&H Vela which was very nice, a bit more space and cargo than the Mystic and of course, it's 15'8" so it's almost 2ft longer. It's definitely more of a true sea kayak with the longer hull and a dayhatch.

Jay

 

[Rick]

Awesome.......

 

[KayakDan]

Welcome to the world of kayak camping. My wife and I have done quite a bit,and it's an excellent way to see the world. There's such a dizzying array of boats available now,and it get's confusing. I think your boat choice will be a good fit for you. With some advance planning,and the fact that you already have compact gear for backpacking,you can live well while touring. Heavy items (10ltr MSR water bag)to the center,lighter items to the ends. Thermarests tuck in next to the skeg box nicely.Keep your stainless steel cookwear etc in the rear of the boat-away from your compass!
Another trick that my wife uses(she is the packing pro for kayak camping) for those boats with a dayhatch,is to turn it into a refrigerated section. We insulate her dayhatch with bubblewrap and paper bags and use nalgene bottles full of ice. In cold water climates(Maine),you can keep foods for 3-4 days this way. Freeze all foods possible,and bag them. The bonus is drinking water as the Nalgenes melt(everthing has 2 uses!)
FWIW,I paddle an NDK Explorer,and my wife paddles a Boreal Ellesmere.
Rick,you had some good advice. I usually tell people to buy the lightest paddle they can afford,and save money,as you end up buying one later. It's unfortunate that many outfitters use "cinder block paddles" to start out new paddlers.
Darren,I'm looking forward to the Paddlefest! Can I show off my new titanium PFD knife?

 

[Jay H]

Thanks KayakDan for the info. The Mystic is a 14' kayak (21.5" beam) but doesn't have a dayhatch. There is some room behind the seat that I have for daystuff and I'm looking at UD storage stuff for safety items that aren't above deck and for other personal items.

It might be a little bit before I actually go touring with the Kayak but right now I'm just looking forward to going out on lakes and bays...

Jay

 

[LauraM]

Congrats, Jay! I still want to see you hauling that kayak behind your bike!

Darren, I want to be in on the paddlefest! I'll keep looking for a post about it.

KayakDan, I have heard of other kayak campers who turn their day hatch into refrig. compartments -- similar to what your wife does -- it is a great idea. Freeze everything, and eat what thaws first!

Here's to spring, bring on the yakkin'

Laura

 

[KayakDan]

LauraM,
Can't wait till spring-too far from November!
Best kayaking in March?
Exumas!!!!!!

Just back from our second annual Exumas kayaking trip.
Backsurfing 3 footers in 80o water "the color of Bombay Gin"
Sitting on the beach at our island campsite,eating fresh Bahamian rock lobster.
Did somebody say "conch fritters"?

Yee-Hah!!!

 

[rondak46]

Paddling Partners...

I set up a yahoo group for Paddlers.

The idea is for newbies or others to cordinate trips.
There are also waterway specific resources there. Please join. You will need a yahoo ID.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Paddling_Partners/

Mike

 

[Jay H]

Hi Mike, have to check that out now, already have a Yahoo account.

I'll probably join the Jersey Shore Sea Kayak Association. They seem to have a bunch of folks up here away from the sea, despite their name.

What do you folks wear in terms of footwear, besides sandles when it's warm out. Are neoprene booties useful, I've seen some at REI that are basically 3mm neo booties with some grippy stuff on the bottom and others that are just long fast drying socks.

Jay

 

[rondak46]

Neo-booties....

.. Are what I use. Form-fitting, they are alomost like bare-feet, yet they do protect, warm and give you some grip on rocks.

Mike

 

[LauraM]

Jay:

I wear neoprene socks and watershoes (heavy duty Merrills, not the cheap ones from KMart) if I can get away with it, or old sneakers. The booties are great, I am just too cheap (frugal?) to buy them! Sandals with the neoprene socks if I need them. Or just sandals if it is warm enough.

Kayak Dan:

Sounds like a great trip!!!

Laura

 

[KayakDan]

LauraM,Why, yes it was!
As for footwear,Chota and Warmers both make good durable watershoes for kayaking. The Chotas have drains in them so your feet aren't sloshing all day. Whatever you wear,make sure it has a substancial sole to it,'cause those footpegs,or pedals on a rudder boat,can get tough on your feet on a long paddle.

 

[Rick]

Jay,
Just a caution, those neoprene booties with the gripper bottoms can be brutal on your feet at put-ins and take-outs when you step on a pebble or sharp rock, especially when hauling your boat. You'll end up hobbling for a minute after stepping on one.

I now typically wear a neoprene sock (cold weather only) and then my tevas. I adjust my pegs to accomodate my sandals a little better, though wearing tevas are a tight fit in the boat..

 

[Jay H]

I was worried about the sandals and my Mystic. The mystic has footpegs as it's a skeg boat but I know when I sat in the mystic at the show, my sneakers were bouncing around in there. The mystic has an 11" midship deck height and though I don't know the exact point of measure or if they use O.D. but it's a fairly small cockpit but really seems to fit a smaller paddler like myself. I have some clark sandals that I could use but would need some warm booties or some sort now...

Jay

 

[darren]

As for shoes, I wear the cheap little neoprene water shoes that they wear wind surfing etc. I got them at West Marine for like $10. Great for getting in and out, can handle rocks, and not too hot in the summer.


I will post a message in the Trips & Events forums when I plan my 'kayakfest'. Interest seems to be higher than I thought. At first I just pictured 10 or so people crashing at my house or camping in the yard but it looks like it could be bigger and require a campground. There are not too many campgrounds in my neck of the woods though. I will have to look into it.

Possible trips in my area are: Little River and Slocums River (right down the street) and the Westport River ( a few minutes away) for protected paddles. Or you can just go straight to the ocean for some fun in the waves and enjoy a break on some great sandy beaches. Something for everyone's tastes.

I know some local guides so I could possibly arrange some lessons through them on the same weekend if some people are newbies and want to learn.

Anyone else shoot slides while kayaking? A slide show from multiple people could be cool too.

- darren

 

[Jay H]

Cool, do you know roughly when are we talking about?

Jay

 

[darren]

I'd like to shoot for late July or early August. I'm not sure when yet. It will depend on my work schedule and it is still up in the air. I'll set it up as soon as I get a feel for how work will go this summer.

- darren