If I ever find a drysuit that fits at a good price, i'll paddle all winter :)
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If I ever find a drysuit that fits at a good price, i'll paddle all winter :)
More information threads on cold water paddling & clothing:
http://www.cpakayaker.com/forums/vie...erature#p12790
http://www.cpakayaker.com/forums/vie...erature#p10548
http://www.cpakayaker.com/forums/vie...it+temperature
http://www.cpakayaker.com/forums/vie...it+temperature
http://www.cpakayaker.com/forums/vie...it+temperature
Which one did you end up with?Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNo
The ugly Canon D10. But dammit, it works!
Zen, I met someone that has the paddling boots you want. She paddles year round, mostly uses a drysuit. But she says she uses the knee high paddling boots twice a year, when she goes down to florida to paddle in the winter, when the air temp is colder than the water temp. Otherwise, she's in a wetsuit or drysuit
Paddling on the Potomac near DC, which is really quite a nice paddle because within like 6 miles after putting in at a marina opposite the pentagon, you go past all the monuments, past the watergate, georgetown, the kennedy center, then go into forest, and then into rocky coastlines and then you're at the base of little falls. Expand that to 10 miles and you include national airport, national harbor, naval research labs, old town alexandria and a really wide river. And there was the drunk guy that swam across the river from georgetown onto a little beach - holding his beer cup out of the water. He did his victory dance, stood on his head and fell over a couple of times, insisted on hugging me, and then dove back into the water at which point his shorts slipped down exposing his buttocks and started to swim back across the river...
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http://lh6.ggpht.com/_WfCe0A3iU1c/TG...0/IMGP8496.JPG
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Well that's nice to know.
Once again, thanks for the invitation:rolleyes:
So I think I was using one of the scene modes and not auto, and I'm not that happy. I had to process every picture as they were very dark and washed out. Thank goodness for batch processing in Photoshop!
There were some weight distribution issues with this boat:
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...66_Bb5TU-M.jpg
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...98_ZgRCg-M.jpg
My brother and I giving our "serious" poses:
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...46_QVsmj-M.jpg
There's a sandbar just before you get to the ocean that was packed with kayakers and canoeists.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...68_dkv5g-M.jpg
My cousin's first day back after 7 months in Italy. Maybe that's why he couldn't keep the boat in a straight line:eek:
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...94_42tKu-M.jpg
Someone caught dinner:
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...41_WGPxg-M.jpg
The bridge stays lifted until a train has to come by, maybe twice an hour.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...79_n94Bi-M.jpg
Checking out the sheep. Kind of surprised to see them there.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...00_auJAq-M.jpg
You'll just have to give it another shot this weekend in auto or P mode.
My trip to Canada is next week, so I'll have plenty of time to play with it. I also noticed I'll have to be careful about wiping the lens after I dunk it so I don't get splotches in my pictures.
Yes. Splashing water on it and shaking it off can get rid of the drops or salt stuff on the lens. Mine doesn't get too wet tucked into the top of my pfd.Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNo
NoNo, is your boat a double?
Love that bird fish photo.
No, that was my cousin and her friend. They rented a tandem, which didn't work out all that well. Can anyone explain what's going on with my PFD? Why does it stick up so high? I don't really notice it when I'm paddling, but I have to think it should be down on my shoulders.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
Mine does that too. Because it's short it gets pushed up like that.
Maybe cinch the waist tighter?
btw... thanks for the invitation :0Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNo
As for shoulder straps, I don't know - how tightly do you have it tightened around your waist? I leave mine a little loose because it's easier to rotate. do you have something to shorten the height of the shoulder straps? Some of mine do.
But none of my pfd's ride up at the shoulders like that:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/...8277e192_z.jpg
I know what kind of pfd you have from that photo and it's just different from ours, that's why.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
K. Well, none of my kayaking pfds do that, and I've got several different types.
So you guys should just buy a different one :)
I'm quite happy with mine :)
Things I learned on my vacation:
1) The camera definitely works better in auto mode.
2) My PFD is getting held up on my skirt and the high seat back, pushing it up on my shoulders. It sits correctly when I'm standing and would probably be ok without the skirt. I'll have to try sometime.
3) Water pools in the lap area of my skirt, and starts to drip through after a bit. I must look into ways of better waterproofing it.
4) I have much to learn about getting out onto a dock without assistance.
5) I've been some pretty remote places before, but this was a whole new level. It was a town in name only, and only accessible by boat. Very interesting to see how people can live like that.
I have a bunch of pictures to go through. I hope I can find time to get them uploaded, but the soap business is already demanding my attention!
Before I bought my own pfd I had trouble with most all borrowed pfd's riding up and strangling me, while my dh was fine even though he's only a tad taller than me.
I realized this was due to a combination of:
- I have a fairly short back,
- the high seat back on my own kayak and some borrowed ones,
- sitting slightly too "deep" in kayaks a bit too big for me
- most pfd's are made for men
So when I went to buy my own I concentrated on finding one that was very short and high in back. Tried several fancy and expensive ones, but they tended to make me feel flattened like a taco when I tightened them enough, so I finally ended up with a very small and lowprofile, almost junior-size vest. Even that one will rub my seat back a little if I slouch. At some point I intend to buy a kayak where I feel less like I'm sitting in the bottom of a bucket. :)
I've found my camera.
Yes, it's kind of spendy but I know I'll like it since I already have ones that's similar albeit non-waterproof.
The link didn't seem to work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
Same here. What are you getting?!Quote:
Originally Posted by kmehrzad
Oh.
It worked for me, but that's because it's my wish list:p
Hold on.
Try this
click on "view in 3-D"
cool. I wish every product had that .
Neato. I considered that one but there were a few too many leaking complaints on Amazon to make me take the plunge. I like that it has a better zoom than mine and of course that it's slimmer. I'll be interested in hearing your experience with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
It's a beauty!
I have that one! In flaming orange :p
Had to buy something waterproof after I dunked both mobile and camera in the sea last summer.
It's a great camera, but the buttons are a bit small and dinky. When my hands are cold I have trouble turning it on in time to catch, say, a bird on the water. Love that it's waterproof and sturdy, but it's not the sleekest thing around.
I can either post a bunch of pictures or just direct everyone to my gallery. I'll go with the latter. I wish I had taken a picture of my kayak loaded into their boat as I had to leave my car behind on the mainland. That's right, there were no roads where I was. Total tranquility!
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...3450325_Z7KbPr
Linky hinky.
For me, anyway.
That'll teach me to try to do things from my fancy new phone!
Try this: Georgian Bay
Those are with the Canon? Fantastic!
Except for those baby photos. They were rather frightening.
What is your boat? I would like to upgrade to go on more open-ish water.
Great photos, thank you for sharing them! I would love to try a kayak someday - but I would have to learn how to swim first :eek:
Those are straight out of the camera, no retouching done. I'm definitely pleased with the quality. And how cool are the underwater pictures?! I had so much fun dunking the camera without worry.
My boat is a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 135. Seems to be a great compromise between stability for open waters and size for small/narrow rivers and marshes. Not the fastest thing in the world, but it gets the job done.
No need to swim if you stay in the boat!:D
and wear your pfd. However, You can't count on always staying in the boat - especially in open water.
Put your skirt on first - as high up as you can, and then put your pfd on over it. It shouldn't ride up then. You can also change the high backband on your tsunami to something simpler - wilderness systems builds barcaloungers in for their seats.Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNo
As for the spray skirt pooling water - You can try treating it with wash in waterproofer, but that does eventually wear off and you do it again.. basically, it's par for the course. if you want to avoid that, get a neoprene sprayskirt - but those are hot. I use one for the winter when I don't want water seapage. If you have a length of webbing that goes inside of the skirt, tighten that up, and it should push the hard band that goes across teh front of the skirt up, causing it to tent upwards and pool less water.
sounds like an awesome trip.
Your canon takes nice pics. Zen - I'd probably get that panasonic myself if I could justify a new camera. I'm closer to being able to justify one, 'cause the handle pulled off the side of my pentax last week - currently I have a ducttape & rope harness to use to hold it... But I have had the camera for 2-3 years and it's spent a lot of time dangling from that cord in kayaks and in salt water. there was some corrosion around the part that pulled off... So I'll try epoxy'ing it back together and should get in the habit of religiously bathing my camera after taking it into salt water.
Nono - leaking in waterproof gear/electronics is fairly common. Especially when you're taking it into salt water and sand environments. Both of which are extremely corrosive. Sand grit gets into the doors as you open & close your battery compartments or whatever and viola - what was once a waterproof seal is no longer... I usually take all those amazon reviews with a grain of salt/sand - because I have bought several things that people have claimed leaked instantly and am still using them 3 years later. I do keep both my waterproof gps & my waterproof marine radio in waterproof drybags. I have had the gps leak once... but either of those are things that may very well save my life and float once I stick them in a waterproof baggie. I clean all the seals on the rest of my electronics to make sure no sand gets in them and I coat the gaskets with vacuum grease to make sure that if anywater does get in - there's another layer of protection.
Yesterday, my brother and I took our parents kayaking. It was hot, but bearable on the water. They had a fun time going through the marshes and just getting out for a while.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...38_mMF7n-M.jpg
Things got off to a shaky start when we got to the nearly-full sandbar for lunch and the paramedics arrived. A man felt light-headed (likely dehydrated) and couldn't drive his boat back. The tide was coming in and his family asked my dad and brother to help hold the boat while they sorted things out.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...54_ukg5T-M.jpg
I love how quickly the camera turns on and I can capture those fleeting images.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...45_a6qTM-M.jpg
We nestled into a quiet cove and everyone soaked up the sun. Dad has some great one-sided burn marks on his legs.
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My bilge pump finally got used!
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...92_8Hbfw-M.jpg
My brother was very proud of the dead crab he found.
http://onarumagalleries.smugmug.com/...83_HdhSt-M.jpg
There were occasionally some steering issues...
Nice pics, NoNo. Looks like you had a spectacular day for a paddle.
Your steering issues didn't look so bad to some I've encountered. What I dread is running into large cobwebs on overhanging trees or running ashore on what could potentially be a snake-laden muddy shoreline. Those thoughts send shivers down my spine.
Nono, Looks like a great trip with your family. I haven't managed to convince my mother to come out with me at any point - But my older brother's taken up kayaking and biking in the last year, and my brother in law goes with sometimes. I think my niece would like it, but don't have a tandem to take her out with. I got a canoe to do that...
I haven't finished sorting through my pics, but here's some of paddling in the Apostles Islands, I'll link to the full albums and the trip report when I get that finished up.
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http://lh4.ggpht.com/_fkR1_xTH524/TH...0/_IGP0771.jpg
All photos that were taken on the water - pentax optio w60, the couple photos of the moon on land are taken with my dslr.
That looks like a fun place! I think the boat will be docked this weekend!:eek:
Both my boats need some serious gel coat repairs now. I miss plastic, sort of. The 3-4 days of small crafts advisories and 25 mph+ winds would have been horrible with plastic, but it's nice being able to rock garden or do sea caves with little care to your boat. We both basically went around poking ourselves into the tightest holes we could find - but typically in those there wasn't enough light to get good pics - or the time to take your hands of the paddle. I need to go through all the video I took.Quote:
Originally Posted by NoNo
My wrists are getting a rest this weekend.
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