wanna help me buy a kayak?

[lph]

PS. Just in case anyone is considering a Prijon kayak - the thigh braces are large and sturdy, and I could not for the life of me get them aligned up to fit my leg. Basically, when I was sitting my thighs were angled out with my knee as the outermost point (logical, ja?), but the thigh braces were slightly angled inward. So however I moved the seat back and forth or the braces back and forth I could just achieve more or less of the brace squeezing my thigh and making my leg go numb in the long run.

So I just chucked them out. Bingo! Perfect fit

I may glue in som foam padding or something but so far the extra room to bend my knee feels perfect.

[Trigress]

I have to ask where this was, though? Alna? No? Øyeren? Øyeren would fit the description, we used to have a boat there when I was little, and one person had to watch the water for new banks as they kept changing. The sound of a boat trip on Øyern was pretty much like this:

vrrrrroooooammm-thud! (followed by ten minutes of digging the boat out of the silt)-vrrrrroooooammm-thud!

To be repeated.

[lph]

Øyeren it was Here's a picture from before I got stranded:

[OakLeaf]

it's also a little more tippy than the extremely stable beginner boats I've tried so far

There's primary stability (when you lean, does the boat lean?) and secondary stability (how far do you have to lean to capsize the boat?). Often boats with less primary stability are actually less prone to capsize.

Don't skimp on the paddle... it's like the wheels of your bike, you will notice weight and flexiness there more than anywhere.

Have fun!

[TBird]

This is great—so many of you have been helpful as I shop for my first road bike. Now I can return the favor with something I know a bit about!

LPH, it sounds like you’re having fun with your new boat—fabulous. What now feels “tippy” will soon feel “playful” and “responsive,” so be psyched about your purchase.( I think a lot of people buy slow, ultra-stable boats—which is just fine—but soon grow bored of them as they get more comfortable in the sport.) It’s not so different than cycling—performance often equals skittish when you’re starting out.

As for turning, a narrow boat with a fair amount of vee in the hull (the “tippy” part) will turn just fine, you just need to get accustomed to using your hips as well as your paddle. As OakLeaf noted, your boat probably has better secondary stability than primary stability. Don’t be afraid to lean it on edge a bit. The vee in your hull is designed to help the boat track straight, so you need to get it off that vee to turn it well. But I still love the name Plank…

And that gets back to your comments about thigh braces and general fitting. You want to be rather tight in your boat—as paddlers say, you wear a boat, you don’t sit in it. Properly fit, thigh braces will splay your legs out to the side and hold you in place along your inner thigh. And as you mention, good old foam is great for custom-fitting. I use some alongside both hips, as well as under my thighs. That helps my legs from falling asleep when I paddle for extended periods.

Whew, sorry about the long post! Hope that helps and that you’re getting great time on the water.

[lph]

Oh, I'm psyched alright But not quite ready to test out how far I can lean before I capsize. I'm not worried I won't be able to do a wet exit, it's just that the water is so darned cold now... I know, I should have tried it first thing, now it's either an unplanned capsize or wait til next summer. I try to lean my boat a little but I'm not sure it's even a visible tilt

I tried paddling yesterday without the thigh braces and with the seat pushed all the way back, and it was (almost) a huge improvement. I'd pushed the seat too far back so that the backrest tilted slightly forward, which was ok for.. er, "aggressive" paddling.. but gave me a helluva sore back after an hour. And I'd yanked the footrests as close to me as I could to get a snug fit, which was a tad much so my butt started going numb after a while. So now the seat's a bit forward, the backrest is in a more neutral position, and the footrest is close enough that my lower thigh is snug against the deck but not squashed in. In fact I got a snugger fit without the thigh braces. Can't wait to get out and try it again

Paddles: I've tried simple plastic (?) flat-bladed paddles before, at the local paddling club, and I've tried two very lightweight carbon wing paddles, one with a very large blade (competition paddle I think) and one "teaspoon" with a bit too small a blade. ATM I'm testing a couple of two-piece flat-bladed paddles that a friend of mine is selling - a VKV that I didn't like much and a Werner Shuna that I think I like a lot. I'm prepared to sink a little cash into a good "engine", but geez louise these things are expensive!

Yet another shot, from yesterday's lake paddling, can't resist (Trigress, this is Mønevann). That's a thermos flask of coffee and a box of chocolate chip cookies under the net

[tulip]

Wow, that's beautiful. I've paddled in Alaska, and I'd love to paddle in Norway, too. Right now, I'm happy with the Chesapeake Bay on a borrowed sit-on-top. I still have my eye out for a Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 when I recover from this house renovation. Perhaps I'll have saved up enough by next summer; I hope so.

TBird, you hit it right when you said it's like wearing a kayak. Much like fitting a bike, I'd say. I've tried several kayaks, and fit is really important. One was just too big that when I did rolls and rescues (in my kayak classes), I simply fell out! I have much to learn about paddles, though.

Have a wonderful time on the water, lph.

[crazycanuck]

I had a peek at entry level kayaks today . I suppose i could put the $ towards a new bike but I wanted another challenge. Well, that & one day I might do the kayak leg of the Blackwood Marathon or Anaconda or if i'm crazy..The Avon Descent (it's a 2 day event..)

Anywho, I would like to do both river & ocean kayaking. So I visited Mainpeak http://www.paddle.com.au and had a peek at thier Finn kayak range. (http://www.finnkayaks.com)

It's almost like buying a new bike!! I have no idea where to start & what questions to ask next...

[lph]

hee - first pool training, first time upside down in a kayak, a couple of weeks ago and I just received some pics. So this is what upside down underwater desperately attempting a roll looks like

I did manage to do successive rolls after a while, w00t!

[solobiker]

congrats!!! I love to roll my Kayak. I will do it for fun or just to cool off.

[lph]

waaaaah! My kayak just melted out from under the snow, where she's been hibernating upside down propped on a bench at either end, and there's a huge deformed part under the middle. The entire floor of the cockpit now bends upwards, and the kayak has a noticeable v-shape the wrong way...

I've been told that hot water, buckets of it, inside the kayak will help reshape it, but if anybody could ease my soul and salve my guilty conscience by telling me that this will work out juuust fine - please do. Pleaaaaase.

[Cataboo]

LPH, the kayak'll probably be okay - some warm sun on it will help as well.

Any time my kayaks have gotten bows or mishapen, they've lost the shape fairly quickly. One of them is a prijon. (strapped to a roof rack in 95 degree heat tends to make 'em a bit wonky shape.

Pour in some water, and definitely turn the kayak over so that your bulge can fall out of it. The weight of the water & the heat should help.

Just don't expect things to fix themselves immediately - it probably took a while for that bulge to get created, and it may take a while for it to work itself out.

You could contact prijon and see if they have any suggestions.

[Cataboo]

Deformed plastic kayak.

Improper storage or transportation of a plastic boat can potentially distort the shape of the hull on your boat. If your kayak does become the victim of slight distortion, correction is a simple process. Brief exposure to the heat of the sun is often all it takes to restore the hull to its original shape. If that doesn't work, the hull can usually be restored by applying heat to the outside of the boat with a hair dryer or other low-heat source such as a 75-watt light bulb. When the hull is pliable enough, it can be pushed back in shape by hand. Be careful not to overheat the hull as you might get burned or damage the hull. A weight can be placed inside the boat against the warped area to help maintain the shape of the hull as it cools. Although cooling normally occurs quickly, we recommend that you allow up to 24 hours to ensure that the process is completed. A kayak that is used in normal conditions will receive scratches, especially on the bottom of the hull. Scratches do not alter the boat's structural integrity or navigational capabilities and should be of no concern.

http://www.roscocanoes.com.au/FAQ%60...anual-243.aspx


Plastic Kayaks.
Scratches are impossible to remove from polyethylene by sanding and polishing. If the hull is deeply gouged or punctured, it will have to be welded with polyethylene. In such a case, we recommend that you contact us for advice.

If a plastic kayak has become deformed, place it in direct sunlight for a few days. Polyethylene is a memory compound that tends to return to its original shape. The gentle heat from the sunshine will likely soften to material and help the plastic return to its manufactured shape.

However, if this process is not successful, it may be because the deformation has been present for too long a time. The following procedure will need to be followed:

1. Place the kayak upright on foam blocks positioned about 1/3 of the length of the kayak between the bow and stern. The blocks should follow the hull contours as much as possible. The blocks should each have a contact area of about 6 inches.
2. Pour about 5 gallons of very hot water in through the cockpit opening.
3. Leave for about 10 minutes.
4. Then press out the bumps or deformations in the hull with your hands. If necessary to access to the bumps, remove the seat.
5. Leave the water in the kayak for about two hours in order for it to press down on the hull. Then carefully drain the kayak.

[lph]

Thanks catriona! I'm hoping this will work once we get a sunny day.

[Cataboo]

Let us know how it works out. I just leave mine on the floor of the garage.

You might want to try storing it differently next winter. Maybe add a middle support if you have that, or just set it on the ground with some wood spaced out evenly underneath it.