3.16.2009

Shrink wrapped and ready for a paddle


After getting the kayak home I finished the stem plates and sanded some rough edges.





Then I took it over to Chuck and he shrink wrapped it for me.





But it would have to wait a week while I went to Florida for a little Relaxation and Sunshine!







I was originally going to go to a pool session, but that didn't work out. So Allan and I decided to take our kayaks to Metro Beach for the test. When we got to our usual launch it was full of ice chunks. So we went over to the boat ramp and found some open water.

There was still ice out there so I just had a narrow space to go back and forth in front of the launch.


It didn't take me too long to get comfortable and want to do more. Since the ice seemed thin I decided to cross the channel and break up the ice. Such a bad idea. Did you notice I'm not wearing gloves? Forgot them at home. I also forgot how fragile the shrink wrap is. Didn't take long for the ice to rip holes right into it.





So the kayak started to fill with water and became unmanueverable. It was like slow motion and I knew I was going over, I was halfway out before I went under!


I tried pushing the boat, but it was full of water and sooo heavy I wasn't getting anywhere.




So I moved to the bow and tried pulling it, which was also slow going. This was very frustrating and I thought about leaving the kayak and just getting out of the cold water.



Allan had his dry suit on, so he jumped in to help...and swam right by me! Apparantly his boots had not been tightly secured and they were floating away.




I then decided it was time to get my hands out of the water, so I finally put the paddle in the cockpit and moved back down to the stern to get them out and on top of the kayak.







We finally made it to shore, look Allan has both his boots. But his zipper had not been zipped all the way and his drysuit was full of water!My hands had never been so cold! I had a drysuit on, so my core temp stayed warm. Thank you Chuck for helping me warm my hands and of course for documenting the whole thing!


I had to cut a hole in the shrink wrap so we could fully drain the kayak.


















I did have one float bag in the front, but not the back. I have to make that one to fit the narrow lenth of the kayak.



Overall I liked the fit of the kayak in the short time I paddled it. I do think the masik is too high, it doesn't make contact with my legs when I'm sitting. I might think about making a new one. Fortunately I didn't have any trouble with the wet exit. So no need to remake the one deck beam that was supposed to be curved for easy entrance and exit.