Category: Kayaking

Last night I picked up a new (to me) kayak, a gift from Scott Stenberg who has a large number of boats and was looking to get rid of a few. This one has been rode hard and put away wet over a long career with a couple of owners who are far more intense than I, but in spite of a number of nicks and bangs and customizations and re-customizations, the gel coat is still clear and unclouded by UV and it’s still pretty smooth under the waterline. Scott even included a cover to keep it that way. The boat is currently rigged with a rudder underneath, although it came with an over-stern rudder or two if I want to convert it. I have a suspicion that the underneath type is better in the surf, but the over-stern one is better in weeds. I’ll have to see. The boat is only 29 pounds – I’d never weighed my Looksha before, and was astonished to find it come in at 49.5! I’d always assumed it was lighter because it felt so much lighter than my Skerray. The Thunderbolt is also about half a foot longer and about 2 inches narrower. Dan described it as “tender”, which I think is a polite way to say “tippy as hell”.

One consequence of the underneath rudder is that I had to dig a hole in the lawn in order to sit in the boat to adjust the foot bar position. I guess I should mention that the first time I tried sitting in the boat on a flat lawn, I tipped over. That doesn’t bode well for my first experiences on the water, does it?

The strange thing for me is the tiller steering. I’ve never really looked at one before, so I’m not sure how stock this one is. I know that Scott added the PVC pipe to extend the tiller bar because he couldn’t reach it the way he had the foot brace. Interestingly, even though he’s shorter than I, I actually had to pull the foot brace towards the cockpit a few stops to get enough push to get some rotation. I’m going to order a set of “normal” foot pedals from Onno Paddles just as soon as I figure out which of those things he needs the dimensions for.

I tried to enlist Widget’s help while I was adjusting things on the boat, but he was no help at all. In this shot, you can see the “cargo net” behind the cockpit for keeping PFD or extra hydration, and in front of the cockpit you can see that red tapey thing which I’m not sure is some sort of carrying handle or to attach the GPS to. There are also patches of velcro here and there that I’m sure had a specific use for one of the owners. One of the strangest things is a couple of wide velcro straps across the cockpit – you can see the screws they attach to just to the left of Widget’s giant head. Scott said they were thigh straps, but I can’t see how you’d use thigh straps and get a good racing rotation, so maybe he or a previous owner paddled more like a sea kayaker than a racer? I will probably remove them and patch the holes with some epoxy and Fiberglas.

Once it warms up a bit today, I hope to get out to try to paddle this thing. Obviously I’m going to need to bring a change of clothes and a towel because there is no way I’m going to avoid dumping. I guess I’ll go to the beach where the bottom is sandy and not too unpleasant to swim in. I’ll let you know how it goes.

[youtube YE17iVskad4 Team Practice]
Today instead of just me and Mike doing a long grind, it was five of us – Mike, Paul D, Bill, me, and coach Dan. We met at the lake, and the lake was flatter than a pancake. Even I, the big wuss, paddled with the PFD lashed to the rear deck instead of wearing it, although Paul D wore his, but I think that was more due to his lack of experience and comfort in the ski rather than waves or wind.

We started off doing a moderate pace, riding each other’s wash, and every mile doing a “pickup” or a faster piece, not a sprint, but faster than our “grind” pace. At other times, instead of doing our “pickup” at a given time, we sprinted across a river channel, or turned to ride a large wake coming in. We did two level pickups where we increased pace to something like 6.5 mph, and then after 45 seconds increased to 6.7 or 6.8 for another 45 seconds. It was a good work out, lots of variation, and I’m quite wiped right now.

It’s an awesome sight seeing those four gleaming white surf skis skimming along the water, and my boat is also pretty gleaming itself, although it looks a little out of place. Based on my brief experience with the V10 Sport at Baycreek, I figure I’m half a mile an hour slower in my boat, so I think I’m doing pretty damn well to keep up with these guys for 2 hours.

When I was orienteering, I thought the reasons my sweaty orienteering clothes smelt like a swamp all the time was because I’d been running through swamps. But now that my kayaking clothes smell that way after paddling on clean and clear lake water, I have to conclude it was me all along. I evidently sweat swamp water.

Dan and I went for a paddle today, and because it was such a hot day and the water was so warm, afterwards he suggested I give his Epic V10 surf ski a try. I wrote before that I’d tried out a V10 Sport a few times and liked it a lot. A V10 is longer and narrower than a V10 Sport – it’s basically got the same lack of initial stability, but it doesn’t flare out as much so it has a lot less secondary stability. Dan said that it would be a better boat for me because of my size, and I have to say that paddling in the shallow water just off shore at the beach it sure seemed less prone to “suck water” in the shallows.

The lack of stability meant that I dumped about four times before I got to take my first paddle stroke. After a while (and a lot more swimming), I got comfortable enough to take ten or twenty paddle strokes before dumping, but I was still going from gunwale to gunwale (assuming you can call those things on surf skis “gunwales”). But that was just my first half hour in the boat – I’m sure in another 10 hours I’ll be much better – and have a lot more beach sand in my ears.

I’m not denying that the V10 would be a faster boat once I got used to it, but on the other hand, the learning curve would be a lot higher – I wonder if I’d be able to race it in the first season I bought it. On the other hand, most of the rest of the team is in V10 Sports now, and I can just imagine what some of the more competitive (but who claim not to be competitive) types would think if I were to leap frog them and get a faster boat than them.

On the other hand, Mike thinks he’s got this all worked out. He owns a “blue stripe” V10 Sport. On Epic surf skis, there are are four different layups, each one more expensive and lighter than the last, each denoted by a different colour stripe on the cheat line. The “blue stripe” (Value) ones are the cheapest and heaviest. The “black stripe” (Performance) ones are about $500 more, and about 4 pounds lighter. The “red stripe” (Ultra) are $1000 more than Performance, and 8 pounds lighter than them. (Note the constant $125/pound ratio there.) And the mythical “black boat” (Elite) ones are another $1000 more than Ultra, and only 4 pounds lighter – so due to the drop off in price/performance, I’ve never seen one of these, and nobody is likely to see once not in the hands of pros. But anyway, Mike’s theory is this: next year, I should buy his “blue stripe” V10 Sport, and he’ll buy Steve’s “red stripe” V10 Sport. Then Steve will buy something even better, probably a V12 or V10 L. It’s a great theory, providing Steve cooperates by buying another boat and selling his V10 Sport for a price that Mike can afford. And that I actually want his “blue stripe” V10 Sport. But that might work – a year in a V10 Sport might be a good way to develop some core strength and balance before moving to a V10.