Paddling Here and There - 2014

So, in early spring I dusted off my Night Heron  on a sunny day to "break the ice" at Moraine State Park. In fact, the aforementioned ice had just receded from the main part of the lake and the exposed water was in the low 40's.

With my dry suit and plenty of layers underneath I felt adequately protected and even ventured a few rolls to get an idea what Greenlanders and the Inuit might experience.

Brrrrr! Though my body was comfortably warm, my face and head got shockingly chilled despite that nice Kokatat cap. This is where my new tuilik will be great because it provides total head protection enabling you to wear additional layers around the head.

Ahh! The crisp air in the nascent promise of spring as migrant cormorants rest up in leafless trees on their annual trip up north ...and an entire season of paddling and sailing to look forward to ...a fine feeling, indeed.

Many kayaks to try out at the OkoumeFest

In May I attended once again the CLC sponsored OkoumeFest. This was my fourth fest. I love visiting Annapolis and coming to the Chesapeake - anywhere - anytime - anyhow. I have chartered sailboats and  - way back when - brought my own SJ21 for a memorable solo-cruise.

The fact that CLC is based in Annapolis makes the OkoumeFest an opportunity to see what's new in the small boat building world and hook up with friends plus do some paddling on the Chesapeake and its tributaries - a "no-brainer".

My friend Dan Thaler and I had coordinated our travel plans and met up to paddle the Severn River into Annapolis Harbor and out into the Bay.  It was a beautiful yet boisterous afternoon with 15-20 knots of wind. In the previous year those conditions might have intimidate me. Not so this time. Progress noted!

The next morning I headed to one of the finest tributaries of the Chesapeake, the Mattaponi Creek. I had read about this one in a wonderful publication called "Sea Kayaking - Maryland's Chesapeake Bay"

Launching on the Patuxent River (accessed from the Patuxent River Park) on an outgoing tide I first paddled across the river and explored near-by House Creek.

Then I headed a bit downriver and entered the Mattaponi Creek for a couple of hours. Sights and sounds, plants, birds and streams all blended into this magnificent melange of natural splendor. Jaw-dropping!

I'll be back there again. The charm of this tributary will invariably show its many facets throughout the seasons.

Dan Thaler paddling in a nice chop with Bay Bridge afar

In June I headed up to Pymatuning (a sizeable lake straddling the Ohio / Pennsylvania border) to join the Outcast Paddlers for their annual safety weekend.

It was my second time attending this event and I was looking forward to practicing rolls, cowboy reentry and most importantly the heel-hook reentry. I had just seen this youTube video during the winter and was convinced by its elegant efficiency. Yes, it was easy. An effective way to re-enter the cockpit!

Outcastpaddlers checking out safety gear

The circumnavigation of Presque Isle (in Lake Erie) has become another annual event for this wonderful group of sea kayakers. The June weather could not have been more perfect. The group did another circumnavigation but I was unable to attend. It is a great work-out and certainly, Presque Isle presents an exquisite setting for outdoor fun.



Though I aim to expand my paddling venues, for practical purposes Moraine State Park and The Three Rivers of Pittsburgh are my home turf... and I don't seem to tire of paddling either venue.

Early Morning Outing at Moraine State Park

 

Tucking into a little nook on Lake Arthur

Needless to say, it is a special treat when Iris comes along for an outing in her Shearwater Sport which along with the Night Heron make a lovely pair of  'yaks.

Shearwater Sport and Night Heron at Watts Bay: ready to go for an outing

As I have been practicing my lay-back rolls throughout the season I have noticed a marked improvement. My confidence level has gone up and I am now comfortable to do it just about anywhere. Progress noted!

For readers who did not read the previous blog entry: I finally finished by Petrel build in late August. Since then I have paddled the Night Heron only once... not because I like it any less... but the Petrel fits me like a glove and the type of paddling it requires  is what I've been aiming for.

The Night Heron is a straight shooter - fast, slick, elegant and awesome. It slices through the water like a sword. The Petrel has more rocker and a noticeably fuller bow entry and stern exit - so it dances on the waves with superb agility. Probably not as fast on flat water but it'll surf in big waves with ease. With its lower back cockpit and lower deck, it rolls like a dream.

Finally, toward the end of this season I was able to check off a must-do event: Paddling with Tom Nickels of RiverWind Kayak in breaking surf. In early November, this event took place on Tybee Island (near Savannah, GA) which at 700 miles distance was not exactly convenient - but I was determined.

As I was hoping and expecting: Tom challenged me - that's for sure! The strong currents of the outgoing tide created conditions entirely new to me. Having a three to four  foot wall of seething froth coming at you sideways was most certainly a new experience. Luckily, Day 1 offered somewhat milder conditions in which I learned how to surf. Day 2 was quite a bit more boisterous and I am glad for it. Toward the end of the day Tom taught a couple of (new to me) paddle strokes which will upgrade my quiver of strokes.

First efforts at surfing

My boat building guru and friend Joey Schott (also an ACA L3 instructor) and new friend Chris Naff (ACA L4 instructor) were both at the Tybee Island event and they, together with Tom Nickels, provided the kind of paddling environment where it felt safe to stick out my nose to challenging conditions...

Joey providing assistance as I climbed back into the cockpit

...and risk a spill or two.

(Note to anyone interested in and new to this type of paddling: Bring a helmet to protect your noggin)

A big Thank You to them... and progress noted!

Winter seems to have arrived in Western PA prematurely. Next week we are expecting highs in the upper 20's. That's about 25 degrees below average.

Just glad we are not in Buffalo where 5-8 feet of snow have brought life to a still-stand. I am still hoping for a rebounding of the temps before Winter arrives officially.

My tuilik and Petrel were standing ready for action!

Then on Nov 23 a window of opportunity opened. Once I got to Moraine State Park I knew it would be a wonderful outing.  The water temperature had already dropped to 35 F and there was ice all around the edges but the air temp was a balmy 50's - quite a change from the previous week of  10's and 20's.

Once I got on the lake I found that in some areas protected from the wind there were larger patches of ice floats which started to come together.

It was a magnificent outing highlighted by 6 Trumpeter Swans flying close overhead and two Bald Eagles perched in the magnificent oak tree on the North Shore.

Coots, Buffle Heads, Red Heads, Ruddy Ducks, and Horned Grebes as well as some Hooded Mergansers supplied a busy backdrop to a sublime scene.


A clear sign that the season is coming to the end is when the water is getting crunchy...

...and with this realization I happily packed up my paddle gear
and declared 2014 kayaking a success.

Petrel Progress (4) - finally completed

Yep - I'm ready to launch the Petrel - finally!  

Slight correction: I HAVE in fact launched my Petrel!

And as you may already have noticed, this build turned out to be a lot more than my previous "winter projects".

It was not only that a strip-plank build simply takes a bit longer than a hybrid.

The stems, the skeg and the cockpit coaming all took extra time. Mostly though there were a number of interruptions and distractions which got me "out of the boat-building rhythm" - the flow - if you will.

So, once I had stopped, it took a while to get back into the groove.

The layers of varnish actually went on quite nicely and without much disruptions. However one of the hang-ups came when I needed to decide on the exact location of the rigging points. This had to happen prior to the varnishing. 

I used the drill-fill-drill method (drill a somewhat larger hole, fill with epoxy and then drill the smaller hole to fit the screw for the fitting). The drill-fill came before the varnishing, and the second drill happened after the varnish had cured sufficiently. 

I put the Petrel on the roof rack of my car before installing the fittings. In fact, becoming rather impatient to give the boat a test-drive, I launched the boat before installing the deck fittings. I did not glue in the seat and knee braces either until having tested in the water for the best location...

 

This is the skeg control box - located on the port side - in easy reach from the cockpit. Below is the skeg in deployed position.

For the deck fittings I happily resorted to using the default method recommended by Nick Schade and so beautifully executed by Dan Thaler from Moonlight Marine on so many of his builds. 

The advantage of this method is that it is straight forward, requires only very small holes and makes for easy maintenance anytime you want to refinish the boat. 

Initially, I was playing around with the idea of maroske fittings which my FB friend Etienne Muller demonstrated so beautifully and which my kayak guru / friend Joey employed on his Wooden Boat Show best-in-show award-winning Petrel. Alas I did not get to the point of sufficient confidence with this method and Nick Schade's concept became increasingly convincing. 

After an initial launch without deck fittings at Moraine State Park, I took the Petrel for a ride on the Ohio and Allegheny past downtown Pittsburgh.

The Petrel paddles like a dream.  

I don't think that I'll be using the skeg all that much. 

I am amazed at the difference of how the Petrel handles in comparison to the Night Heron. Certainly you cannot say that one is a better design than the other. They were designed for entirely different purposes. The Night Heron slices through waves like a samurai sword and with its long chines it tracks like a rocket. The Petrel on the other hand rides over the top of the waves, is amazingly nimble for its length and rolls with supreme ease. 

Maneuvering the Petrel by canting the hull is so different from the Night Heron. I love it. On the Petrel is pays to lean forward when you want to harness its chine for an easy turn. Not so on the Night Heron. 

After two intensive seasons with the Night Heron,  I suspect that the Petrel will be my "go-to" boat for quite some time in order to really get to know this amazing design. 

Lucky me! Now I have one of each. 

Petrel - Progress Report 3

It seems as though time has been running through my fingers like water... without all that much Petrel building progress to show for it. Sure, I've had some excuses and interruptions but in any case, this is my first boat building project that is proving to be more than a simple "winter project".

Before the otherwise finished hull and deck could be joined, there were a number of details which were much easier to take care of while the two halves were still apart.

Without a doubt these tasks took me a lot longer than would be required for someone already familiar with the procedures.

First there was the cockpit riser...

Then the cockpit coaming...

 Oh yeah, and then the matter of cutting the hatches and then creating a spacer and sill.

While not essential, the Petrel works well with a retractable skeg. Aside from the skeg itself you have to build the skeg box into which the skeg can retract.

The control of the skeg is relayed via a cable to the recessed control box which is installed in easy reach from the cockpit.

Finally it was time to bring hull and deck together. This proved to be a rather arduous task since the hull had become quite a bit wider during the interim separation from the forms.Simply taping top and bottom together as called for and then installing the fiber glass tape along the inner sheer was a lot easier said than done.

Eventually the task was accomplished with a generous helping of expletives and various forms of libation and of course the eventual use of the aforementioned fiber glass tape along the inner seam.

The next step was another task previously unfamiliar to me... the installation of the outer bow and stern stems.   

The outer stems will still need to be covered by several layers of fiber glass. Similarly, the outer seam will be glassed for protection and strength. Then - finally - I can start the business of varnishing and then rigging the boat.

I can't wait when I can pick up my Petrel the way I pickup my friend Dan Thaler's immaculate Petrel... what a ride!!!

Petrel - Progress Report 2

Hull First

So, as promised here is an update on my first all-strip build: Nick Schade's incomparable Petrel.

I'll try to steer clear of boring you with a blow-by-blow account of my "lessons learned".

For the most part the pictures tell the tale.

The hull comes first...

Rolling Bevel on the Lighter Chine Strip

Rest assured though that a strip-built kayak is a lot more involved than the two hybrid builds I had done previously. Anyway, I was ready for a new challenge and indeed, that is what I got with the Petrel.

Trust me, I have already fathered a fine flock of Petrel bloopers all hatched in an array of (shall we say) somewhat unprofessional discourse.

But that's how it goes: you make mistakes and say to yourself: On my next build I won't do THAT again!  - Right!

So - there will have to be a next build.

Each time you make a mistake you have to ask yourself if it can be corrected, and/or if it is worth correcting or possibly be made into a "feature" or instead chalking it up to experience, and just moving ahead already...

ah, such decisions!

This hull won't float just yet

 

Ready for a Whiskey Plank

Hull is ready for Fiber Glass

Glass still "Green"

Glass on hull cleaned up - would now float

 Oh well, no worries there!

In paddling as much as in the kayak building department I am still very much a learner - albeit an enthusiastic and persistent one - and I fully expect that the Petrel will be a great kayak to help upgrade my paddling skills - regardless to final finish.







And on to the deck...

Give me the cockpit recess, please

Covering cockpit recess with carbon fiber

Now the tricky part: fit in the recess

Inching myself to a fit

Recess all glued in

Giving the deck a rest - preparing the skeg

Deck ready for glass

Glassed over

Coming up:

Cockpit riser and coaming and hatches!
Then comes the skeg installation.
Also, I much prefer to put in the foot braces before putting deck and hull together.

Preparations for the eventual deck rigging.
I still have to consult with my expert friends a bit more before I decide what type of rigging I'll do. Right now I am thinking to go with the standard CLC solution. Nick Schade recently made some persuasive comments on this subject on the Kayak Forum. Maroske fittings would be great and I already purchased fiber glass tubing as well as carbon fiber tubing to do the job but... I have played around making a couple of test maroske fittings on some glassed mock-up cedar scrap pieces and so far I am not happy with my efforts. My new expert kayak-building friend Etienne made this look oh so deceptively easy in his little video.

Sometimes I wonder just how many guitars a talented novice luthier has to build before he or she actually ends up with a concert-level master piece? One that a top-drawer performer would choose to play on... just saying...