Kayak gear help

“Thanks for fixing my links, girlie! You're the bestest.”

“Okay, tara and sass, if the wind is up, I'll race ya in my sailboat. Then I'll start another gear race, lol.

Boats, like boots and backpacks, seem to multiply.”

“Check out this month's edition of "Sea Kayaker" magazine. There's a neat article about a race around the tip of the southern #&%!$ula in Michigan (I emailed tarabull about it a few weeks ago). Kayaks and sailboats competed as equals in the race, sounds like you guys are going to recreate that article. :-)”

“Holy crap, it wiped out p e n i s when I tried to spell p e n i sula! That was funny!”

“Pekka, are we allowed to rig sails on our boats too?


Artex, Tbull told me about that article and was supposed to share it. I think I might need to nag a bit.”

“Sails on the kayaks? Gee whiz, I can't paddle my sailboat if the wind dies! I'm going to have to see this article to find out how the two boats were handicapped to make it a fair race.

Length-wise, at 14.2 feet, my little Capri daysailer should be about the range of your kayaks, but my boat's beam is a bit more, and it weighs something like 320 lbs. On the other hand, it can come up on plane if the wind is really up (and I learn to sail it right). Of course, the kayak sails I've seen on the market are only for downwind use, whereas I can tack to windward (though not go straightline like a kayak with a determined paddler).”

“I don't think we'll be able to aford a sail for them this year anyways, lol.

Hey pekka, tell Birch how much we're going to need a wetsuit for spring and fall paddles! He doesn't believe me. (But I suspect he'll find out this Saturday, teeheehee) Nothing like sitting in ice water, brrrr!

BTW, did you see the Islandpalooza trip on the trips page? Come and have fun with us Pekka!”

“Well, Birch, if not a wetsuit, a very good spray skirt and drytop or semi-dry top. For really cold water conditions and the "shelf" seasons, I'd imagine some good waterproof paddling pants will suit the interior of your cockpit, with fleece underneath.

The nice thing about moving to a small sailboat from canoes and kayaks is that some of our gear, such as the wetsuits, neoprene socks, and semi-drytops will shift over to cool days sailing an open cockpit centerboarder.

If you want to see all about the sailboat I've got, go to www.Capri14.org -- it's the website of the national association and includes drawings and photos of the boat. BTW, we finally named our sailboat "Ice Out" since we can't sail it in the north until that annual event happens!”

“"I'm going to have to see this article to find out how the two boats were handicapped to make it a fair race." - pekka

Pekka - brief synopsis of the article Artex references...

300 miles along the coast from Manistee to Tawas. "Any vessel that isn't engine-driven and can be landed and launched by hand is allowed." That included several single kayakers, one tadem kayak, a inflatable sailing/rowing catamaran, an outrigger-and-sail adorned Kruger canoe and two racing single kayaks rigged as a catamaran. The winners, the tandem kayakers, finished the 316 miles in four days, 12 hours and four minutes.

Artex - I forgot to tell you that I did read that article and it was very neat. They're some hard-core paddlers. I'd love to do that same trip at a much more leisurely pace. BTW, we call it the "lower" peninsula. :-)

Sass - I only told you about the article two days ago. Give me a break... jackass. lol”

“JACK@SS?! lmao. That's my pet name for YOU, not your's for me.

Did you see what Pekka said?! He said wetsuits. HA! Who's the jackass now, jackass? ;)”

“Alright, you two, go to your corners and don't come back out until the bell rings for the next round!

An closed-cell seat pad will also be a nice thing on cold water (and for long sessions of sitting). Easy to get a chill even on sunny days if you have a constant drain of body temp through the seat or your legs in contact with the hull, or from being wet. So a neoprene "farmer john" style wetsuit can help with both those situations.

However, they can also be a pain for long paddling sessions, and when you have to pee. I think most sea kayakers, as opposed to whitewater folks, look at "dry" style paddling wear over fleece.

I see that no pure sailing craft were involved in that 300-mile jaunt. Were there shore check points/mandatory rest stops or was it a marathon straight paddle?

That distance would be a challenge for a little boat like mine even if I was a competent sailor (which I will admit I am definitely not at this point). I have wondered if I could coastal camp with my boat in a region of predictable wind patterns, though. Ice Out does meet the criteria set by the organizers.

However, the big boys make the run from Chicago to Mackinac in maybe a day and a half of non-stop sailing. Last year the fleet ran into a storm near the top of Lake Michigan that added a bit of drama to the race.”

“Sass - Pekka put us in timeout. lol :-P

Pekka - Yes, three checkpoints. No mandatory rest stops. On a couple occasions, the author paddled into the weeeeee hours of the night. They could stop anywhere for anything... town for food, peoples homes for sleep, whatever. (It's April's issue of Sea Kayaker)”

“lmao, my time out time is up! One minute for every year of age, you know.


Thank you Pekka.”

“Well, it was more a boxing reference, but if it worked, it worked, lol!

Though, that's sorta how I think of time out for kids -- it's just an enforced rest and recovery period between rounds, for both kid and parents. Too bad kids recover faster.

On the wetsuit topic, I remember going to a whitewater race at Piers Gorge on the Menominee River a couple decades ago where someone was selling T-shirts depicting a chorus line of paddling beauties in their wetsuits with spray skirts around their waists like tutus. The slogan underneath was something to do with "neoprene queens" or the like. Sass, just tell Birch that cavorting in a tight rubber suit while holding a big paddle is a big turn-on.”

“lol, I will. I think he's so tired of me finding more gear we need he won't buy it, but I'll try. The best thing is going to be getting out soon, and freezing our patoots off. Nothing like being very uncomfortable to inspire an upgrade.”

“BTW Sass, thanks for the notice of the Islandpalooza trip. However, that is the weekend at the end of the semester here, and while you guys have fun on that party isle, I'll be grading student papers.”