TT Kayaking Club

“buy a guide and start planning!

http://www.waterwayguide.com/inside_p.html”

“Not for the whole darn thing but maybe for the great lakes portion. Holler at us when you get geared up to start your trip.”

“Then I 'm planning to do the entire length of the Intercoastal Waterway...
last edited: 6/09/06 7:34:14 AM”
SuperTroll
7:32:52 AM

I figured you would do the whole TN/TOM waterway first, from TN to Mobile.”

“but I gotta do the Tennessee River to the Mississippi First...I'm Section Kayaking that route....”

“Taking the kayak out tomorrow! Rented two more for the kids, and my friend rented a couple for her and her daughter. Heading down the Bearskin Creek, which runs under the Bearskin bike trail I ride frequently (hard not too when it's across the street from your house...). The Bearskin empties into the Tomahawk River if anyones' familiar with the area up here in Northern WI. The storms have gone thru; so it should be a beautiful day tomorrow.”

“I spent a couple of quiet hours on the water as a Father's Day gift to myself. Very nice. The kayaks get a lot more use than the hiking boots when its summer in Texas.”

“I am pulling together stuff for a field repair kit for my Kayak. Outfitting the boat turned out to be about as expensive as the boat itself. Not that I thought otherwise... I guess to offer a hiking analogy it's like assuming the cost of hiking is the cost of your boots alone and not that of outfitting the hiker... ;)

Anyway, most of this this stuff I have at home or in the garage but I'll be going to Menards to pick up a few items. I thought I would run my list past the people here to see if I have missed anything. I may have to knock this down a bit:

Bailing Wire
Cable Ties
Cord
Cotter Pins
Ding Putty
Duct Tape
Epoxy
Extra Headlamp w/ Batteries
Hand Towel
Leatherman Multi-Tool
Lighter
Nails
Nuts and Bolts
Pliers
Replacement Bolts
Safety Pins
Sandpaper
Scissors
Screwdrivers
Silicone
Small Hammer
Small Vise Grip
Spare Plastic Bags
Tarp
”

“Ding Putty?
Nails?
Epoxy?
Sandpaper?
Silicon?
Hammer?

What kind of kayak do you have?”

“fiberglass

just general purpose useful stuff”

“Ahhhh! ;)”

“hehe, and I did say Small Hammer... ;)”

“I don't carry any sort of repair stuff. It's hard to break plastic though. I do carry a first aid kit.”

“A few times a summer I load up the yak and head for the big city of Whitmore Lake Michigan to spend the weekend paddling down the Heron River with my favorite uncle. We fish, we bullsh*t, we watch the bikinis. This month I was due to make my first trip up for one of our weekends but was stopped cold by the realization that I have no way to haul my yak! The wife and I both bought brand new cars with no racks! Because they are brand new ’07 models I don’t think they make racks for them yet either.

Any ideas as to how to haul my yak? The foam blocks aren’t an option either as I don’t want the foam rubbing my paint job.”

“what do you want the foam rubbing”

“http://www.thule.co.uk/appguide/yourDetails.asp?car_model=Yaris%205-d%2099-&rfoot=750&rbar=761&rABar=861&rkit=rkit&rLock=544&rSRA=&tFoot=&tBar=&tKit=&tSRA=&tSP=&tLocks= good for 99 and newer”

“Thule has a number of good rack systems. Their Hullavator is the bomb. It uses gas struts to lift the boat up to the top of your car or tuck... works too. You carry the boat on it's side and set it in the cradle. Then you pull these handles in and the struts lift the boat onto the top of the car where it locks down. It makes it trivial to load/unload the boat by myself.

It was very expensive but I am worth it. ;)”

“Got my repair kit together minus the tarp. It all fits inside a "cheap-o" nalgene-ish bottle with the duct tape wrapped around the outside of it. I'll prolly pack a tarp as part of my standard camping gear anyway so I decided to omit it from the repair kit. I only had to spend $21 at Menards for stuff I did not have.

I bought a fairly inexpensive paddle as a spare for my boat the other day. REI outlet has many different paddles on closeout. I forgot which one I bought but it was less expensive than the ones that are there now.”

“I think the extra paddle is a good idea, although I've never had to use mine.”

“went kayaking last night with friends. KarenT wanted to see if her new dog Bosco would enjoy kayaking, so we took the yaks to a nearby pond. Bosco, KarenT and another friend of ours got in the tandem and we paddled for a bit, let the dog on shore for a bit, then paddled back.
I think we have a new kayaking buddy!”

“Cool! I sure wish my kayaking buddy would get off his work shift from hell. Think I'm going to be going solo if I can get the boat on the car by myself (without wrecking the paint job).”

“For an extra paddle I got this CHEAPO paddle on E-bay. For Fiberglass I carry 200mph tape and an epoxy patch kit.”

“Sass, you can do it!
I've always put mine up solo - 2 or 3 of them - course, I don't worry about the paint job, and I did take out the back window last year...LOL...
today I have KarenT's footprints on my windshield. %]”

“WTF is 200mph tape?”

“Actually it's a bit different JimmySan. It was originally made for the US Army. My Dad used to tape up bullet holes in his rotors in vietnam w/it. It cost more, is stickier and is od green. I can never find it because Birch hides it from and acts like it's pure gold. Same type of thing as duct tape but just better.”

“BETTER THAN DUCK TAPE?!?! SACRILIGE!!! BLASPHEMER!!!”

“Nope, it's true....except it's called 100mph tape.”

“Jimmy, I don't carry any of that stuff ('cept duct tape). I think yer just gear queer.”

“I prefer the term "gear whore", thank you. It avoids triggering of my homophobia.”

“JS, did you ever go by the name Gear Slut?”

“I miss Gear Slut.

Hey Ewk, I was looking for you last night.”

“sorry I missed ya. You could have called :)”

“nope, not one of my trolls. all my other trolls were smashed by matt/sarge within moments of their first few posts. the last one got me banned for a little while.”

“At NASA they call it "Save our BUTT Tape"

heres a kicker....how did the ROLL of Duct Tape end up on Apollo 13?
last edited: 6/29/06 8:18:42 AM”

“JS, so your sarge troll has been smashed”

“you know it!”

“Nashua makes the best 100mph tape. It'll keep you bound and gagged for hours, cant vouch for shurtape who makes the tan color. Individuals results may vary.”

“you use it on all your stalkings, eh?”

“you cant be too safe these days jimmysan”

“Got out yesterday and today. =D

Yesterday we found that the water plants are all blooming right now. We were treated to two types of water lilies and plenty of pickerel weed, some water-shield flowers and floating bladderwort. I'd never seen the latter two before.
We paddled a little lake that links to another little lake. They're both surrounded by state land and very quiet. Great bird activity and the flowers were gorgeous.

Today we went to do a section of the Huron River we'd never been on. We paddled and walked (through the rapids we couldn't quite paddle through)upstream about 3.3 miles. It took us about 2 1/2 hours. We flew back downstream, over three sets of small, but very fun, rapids. The sun was intense today and the river was pretty quick. We've had a lot of rain lately. The upstream paddle was much effort at times, but so gratifying. Found another great canoe in only camp.
last edited: 7/04/06 10:22:33 PM”

“Awesome pics... Isn't amazing the things you can see from a kayak?”

“Thanks for sharing!!!.......looks like a GREAT time!!!”

“nice pcitures! I love kayaking...”

“Hehe, funny story this weekend related to me and my kayak.

I started out for a paddle and was strapping down some gear once on the water... basically not paying attention doing things I should have done before I put the boat in the water. I got whomped full-on the side by a wave and lost my balance... stupid but then again I am a newbie.

Anyhoo, I was proud of myself because I stayed calm in in the boat. I leaned up and hugged the boat just for kicks and then tilted the boat sideways and flipped myself back up. It actually worked... but then I flipped over on the other side. On the second attempt I couldn't get the boat back up and finally exited the boat with only a bruised ego and a few scrapes... that is to say I wasn't that far from shore yet fortunately nobody saw this disastrous route.

Anyhow! I got ready to get back into the boat when I see that my VHF radio is missing... the brand new one I bought because it seemed like a good idea to have one while paddling miles out onto the lake. I was more than a little pissed because it was both cool and expensive. The thing is "submersible" but I think only for about 30 minutes... so the clock was ticking.

I tied off the boat and dug out a mask and snorkel from my boathouse. The water was too cloudy to see through but the mask and snorkel easier to feel around the bottom for the radio. I almost gave up after about 45 minutes but I gave it one more shot and on my second dive I found it! The thing still worked. It must have been submerged for almost an hour.

When I got inside I made a float for it and attached it to the lanyard. I then went back into the lake and tested it out.

By this time I was kind of tired so I scrapped the paddle. Also, my hands had been cut up a bit by the zebra mussels on the lake bottom. I stowed the boat and gear and went running.

It was a fun 4th weekend. I got out on the lake twice. Unlike most of you, however, I don't have any good pictures because it's all water and horizon. Pretty boring scenery. If I had taken a camera no doubt it would have gone to the bottom as well. I apparently don't do well with expensive electronics in a boat.

I wanted to paddle to see fireworks on the 4th but then remembered what the mad panic on the lake would be like as the drunken motor boat people scurried from the fireworks site back to their cottages and decided it would be best to stick to the land for the event.”

“Hey Jimmy san, where did you spend the 4th? Sounds like Minocqua with the drunken boaters on the lake watching the fireworks! Must be all lakes are like that huh? ; ) I got caught in a strainer last year in my kayak and there went my digital camera to the bottom! It did not survive...from now on I only carry those disposable, waterproof camera in my kayak.”

“At my house on Lake Winnebago. So far that's the only place I have taken my boat.”

“Graska, the camera Birch took those shots with is a digital Pentax Optio w10. It's waterproof. You can take pictures under water with it. Wasn't too terribly expensive. My only complaint is it only has a digital zoom. I imagine that's to keep it waterproof.”

“ah, thanks for the info Sassafras, it would be helpful to get a waterproof digital. I still haven't had my pictures from my last trip developed yet! That's why I love digital.”