Kayak!

12/3/10

I just got a kayak. It’s a sit-on-top, 13’ long, relatively skinny, but stable enough for my bulky bod.  I ordered it with a rudder kit installed, which makes a big difference in paddling; no double strokes on one side to keep on a straight line…just adjust by feet and “stay the course” (as Bush Sr. used to say). It has a really comfy seat with a tall back to help support my back on long paddles.

I had sample kayak racks that I absconded from my old job at West Marine and it’s being used to hold the kayak in place, outside of the stanchions towards the stern.  If I decide to go offshore, I would probably have to tie the kayak forward of the shrouds on the deck, but, for now, this configuration gets the kayak out of the way and it’s easier to get it on and off. 

I went for a paddle with it yesterday around the harbor and to Bear Island, a small island with cute houses along the rocks facing the town of Friday Harbor.  I didn’t see any bears, but there were cute houses, along with a cute seal that was playing around nearby.  The weather has warmed up to a fairly tropical high of 44 degrees, with low in the middle to lower 30’s.  With these temperatures in mind, along with future paddles up in Alaska way, I decided to get a dry suit (not the divers kind, which costs thousands of dollars, but a kayak drysuit).  Like wetsuits, it’s hard to get off, but hopefully I’ll get used to it.

Bear island

What I especially like about having a kayak, as well as my stand-up paddleboard, is that it will make going to a beach from the boat very easy.  I have a great inflatable dinghy with an aluminum hull and a 10 hp engine.  It really gets up and goes.  The problem is, as a single-handed sailor, it makes landing on beaches hard, especially with the large tides, as the boat weighs more than I can handle, without gouging the bottom. It’s almost impossible landing on rocky shores. Using a kayak is 1) easier on the ecology, 2) lighter to bring up the beach, 3) and is almost indestructible with it’s polyethylene skin.  Plus, it’s good exercise to paddle back and forth.

 

I finally got my “outside door” completed and installed today.  This is to combat against subfreezing temperatures and wind that I experienced a couple of weeks ago.  The canvas guy here was very clever in designing it.  Hopefully this will work when the next one comes storming along (which everyone says will happen soon).  I wonder if this is the first NE400 that’s had this done.

Not a Boston Whaler, but check out the camo outfits - real Fish hunters!

Today is the start of a salmon derby, similar to the one that happens at Santa Cruz (if the salmon season would actually open there).  The difference is that the Washington State season starts much earlier.  There are about 60 boats that have come into the harbor with lots of guys dressed up in camouflage jackets, really expensive 20-40’ powerboats with lots of downriggers (contraptions that allow the trolling lure to go really deep, where the salmon are). There was even a 35’ Boston Whaler with a trio of 250hp engines on the back and LED underwater lights to make it look jazzy at night.  It had to be at least a $400K boat.  I like Dave Ungerecht's (my old boss from West Marine) idea of fishing on nothing fancier than a kayak.

This weekend promises to be busy, so I think I’m going to leave tonight and cross the channel to anchor at Park Cove, a quiet place with lots of places to paddle.  A great place to read, listen to music and cook up some sort of soup.