T13 Maiden Voyage

I took the T13A and myself on our maiden voyage today on Lake Ballinger.  I had never been in a kayak.  Geared up in the dry suit and could not resist taking a rod and a little gear (it all fit in the PFD).  The rod went in the rod pod so the only thing exposed on deck was a bottle of water.  In dry runs I had worked out the solo loading and unloading process onto the truck rack and carriers - 15 minutes from garage to pulling out.  The only sticky issue was building a shield for the stern skeg.  The bow has to go so high to get to the top of the truck rack that the cart wheels are not tall enough to prevent the stern from scraping on the ground.

Launched about noon, not much to it.  Straddled the thing and sat down.  I had watched an online tutorial and read about paddling and different strokes.  When you are getting it right it feels right.  You can feel the most efficient power transfer.  I've paddled canoes, so some of the concepts for manuvering are the same.  I am an active pilot so steering with my feet is second nature.  Planes and kayaks do respond differently to wind however.  A plane wants to weathervane INTO the wind.  A kayak wants to be broadside to the wind. 

After years of racquetball I am prone to elbow problems so proper paddling technique is going to be important.  I was solo so I didn't practice my remounts.  I'll save that for the first time I have a partner.  I paddled around and did some fishing to get the feel of fishing from the boat.  That was a new experience.  In any kind of a wind an anchor would be a big help.  It will be awhile until I tackle Puget Sound.  My choice of paddle was a good one and after some experimentation a 30 degree feather is perfect and I added 2 cm to the length.  One question on the paddle leash.  Where to attach to the boat?  I had it on the left carry handle and a few times I needed some leash management. 

The dry suit with a couple of layers of various poly with smart wool socks and booties kept me warm today   I will need a neoprene head cap.  In a chill wind my eardrums will ache.  It wasn't bad today, but a few more knots of wind and/or a few less degrees of warmth and I would have had a headache. 

The kayak is a stealthy boat.  Wildlife is not much concerned with it until you get very close.  What I could see of the bottom of Lake Ballinger is being choked with silt.  I saw nothing swimming under water - not a baitfish was seen in 3 hours of paddling. 

All and all it was a great first experience, plenty warm, felt comfortable in the boat, can sense proper technique, and happy with the boat choice.  Many things still left to work out and a lot of paddling experience to gain until proper technique becomes muscle memory.   

Glad you enjoyed yourself and had a good first outing.. I decided to do a re entry after i  purposely rolled off the kayak with good people around.... I have lots of What not to do's .. but i will share those other places..

Defently have one or 2 buddies out on the water when you try.

marilyn

 Good report,, it takes a few "touch and goes" to get the feel in a new rig. Enjoy

A couple of questions about paddles/paddling.  I found myself more comfortable adding 2 cm to my paddle length (232cm).  I am only 5'8".  Does this sound acceptable?  I can kind of understand why a shorter person might need a longer paddle.  Also the drip rings sure didn't keep the water out of the boat.  For the most part they did keep large quantities of water from running down the shaft, but the water just drips off the rings and into the boat.  Do either of these observations indicate technique deficiencies?

It depends.

Water dripping into the boat is not unusual. It will also encourage the wearing of appropriate gear.

What does your paddling technique look like? Are you being aggressive and using the paddle so that it is almost vertical? (That will take some upper body rotation.) If your paddle is more horizontal and in a relaxed position, it will be more comfortable for extended paddling periods, but less powerful. The lower angle will require a longer paddle, to be comfortable.

I just alter my technique to fit the situation.

I tried a lot of variations, from very aggressive to very passive.  With some aggression the boat can really get moving.  I now understand why not to use scupper plugs in both the seat and feet scuppers.  Each paddle blade brings in about a tablespoon of water per stroke.  Eventually you are sitting in water.  I CAN learn from experience! 

Took the yak out with a buddy yesterday on Lake Washington. Launched about 1PM from just south of I-90 on Mercer Island.  South winds were stiff, 10-15 kts. I practiced a couple of remounts while my buddy watched from his boat (Eskimo 17 - SIS). With the dry suit and the PFD I floated on my back like a cork. First remount was difficult, taking 3 attempts. I was afraid of flipping the boat.  The next couple were easier, accomplished on the first attempt.  Got a few tablespoons of water in the neck seal of the dry suit. Not bad. Just dampened the neck of the under fleece, and I didn't even notice it until undressing later. 

The wind made fishing and paddling a bitch. The rudder helped. We paddled into the wind, then drifted back while working the docks along the drift. No bites.  An anchor is obviously a necessity, so an anchor trolley will be my first project.  Expect more questions.

While drift fishing I became distracted and did not notice the line wrapping around a dock. My friend noticed it and watched as the rod, in the rod holder, bent, bent, and was just about doubled pulling the side of the kayak low. I leaned to the low side for some reason and found myself in the water. Instinctively I held onto the paddle, so the paddle leash kept me attached to the boat. Not an issue yesterday, but I can see that in swells and wind you could easily get separated from the boat.  Remounted first try.

Today I am a little sore. The paddling effort into the wind was considerable and extended. I am feeling more comfortable and knowing the dry suit and PFD perform well in the water, and that I can remount raises my comfort level. So, next time out I'll get more radical playing with the boat. I'll try standing and crawling around.  At some point, I'll flip the thing and practice righting it.

I am very happy with the Kokatat T3 Super Nova drysuit, and the Enviroskin union suit.  As I have mentioned, for me, staying warm is the key to sticking with the kayak.  My buddy was wearing shorts and tennis shoes inside his sea kayak with a fleece top and paddle jacket.  He didn't use a skirt.  When he saw me gearing up he warned me about "roasting in all that stuff".  It was perfect.  I could have used a thin poly layer tee-shirt under the fleece, but I was never cold.  If I had had to stay in the water for any length of time I probably would have chilled. 

Getting in the union suit through the neck is a little weird the first time.  I had put it on at home the night before, and I did get half into it with thin pants over it for the drive to my bud's house.  The neck of the union suit easily stretches enough to keep comfortably around my waist.  In cool weather it would be comfortable to have it completely on under street clothes, but yesterday was a little too warm.  I think I will pick up some REI heavy weight fleece tops and bottoms and see if logistically they work better for warmer weather.  TLW can easily put a velcro tab on the tops to keep them together and cut a relief slot for the bottoms to keep me relieved.

Things are still in an experimentation stage, but I'm now confident in my clothing, my remounts, and have a clear first "Drillin' and Cuttin'" project.  Actually, I have two clear D&C projects, the anchor trolley, and better securing for the Rod Pod hatch cover.  That sucker will leak badly if the boat is flipped.  The sliding tray is a nice feature, but it warps the seal and the cover seems too big by a half to an inch and the ends seal hardly at all. 

The only sticky issue was building a shield for the stern skeg.  The bow has to go so high to get to the top of the truck rack that the cart wheels are not tall enough to prevent the stern from scraping on the ground.

Planes and kayaks do respond differently to wind however.  A plane wants to weathervane INTO the wind.  A kayak wants to be broadside to the wind. 

Try using a towel or carboard or PFD or thermarest on the ground to protect the stern when loading.


Actually, the stern on kayaks wants to go down wind, making it seem as though the boat is turning into the wind...the bow is "locked in" place by the wake created by forward movement (high pressure) the stern is loose as it's dragged through the water disturbed by the rest of the boat (low pressure)....so the bow holds and the stern blows down wind. This is really what a rudder is for  (not stearing) and a skeg is for....to even the pressure between bow and stern to keep the boat from weathercocking. This can also be accomplished by edging the boat down into the wind if you have no rudder or skeg. Changing the tilt (edge)of the boat either makes the stern lock into place in a cross wind (eding into the wind) or letting it slide and allowing the boat to turn (edging out of the wind or turn). It is kind of like steering with the tail of a plane.

Your rudder probably gave the stern enough bite to keep it from blowing all the way down wind.

Try using a towel or cardboard or PFD or thermarest on the ground to protect the stern when loading. 

I built a little wooden shield for the skeg.  Piece of plywood about 6"x24".  Small block of wood on the underside hooks over the Scupper Pup Cart crosspiece.  On the tail end are a couple small blocks forming a 'V' into which the skeg sits.  A couple holes in the rear corners accept a bungee that holds the unit tight to the bottom.

Actually, the stern on kayaks wants to go down wind, making it seem as though the boat is turning into the wind...the bow is "locked in" place by the wake created by forward movement (high pressure) the stern is loose as it's dragged through the water disturbed by the rest of the boat (low pressure)....so the bow holds and the stern blows down wind. This is really what a rudder is for  (not stearing) and a skeg is for....to even the pressure between bow and stern to keep the boat from weathercocking. This can also be accomplished by edging the boat down into the wind if you have no rudder or skeg. Changing the tilt (edge)of the boat either makes the stern lock into place in a cross wind (eding into the wind) or letting it slide and allowing the boat to turn (edging out of the wind or turn). It is kind of like steering with the tail of a plane.

Your rudder probably gave the stern enough bite to keep it from blowing all the way down wind.

So you are saying without a rudder a kayak behaves just a plane - the stern/tail wants to point downwind and the bow/nose wants to point into the relative wind?  If the rudderless stern wants to go downwind, a rudderless kayak would tend to stabilize pointing directly into the wind.  Thanks, I'm going to try it. 

Yup. You got it.

Try this: Tilt the left side of the kayak down by shifting the weight onto your left cheek. If you do this when you have have forward momentum, the boat will turn to the right. Shift the weight down on the right cheek and sweep the blade on the right from bow to stern, making a wide arch from end to end, and the boat will turn to the left. It's all about efficiency & making the boat work for you.

The stern is the rudder, and you turn the kayak "rudder" by adjusting trim either left or right. Keep your torso over the boat so you don't dump it.

If you combine it with a few well placed strokes, you can turn a long boat much more effectively than when not edging.

That is the difference between paddling and kayaking. Learning how to drive the boat effectively. Sit on Tops are at the low end of performance, so this stuff is less responsive, but still effective in those types of yak. Some composite sea kayaks can be extremely responsive, but they're not especially convenient for fishing like a sit on top.

Give it a whirl, it's fun!