Still another, Trident 13 first trip

Finally was able to get out with my new Trident 13 today. My goal was to test things out on some flat still water, not a swift moving river. I quickly threw things together, and had already set up my rack system yesterday. I was out the door in a few minutes headed up to North Fork reservoir jest east of Estacada. Jest as I was about to roll through Estacada I realized that I had remembered everything except my PFD. I wasn't about to go all the way home, so I stopped into the second hand store. The owner had jest recently sold out of several life jackets to other people stopping in for the same reason I was. A quick stop to the hardware store, and I was on my way again with a cheap PFD which cost about the same cost as the fuel & time I would have burned going home #*%<~!!!. To my surprise I found the gates closed at both the small park, and the marina on the reservoir. Signs read that the gates will not open this year till May 25th. Some locals and a couple with two new kayaks were equally surprised. The boat ramp is about 1/8 mile down hill, on the paved parking lot, from the gate. Neither the couple with their new yaks or I were going to be denied. They walked down the road one holding two front handles, the other holding the two rear. Being solo I found it difficult to carry the boat like a suitcase, so I did something I remembered from a 70's record cover, it looked something like this...

Oops, meant to finish before posting. Here I go...

Once in the lake everything went much smother, and was very relaxing. I was very happy with the tracking, speed, stability, and features on the T-13. I paddled around the lake for a while, and saw some waterfalls, wildlife, and chatted on the water with the couple. Everything was worth the effort.



Conclusions...
1. Checklists (That darn PFD)  are a good thing. I have one for motorcycle touring & Flyfishing. Will now make one for kayak fishing.

2. A kayak cart is worth every penny spent on one. I'm buying one this week.

3. My white water paddle is not a good fit for the new sit on top, need a longer paddle.

4. The T-13 is super stable, and I'm going to love this thing.

5. The beer is going to taste really good tonight.

6. The next trip out will be a fishing trip.

This was an excellent trip and learning experience.

Mean Joe
PDX, OR

I'm open to suggestions for a good paddle suitable for ocean use as well.

Thanks for posting and looks like it was a learning experience. Good times!

I'm open to suggestions for a good paddle suitable for ocean use as well.

My personal fav. the Werner Camano. Local company, well built low angle paddle, lightweight, awesome adjustable ferrule.

Lest this turn into another J incident, yes, I do paddle and the Hobie Adventure paddles very well. 

Z

If you're on a budget, the AquaBound Manta isn't too shabby either at just over $100.

Agreed. A step up in durability over the aquabound but below the camano would be the werner skagit. probably need at least 230cm for your SOT.

I use a Werner Skagit and I love it. It has seen plenty of time in the salt. It's durable, inexpensive and pretty light. I think the next paddle I buy when I can set aside the dough for it would be something with a neutral bent shaft to make longer paddles easier on the wrists.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I ended up acquiring a Bending branches Slice Plus. The length and paddle angle are both adjustable, so I'm going to use this paddle for a while. It has proved to be a huge improvement over my old whitewater paddle. I've used it a couple times on lakes and rivers. Looking forward to getting out in big blue sometime in the near future.