TT Kayaking Club

“Sounds like fun : )”

“This thread made me want some kraut & brats for supper, so I went to the store and got some.
They are cooking now and the house smells wonderfull. Yum!”

“Think I'll have a couple of Amber Abita Beers while I wait. Double Yum!”

“Damn, I might have to do the same when I go food shopping on Monday. That's some good, hearty food.”

“We are in Metterich Germany. We came into the Frankfurt Airport, about 1 1/2 hours away.

Yesterday we went to Trier, a very nice village. Saw the Porta Nigra, the Roman Baths, many of the of old statury in the museum, and the mosaic tile work on display. The detail is incredible. We visited a couple of old churches, a catholic and a gothic. Saw the gargoyles and once again, the detail is something else. Pipe organs, huge columns. Awe inspiring.

The German food is just awesome. Meals are generally a 2 hour thing around here. Very relaxed. I am shameless. I order the schnitzel and share a taste with everyone, which, of course, entitles me to a taste of everything they are eating!!! And then there are the french fries, they are every bit as popular over here as back stateside.

Today, we head to Garmish, for 2 days of skiing, then to that real famous castle that I don't know how to spell or say. Sounds like New Shwan stein.

There is a deer farm, right around the corner, and I got to pet one, and horses too! Go outside, and it smells like a farm!

Well gotta get ready to go!!!!”

“Nice! Have a safe rest-of-your-trip!

BTW, how close is Sanford and Springvale, ME to where you guys live in NH?”

“We spent the last three days at Crystal River kayaking with the manatees. 75-78 degrees, sunny skies, 72 degree water, lots of manatees. Oh baby!”

“Cool deal, arclite! I should try to make it up there soon.”

“artex, arclite...MLK day/weekend manatee paddle? crystal river? homosassa? manatee springs ?

i took the santa cruz down to the river today for an afternoon paddle.....warm enuff for a swim even! ahh , winter in florida.”

“We spent a day paddling Key Largo, (I think it was Florida Bay) and some mangrove creeks. The creeks were amazingly beautiful. We were in a 22 foot tandom with an actual seat (she usually has to sit in a hatch at home) for Abby. It was a gorgeous boat, except when trying to turn (what a wide turn!!!). We picked up maps for the Wilderness water way and are hoping to get back down for a week long paddle in a year or so. Anyone done it already?”

“Om, I'm taking Denise's daughter on an overnighter down the Suwannee that weekend. You're welcome to join us if you'd like. You too, Artex.

It's on my to-do list, Sass.”

“Thanks for the invite, arclite. I'm going to have to pass for now, bit of a long drive for me. We should do a paddle sometime though, I'm in Gainesville about once a month on average.

However, Crystal River isn't terribly far from me.. Om, if you want to meet up and paddle with the manatees that weekend, I'm game. I do have to work very early Monday though, so Saturday would work best for me.”

“thinking of doing an overnight real soon!

anyone game? maybe NJ or upstate NY”

“arclite...that is on my list, but got a sunday plan that weekend at home, maybe catch up to you on Monday? email your itinerary.
sassy....keys are on the list too..
so, key largo...did you have it all? like bogey and bacall? LOL

artex.... the saturday works for me! let's go”

“om, I saw the route for the "bogey and bacall".It looks like an awesome race! I would love to spend a few wks paddling in the keys. Great stuff!”

“Om.. sounds good! I'll drop you an email when I get home today. :-)”

“its going to be in the 50's this weekend.
Time to get my girl in the water.
she is in dire need of a dip!

time to go kayaking!”

“That stuff will give you cancer!

ML, hope you get out on the water soon. I haven't kayaked in about a month, but hope to cram in a bunch in the months ahead before THE THING.”

“i swear im making a party for this little event. going to kayak in the afternoon, then BBQ and then by nightfall, break out the wine and have a fire outside. and enjoy not freezing.


watch, it will snow next week LOL”

“I broke down and bought a wetsuit and a wetsuit jacket.

Comp Womens 6mm Farmer Wetsuit and Farmer Janes Wetsuit Jacket


now to find time to kayak!”

“heheh,

ok that last post was me,i forgot to change names.

no tree is not buying womans clothing (at least I hope hes not)”

“I'm jealous! >:P Can I borrow it next weekend? heehee”

“you bought it?? you nut!”

“How can we be sure that wasn't really treebeard?”

“he doesn't kayak?”

“Nice going with the wetsuit purchase! I took the girl I'm dating out sea kayaking last week. Water was almost warm enough to swim in (68 degrees).

Anybody here have any experience with drysuits? I want to get one for when I do trips up north next year.”

“Going for a three hour paddle next sat. I wish I had a wetsuit, its gonna be cold for sure. I geuss I will just focus on keeping my nose over my navel...”

“I have a 'shorty' wetsuit.
It does not make a middle aged guy look good, ha ha.
That stretch fabric leaves nothing to the imagination either. Makes me feel like I should wear swin trunks over it! ;-)”

“holy bonkers! Artex has a sweetheart! good on you!

okay - spill the beans - is she the online dating/tv program lady?


;)”

“No. Different girl.”

“the man gets around...

j/k”

“Here's the one I'm thinking about getting.
Can I be in the club if I do?

bbinkley is selling them at his store.”

“We went to the paddling show at UNH Durham Friday night. Kittery Trading Post was sponsoring it. Basically, they had every vendor there displaying their wares. We could try on and compare life vests, suits, check out paddles, kayaks, you name it, they had it.

They also had a special on paddles that night. A "show only" model, not a regular paddle. They took a seaclude paddle and made it with a carbon shaft, as opposed to aluminum. The result was a much lighter paddle. And what really set this paddle aside as a Maine paddle is that while it was light weight, it has "bomb proof" blades. Most lightweight paddles have a laminate or fibreglass blade, to help keep it light. Only problem is, in Maine, there are a lot of rocks to push off of with your paddle. The laminates would do it, but they take it on the chin, so to say. We had read about the paddle in the ads, and when we saw it, it was a MAine paddle! And "only" $99.00, no tax in N.H. the ones we were looking at and hemming and hawing about were gonna run us about $200 each. We are pleased and feel good about these paddles.

Hoping to expand on our good shopping, we tried out many models of life vests. And just by chance, there was one of our kayaks on display. We tried a bunch on, and walked over to the kayak to see if they were comfy in the kayak. We decided on a couple for $89 (we had hoped to spend only $65 or so) as they were so darned comfy. Much more so than any others we tried on. We started with the buckle up life vests, and decided on the zipper up ones. Much easier to strap on.

There was so much gear there, we decided that we needed to do some actual kayaking before we went crazy, at next years show, of course. But at least we can now enjoy the sport, kayak, vest and paddle!!!”

“walkindude, the info about the boat does target it fairly well -- great for recreation and mild rivers. I wouldn't want to try to keep up with longer touring kayaks in it, though. It would be pretty maneuverable because of its length, the downside of which is less tracking ability.

Reino and I have a couple Kiwi Kopapas, which are even a bit smaller than the one you are looking at. Great fun for day trips on small rivers and protected lakes. We once even used them to do a weekend paddle camping trip on the Namakagon River in NW Wisconsin. A lightweight BPer can easily fit gear behind the seat of such boats for a short trip, and an ultralighter will have it even easier. Such small boats open access to shallow areas of lakes/marshes and shallow, twisty rivers.

But they aren't fast boats and require good paddling technique to maintain a straight route, especially on open water or with any wind. If this particular kayak has more of a keeled bottom (ridge molded in down the center), then it may track somewhat better, but it will also ground a bit easier in shallow, rocky streams/rivers.

Good luck in finding just the right boat for your paddling.”

“I'm looking for one that would work well in calm rivers and creeks. I was hoping to find one with a dry hatch but I think I can deal with the storage area this one has to offer. I just gotta get some dry bags. I'm not planning on doing any White Water of going in the ocean so I think it'll work out good. At least from this boat I'll be able to learn more and know what to get next time.”

“Dude, do ypou ghuys have a Costco down there? Right now they're selling a 10'4 kayak with spray skirt and paddle for $320. It looks like a great boat for the price, very simular to the one you just posted a link too but a tad longer and narrower (faster but still not too tippy).”

“WD, that's the idea exactly. Stuff a couple drybags full of lightweight gear behind the seat and you're good to go. We got our Kiwis with some of our first meager disposable income after getting back from China. We needed inexpensive outdoor recreation and Reino wanted her own boat. Easy to cartop, easy to store. Lots of fun.”

“I believe with the Heritage I can get away without having to buy a rack for the truck. It should be OK in the back since it's only 9 feet.
I've never heard of a Costco. Sounds like a really good price though!”

“It's a warehouse club like Sam's.”

“Walkindude--there's a Costco in Cool Springs.”

“ohhh tracking my wetsuit, it's in NJ and due to arrive tomorrow!

checking out local areas in NJ to go kayaking this Sat.

any suggestions?”

“Post a picture of you in it when you get it! ;-)”

“This might be a dumb question, but what do you need a wetsuit for? Aren't you supposed to stay inside the boat?”

“HAHA
to both of you.


zac, its to keep me warm while kayaking in colder weather!

SS, ok, close your eyes, think of a sweet looking fluffy black seal!

got the pic?”

“Don't forget the blue racing stripe!”

“Dang!!!! Maple's HOT!!!!!! ;-)”

“Went out with Sass for a wonderful 2.5 hour paddle this morn. Cool and gray but very nice. Had the lake essentially to ourselves (saw one other kayaker). Paddled around a slew of islands, saw loads of geese ducks,4 loons a bird that was more than likely an eagle but not 100% certain. Got to hear swans eerily chatting with one another, very quiet and faint. Had a weird experience with about 12 or son carp at various times, they would jump WAY outta the water like they were fetching bugs and then splash down hard, one jumped at the end of Sass' paddle, these were fish at 2plus feet too. All in all a great day, going out again next saturday for sure!

LeSubtil, the back bands we have are made by "PD Designs". I remembered to look.”