Hull Speed in Muscle-Powered Boats

This article comparing the hydrodynamics of kayaks and canoes with the new W boat is of interest to anyone interested in understanding the priniciples of kayak design and hull speed.

Call me an unbeliever, but I have some doubts about the "Wavewalk" twin hulled paddle craft advertised on the above site. They seem to be trying to market the boat as a performance craft, equal to a kayak in the surf, in whitewater, or for dead ahead cruising speed. There is likely a niche for the Wavewalk among recreational paddlers, but I can't see how the Wavewalk could equal a good whitewater boat for slaloming between rocks or going over a drop. And what about paddling it into a 20-knot headwind? -- standing up or kneeling, there's still a lot added windage there over a kayak. Call me a purist, but I'll take the sleek lines of a 17 foot composite kayak any day. And maybe it's because as a kid I got told too many times to never stand up in a canoe or rowboat, but I'm not sure I could get used to the standing up part either.

Around Oman - Mark Evans Continues his Journey Along the Oman Coast

As chronicled in the web site Around Oman which includes daily updates, Mark Evans is beginning the second phase of his 1,700 km kayak journey along the Oman coast. Evans hopes his journey will raise awareness of the Oman coast as a tourist destination as well as raising funds for the recently established Oman National Cancer Awareness Group. He is paddling 40 - 50 km each day.

Whitewater Racing Season Begins

The 2005 Maine canoe and kayak racing season began today with the traditional opener, a 6-mile race down a section of the St. George River from Searsmont. Despite the big snow year , the river was "bony" with river bottom rocks looking like multicolored easter eggs (lots of Old Town red and green) by the end of the day. The lack of rain and the relatively cool spring temps (days in the lower 40's, nights in the 20's) have kept the river levels low. The big water may be still to come! For the remaining race schedule, see the Mackro website.

During my own run I alternated between feeling grateful for being on the river at all -- having broken my left wrist 8 weeks ago -- and feeling frustrated that I wasn't feeling stronger and faster. By the last couple miles of the course I had a sense that my boat was pulling strongly to the left -- as if the hull were badly warped. More likely my left arm was simply so pooched out by that point that it took 2 strokes with the left to equal one with the right. The bottom line: I paddled a polyethylene VCP Avocet over the 6.5 mile course in 51:43, well off the winning time, good enough for 5th in the K-1 Long class.

SIGN OF SPRING - Ray Wirth of Belfast sets off from the Belfast Public Landing for his first paddle of the season, Thursday, March 17. LOUISE SHORETTE

Uproar Over Kayak Tax

I've been distracted this week by a proposal in the Maine legislature to require a $10.00 registration fee for all non-motorized watercraft. The proposal now seems dead in the water due to substantial uproar from paddlers near and far.

"What is it about this proposal that has gotten under my skin?" I've been asking myself. I stayed up late 2 nights exchanging emails with other MASKGI (Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors) members and typing rather cutting emails to local representatives and senators. Part of it, I think, is that for me -- and for many others apparently -- kayaking represents the opposite of the world that has anything to do with regulation, registration, government,or financial responsiblity. Kayaking is about getting away from all that. Something in me recoils at the thought of mixing the two: don't put any red tape betweeen me and my kayak!

Although the $10.00 fee may seem small in the eyes of some, the registration is a symbolic intrusion upon a very fundamental recreational activity that has never been taxed before and still is not taxed in most other states. If you tax environmentally and socially benign activities such as canoeing and kayaking, it becomes a slippery slope toward taxing other activities -- camping, hiking, swimming, cross country skiing, mountain biking, birdwatching, and so on. I can't see the logic of taxing one of these activities unless you tax all of them. And the idea of paying a fee in order to step into my kayak and paddle it out into Penobscot Bay is just as repugnant to me as the idea of paying a fee in order to pull on a pair of boots and hike off into the woods behind my house. See the thread I started on Paddling.net for more views.

A New Kayak Website of Note:

West Coast Paddler

Snow Kayaking & Were Kayaks the First Sleds?

"Maine has two seasons: winter and 2 months of damn poor sledding," goes the old joke. The quote betrays a bemused acceptance of long winters. I imagine a cynical Inuit might have said pretty much the same. The Inuit were obviously highly skilled in surviving the extreme conditions of the arctic winter; and many times, it must have felt to them that winter was the dominant force in their lives. What they lived for, however, was to get out in the water in their kayaks.

It occurred to me while cross country skiing today that a kayak was very probably the first "ski." As a group of nomadic hunger / gatherers moved north and encountered ice, they likely found that they could tow their loaded kayaks across smooth ice with a minimum of effort. From there, it wouldn't take much of a cognitive leap to lash two kayaks together catamaran style (the first sled) and eventually to lash smaller versions of "kayaks" directly onto their feet as skis.

Kayak touring and cross country skiing do bear a lot of similarities -- and not just in muscle groups used. Cross country skiing also involves maximizing glide and minimizing drag while moving across the surface of (frozen) H20. And anyone who has set a kayak down on snow or ice knows that the kayak just begs to go careening down even the slightest slope.

Again proving that you can find anything on the web, there are several sites featuring "snow kayaking." My adventures in snow kayaking" includes several cool photos and a moving background. The Des Moines Register has an article on snow kayaking in Iowa of all places. Reportedly whitewater kayaks work best, but I still think a touring kayak would give more speed.

Vatican's vaults holds surprising Canadian Artifact

Newsflash: Early Model Kayak Found in Vatican

Where have all the kayak shops gone?

Maybe it's just me but it seems like suddenly I'm aware of a number of kayak shops and small manufacturers that are closing their doors -- or have done so within the last few months. Country Canoeist (NH), Great River Outfitters (sold and moved to RI), Raven Works Kayaks (PA), Norcan Kayaks (Quebec), Noyo Pacific Outfitters (CA), Mariner Kayaks (WA), and Baidarka Boats (AK) all have owners who are moving on -- with GRO the only one that looks to be remaining open under new ownership.

What other shops are closing? Any new shops opening? Is there a trend? And, if so, what might be the reasons for it?" I posted the above on Paddling.net and received 13 responses. Big box stores, the economy, mismanagement, and the de-evolution of the sport toward mass-produced cheap plastic "blub" boats were cited as reasons for the slow disappearance of small independent kayak shops.

Some mentioned that in at least some cases shop owners had decided to make lifestyle changes and move on -- something they are certainly entitled to do. But if a business is economically viable, it gets bought by someone else who keeps the doors open. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be what is happening.

Virtual race

An opportunity to test yourself against other paddlers without taking home a tacky t-shirt is offered by Mountain Wayfarer's virtual kayak race. The virtual race invites you to post your (GPS or other measured time) over a 5 or 10 mile course online and see how it compares with others who have done the same thing. About 40 paddlers posted times in the 2004 race. The "winning" time from last year was posted by Mark Webber of Sag Harbor, NY who completed a 5 mile course in 43:39 in a wooden Struer K1.

For some tips for going fast, check out the forward stroke article at USAWildwater.com

Sea Kayak Information Resource

Kayak Lake Mead is another small outfitter whose website is a bigtime resource for paddlers, and not just for those heading to the Lake Mead Area for paddling. Included are articles on the forward stroke, kayaking in high winds, and a unique take on re-entry after wet exit. Check it out!

Many of the most information-rich web sites are those of smaller outfitters. Likely because an extensive web site is a significant financial investment for the larger outfitters, while smaller outfitters take the do-it-yourself approach and invest their own time rather than money.

Just for fun!

Kayak Diving. (Don't try this at home.)

Snowbound.

GoMOOS Buoy F - W. Penobscot Bay

Last update: 03/12 8:00 PM EST Wind: NNE at 12.8 knots Wind gust: 15.5 knots Wave height: 5.5 ft Period: 8.0 sec Air temp: 31° F (-0.3° C) Visibility: 1.6 nm (1.8 miles, 3.0 km) Atmospheric pressure: NA

More snow for Maine and the Northeast. Five snowdays and counting for local schools. More than 24 inches on the ground. At least 16 inches have fallen this week alone. It's all good -- I smile to think how the local rivers will be running in a few weeks (or months). St. George River Race is slated for Saturday, two weeks from today. Meanwhile out on the bay, water temperatures are at 33 degrees, which is exactly what they were in March of last year. (Checked the archives.)

Still another kayaking death in the news, this one resulting from a paddler being thrown from a tandem kayak in rough surf and sustaining a blow to his head. Are there more kayaking deaths this year? Are they being reported more widely? Or am I simply more aware of them? Perhaps I'll take a closer look at the OutdoorEd. article on risk management I unearthed recently.

Nightmare Scenario

A nightmare scenario unfolded for a teacher and a group of young people who were paddling in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of Suwannee River on Saturday (see "Georgia teens" article right). As a teacher and outdoor trip leader who regularly takes groups of young people on trips, I found this story struck particularly close to home. Hindsight shows the group was ill-equipped (some of them were paddling open deck canoes rather than kayaks, no VHF radio, no wetsuits despite 58 degree water temperatures, inadequate lights for night paddling), and ill-informed (they ventured out into the Gulf despite the small craft advisory and 2-4 foot seas. The trip leader was apparently an experienced guide who perhaps had gained false confidence because he had led groups of young people on the same trip several times before.