noodles
extra fat pool noodle tucked under knees/calves for support on long trips…
also can be used cutting into only half of the noodle to the hole in the middle and fitting it on the cockpit edge of your boat as foam base/support for car topping. I used it around the cockpit for a rec boat exclusively and it kept the boat off the roof (except for the noodles and it was very easy to strap down. takes the place of those 4 pyramid foam blocks that you put on the four corners of the cockpit.
My pfd
is a perfectly good, Extrasport Retro Glide, but it has only one small pocket. This is fine for use on sheltered water, it is not adequate to carry all the things I need on BIG water. So, rather than drop $150 on a new pfd, I bought a $10 fanny pack at Wal*mart and attatch (with provided strap and small bungee) to my pfd when I go BIG. I carry 3 flares, strobe, vhf radio and some snickers bars in it (to me, hunger is an emergency).
free glass signal mirror
Anyone Who lives in Cen. Fla can contact Me and I will give You a small mirror if You scratch a hole in the backing it will have a “sighting hole”. Anyone else just find a local glass shop they all throw away scraps that would work. If You want shatterproof just cover the back with duct tape or contact paper. Paddleholic
pool noodles for launching boat
To reduce scratches in your kayak/canoe, place a regular pool noodle under the bow of your boat and pick up the stern push the boat forward and you can roll the boat into the water. The hull will not contact the ramp. Works great when you have to use boat ramps and have a fully loaded boat.
CDs are bad, they don’t reflect pure
Since they’re made of ridges, you get the rainbow effect and your light is dispersed.
Here’s one I heard on another site. Rip apart your old hard drive. The disks are acid polished smooth with a hole in the middle too.
You can also use the insulating…
…foam tubes used for plumbing pipes, They’re pre-split and available at most hardware stores. Much cheaper than a Yakima or Thule rack. Lower, too, for us old geezers.
this thread
I really like this thread. I wish there were more posts. I am sure there are a lot of other things we all do to minimize costs or just make things more efficient.
Paul
Keep that plastic lookin’ Smokin’
Use Pledge furniture polish on your clean (i.e. wash it first) poly/plastic kayak hull to reduce all the grime that collects when paddling in polluted or dirty water. The thin film of polish retards buildup on the hull.
Alternative to Expensive Crossbars
I just posted this one on another thread:
After spending way too much money on my first set, I experimented with varying lengths of 1 1/8" black iron pipe, heavily painted up with Rustoleum for wrought iron furniture. It’s the same pipe that’s inside the Yakima crossbars but lacks the grippy rubber coating that also increases the pipe OD. I overcome this by wrapping the contact points with 2" wide black electrical tape.
As for preventing crossbar rotation, I simply drilled a small hole through each tower and into the crossbar, then pounded a slightly larger sized roll pin (a split and rolled heat treated steel pin commonly available at any hardware store for $.03 each) and it works like a charm.
watertight container
I found that a plastic Folgers coffee container can make a perfect watertight container for fishing tackle, first aid kit, toilet articles etc. The large ones are a perfect size for a roll of toilet paper. The cap is usually not quite tight enough for a truly watertight seal as is, but I discovered a way to shrink it slightly for a perfect fit. Just soak it in boiling water for about 20-30 seconds, then immediately immerse it in cold water. It usually makes a tight seal this way.
leave the bottled water on the shelf and
fill up some bottles from your kitchen faucet.
Use closed cell foam pads instead of a factory rack.
Forget the $100.00 plus PFD and go back to the old horse collar.
Stick to one or two paddles and sell the extras.
Sell off the unused boats in your fleet, (I’m buying)
Every body on Pnet get together to form a used canoe/kayak delivery aggreement. We can help each other with shipping used boats to each other in a relay fashion.
In the same way we would lease our computer to have the newest and best equipment, we could set up a 3 tier system to spread boats around to each other. We could paddle for a few months, then trade-off to another boat, if we wanted to.
DRY BAG ANALOG
– Last Updated: Oct-11-05 9:47 PM EST –
I use a wide-mouth protein powder jar as a dry "bottle" on my S-Pro SOT. It works just FINE, and it's a tested product: it's sucessfully survived a few dumps over the years.
It holds my cell, keys, small cams, cigars & cutter & lighter bag, a sandwich and/or snacks, etc.
Best of all, it floats, and the bright white is a nicely visible alternative to the common array of diving accessories (for many items, in conventional dry bags -they may indeed remain DRY, but if THEY sink, YOU'RE sunk!) that usually accompany the traditional "yard sale" that was prompted by upsetting circumstances and disappear to stock up D. Jones's locker...
I like it better than the coffee can noted immediately above because the lid is screwed on (& watertight) -and it more likely to remain on when the container is jostled about. It won't ever rust, either.
Downsides? Yeah, mainly minor ones. First is that it's mouth diameter determines what it can hold, and it won't hold my digicam. Second is the protein p[oweder jars are opaque, and you can't see what's inside.
So, in THAT case, I take along my larger, perhaps 1-1/2+ gallon size clear pretzel jar!
But they're both fine DIY alternatives to a usually considerably more expensive dry bags to take out as you
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
THE NEAR UBIQUITOUS SWIM/POOL NOODLES
– Last Updated: Oct-09-05 9:03 PM EST –
As noted above, these can fulfill a variety of uses, but I appreciate them most as yak bar cladding.
They cut wind howl down immensely;
They pad and help seat boats firmly to the racks;
They are cheap (I can get them for a buck apiece at Big Lots (& probably Dollar Trees);
They are NOT darke grey & dull-looking like many standard roof rack accessories (A LA pipe insulation);
They ARE nice and bright and stand out, and help ID you car in big parking lots;
and, maybe best of all,
Occassionally, when we have red, or red/white, or red/white/blue color pool noodle schemes on the bars on our red Jeep Grand Cherokee, and we come up behind a slower car, they will sometines chack their rear view mirror and move over, mistaking our rack bar for a light bar on an emergency vehicle...
tHEY Sometimes help us get to the put-in a little faster to
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
pretzel bottles
well actually cheese balls…but never mind. they work great! I tested out two by putting a bunch of stuff in them and sinking them in the pool. they really were watertight!
I stuffed one with a jacket/windbreaker, 2 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, socks, underwear, a 12 foot square tarp, 50 feet of light nylon rope, a small first aid kit, waterproof matches, a couple of camp knives and even a plastic tablecloth!)
the best part is that these bottles fit into a Walmart tub that sits in the garage and you can pick and choose which ones go with you depending if you are car or kayak camping.
Frank you just saved me about $100 in dry bags! Now that is what i am talking about! And they fit great in either the forward or rear hatches.
bet I can stuff a sleeping bag in one!
Paul
Containers
I have always used food containers for dry storage. I have about twenty different pieces, ranging from 1/2 cup to 2 gallons in size and in various shapes. If you do not buy food in bulk so would not normally have access to the larger size containers, Wal Mart sells them for about $1 - $2. They will keep whatever you can put in them dry, but they work especially well for FOOD storage. They seal tightly enough that the coons do not smell the food. And even if they did, as long as you are using the thick-walled plastic they can not get to the food.
Try this: use the small size Folgers plastic container as an insert into your day hatch bag. This keeps everything neat and together. I have a T-140 so my day hatch is in the front of the seat and sometimes is subject to a lot of water. SInce I have been using the coffee can insert, I have never had a problem with stuff in the day hatch getting wet. I just made a pull handle for the lid out of duct tape so that it is easy to remove from the hatch bag.
A few items
– Last Updated: Oct-11-05 11:26 AM EST –
-I bought a couple of automotive "cargo nets" from my local dollar store, I untied/unraveled the net, and voila! Approximately 30 feet of Bungee cord from each net.
-I also use the mouse pad idea... but in my canoe. Either glued to the floor as knee pads, or strapped to the seat as a cushion/winter insulation.
-I used an old removable side pocket from a hiking pack, put a couple of straps through the back, and now have a very functional thwart bag that I have been using for a few years now.
-These are very nice plans on how tomake a DYI reflector oven: http://www.blazingpaddles.on.ca/outdoor_cooking/reflector/index.htm
Kayak cart
The Chesapeak Light Craft site has a very good design for a cart, which you can build directly from the picture.
Go to clcboats.com, click on the “Tips for boat building” tab, then scroll down under the “fitting out” column until you come to “CLC kayak cart”.
Enjoy!
Bob
P.S. Carol and I will be attending the West Palm kayak show this Sat-Sun, and hope to buy our next boats from what we learn there.
Anybody else going?
cd sides
One side is coated or copying or reading. There are plenty of cd’s out there that have a clear/mirror like finish on the top. Wouldn’t that work just as well?
Paul
Atlantic kayak
Is this the Atlantic Kayak event? If so, Vera and I with the kids will be there and also I think Frank and Sally (Scupperpro Frank) might be joining us.
Paul