funny noise when paddling

Petroleum Eats Plastic
Anyone knows that! The lubricant used in kayaks should be the stuff you’re embarrased to get off the shelf of the drugstore.



:smiley:







(And seriously, people do use it on their sprayskirts)

Don’t rule out fish!
In deep parts of the Wisconsin River this time of year, sounds come up through the hull which are sort of a grinding sound, a lot like a particular kind of beetle larva chewing under the bark of a tree (some of you may remember me posting about this last year). I’m just about certain this sound is made by some kind of fish, maybe a sheepshead (though it’s not the clicking sound I usually associate with that species). It’s not an easy sound to pinpoint the source of, but if you do, it might seem to be coming from your boat. It doesn’t carry all that far, so if you are moving, the sound fades in and fades out pretty quickly as you pass by the source. Maybe a long shot, but worth mentioning.

You may want to watch your diet too…

– Last Updated: Jun-22-07 4:10 PM EST –

Most of the funny noises that eminate from my boat are self-induced by greasy breakfasts.

- Big D

okay, I get it
Sorry, guess I should have kept my odd noise problem to myself.

Chalk it up to beginners paranoia or something. It could have been my water bottle although the sound seemed to be coming from the bow and not right in front of me which is where the bottle was. I will pay more attention next time with each boat and see if it does it again and will anchor my water somehow too.

Thanks for all the responses!

THANKS ALOT BIG D
I just spit hot coffee into my keyboard!!!



LOL LOL LOL



Scott

paddle leash movement ?
can’t top BigD’s answer. Just a guess if you use a paddle leash & its moving across the deck or sprayskirt or something…

I was thinking coiled paddle leash…
…dragging across and over your forward deck bungees.

no paddle leash
and nothing else on kayak or inside front hatch. Sound was definitely coming from bow of kayak.

Bow Toggle?

Leaf
caught on the bow will make a funny noise, more of a splashing sound though. A “caught” twig could make a griding sound though.

Back in the day !
when I used to board surf, I had a 6’ 3" squash tail thruster and the tail area used to emit a whirring noise when surfing large waves at a high speed. It was really weird and I have never heard it on any other surfboard or watercraft.

Hey, I was serious about …
… that fish comment I made earlier. Tonight I took a little evening paddle on some backwaters of the Wisconsin River with a friend. Darned if that fish sound didn’t come up through the hull of the boat at one point in the trip. It is most definitely an intermittent grinding sound, and a person could easily be fooled into thinking something in the boat is a little loose and creaking.

Serious answer this time
Is it possibly the internal support pillar rubbing on the hull? That shouldn’t concern you at all if it is. But may check whether the screws are tight. If the screw is a little loose and the hull is flexing, then I can see how it’d make a rubbing noise. Just a thought.



Mostly, unless water is gushing into the boat, I figure everything’s OK.


  • Big D

I had that sound
after eating red beans and rice the previous day.

My first thought
when reading the initial post was a rolling water bottle, as I experienced a similar cause for unusual noise this past week. But the fish sound idea is also a viable theory. Fish sounds are pretty cool to listen to sometimes. Sheepshead (AKA freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=3577) belongs to family Sciaenidae (drums and croakers), the members of which are well known for making sounds. It is one of the few freshwater species in this family of fish.



I couldn’t find a sound file for freshwater drum, but sounds from a related fish, the black drum, can be heard here: http://www.dosits.org/gallery/fishnbay/16.htm. The freshwater drum would sound somewhat different, I’m sure.

odd noise
Thanks for all the feedback!

It could have been a fish, I know they are in there but all I have heard of is trout. I didn’t get out there over the weekend but am planning on going this Thursday. This time I will anchor my water bottle and then see if I hear it again.

Probably the brakes need adjusting or

– Last Updated: Jun-25-07 10:20 PM EST –

it could be a wheel bearing or maybe the Lochnest monster is visiting Oregon.

I should have read more closely
your original post. Deep lake and, based upon your profile, in Washington State makes it seem unlikely to me that the noise would be from a fish. Drum are not going to occur out there. I woul dlook for some other cause.