I moved the plastic moulded seat 30mm rearward. I am really pleased with this mod as far the trim of the boat.
The rubber/ EPDM hatch covers on our Winner kayaks were in varying stages of perishing. I started searching for aftermarket replacements but found that the Winner kayak hatches were a unique size. I found the manufacturer in China and was able to arrange to get 8 replacement hatch covers. Really great service, excellent prices and quick freight.
Looks like you have jumped in with both feet! Looks Like fun too. I have thought about a kayak sail, but have sailboats for that fix.
Yes, we’ll I might have just bought and am restoring a 40 year old Laser sailing dinghy. The price was too good to pass up.
LOL, sounds like you may have caught the one move boat syndrome many of us have.
yeah for sure! Sailing the kayak is fun but it doesn’t quite scratch the sailing itch. However I may find I am too old and unfit to hike out from the Laser. One thing is for sure is that the 1.5 sqm sail overpowers my sea kayak. I am selling that rig and keeping a 1sqm sail rig.
I have a Wayfarer 16 I did some restoration on. I think you will enjoy the Laser. You might find a sailing club that races them you could join. Thanks for the heads up about the size of kayak sail you found most useful.
The times they are a changing. I sold the Laser to buy some chainsaw equipment (polesaw etc). Just back to paddling now. Bought a greenland paddle and loving it.
Our region had a recent “visit” by a Catergory 2 Tropical Cyclone (Jasper). Fortunately my town was far enough away of the crossing point to sustain any damage. Unfortunately further North there was sustained torrential rain, like Noah saw, and a lot of flash flooding and associated damage to homes and infrastructure. @sing would have drooled at the waves it produced but not all the debris that was in them! Some foreshores were scoured and others like my local had an extra dump of sand. Anyway tomorrow is looking promising for paddle out on the Coral Sea.
I helped out a friend to locate and take a mooring (buoy). Sea kayaks aren’t the best work platform when using both hands on a task in mildly choppy conditions - great practice and good exercise for my core. I really regretted not taking a knife and have promptly ordered a pfd knife to avoid that in the future.
I have been prototyping a very simple paddle tether from paracord. The tether has a loop at each end. The fixed loop is for attaching the tether to the kayak. The other loop is a sliding loop and can be opened up to slide over the paddle blade. It is then a simple matter to then push up the loose outer to close up the loop again. I hope the photos explain it better than I have!
The sliding loop is locked using a locked brummel about 10cm about the fixed loop (also locked using a locked brummel).
Update, it’s been a while since the last post. Late last year we relocated from Mission Beach in tropical Far North Queensland to cool temperate Tasmania, about 3000 kilometres South. We no longer have to consider crocodiles as a risk but certainly now have to prepare for exposure to the cold.
We sold all our kayaks before leaving and obtained two secondhand kayaks soon on arrival.
We now own a Dagger Edisto and a Seabird Expedition HV. I have added deck lines to both kayaks as well as replaced the foot brace rudder control pedals, rudder control and uphaul lines.
Today for the first time, I will be joining a group paddle with Flat Water Paddlers, Tasmania. It will be a good opportunity to make new acquaintances and learn what others are doing to prepare for paddling in cold conditions.
Here’s a photo from earlier in the year of me in the Seabird on our local Inglis River, Wynyard Tasmania.
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Welcome. Always good to hear from , and sèe,other places.
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Welcome aboard.
Australia? Isn’t that were if it doesn’t kill you, it’ll severely wound you? Everything?
Crocs. Your pix aren’t worth much unless we see crocs in it.
And no shoes either!
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Hi Kim, welcome back. That’s quite a change in scenery, from tropical beach to northern Tasmania! Summers look lovely where you are, winters not so much, so I guess prime paddling season is the opposite from what you were used to. It must give you peace of mind to be away from the cyclones though?
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Ha! We propagate that myth to build up the image of the tough resilient Aussie! No photos, only time I’ve seen crocs out on the water I am busy watching the to make sure I am heading the other way.
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Definitely don’t miss Tropical Cyclones. Our house was damaged by two TCs, once quite badly requiring us to spend seven months elsewhere in emergency accommodation. They are pretty rare, we only had the two direct hits in 23 years.
Climate here inTasmania is best described as mild cool temperature with a maritime influence so it’s possible to paddle year round. Wind is mostly a consideration, Tasmania is on the mid-latitudes and in the path of prevailing westerly winds known as the Roaring Forties.
I used to attend the MotoGP race across the Bass Strait from you on Phillip Island. It’s held in the spring and the SW winds can be hard and biting. The grandstand at the corner closest to the shore edge was nicknamed Siberia because everyone bundles up like they’re at a gridiron game in Alberta in January. So I always figured the conditions over on the western shore of Tas or King Island would be brutal in winter/spring. I see Wynyard on the other side, which is presumably calmer. It looks like you have some nice clean, clear waters on the strait where you are.
2 direct hits in 23 years sucks. Unfortunately, it seems like the eastern seaboard of Australia has seen a lot of rare events in the last decade or so. Catastrophic floods, bush fires, and cyclones.