Nada Amigo
, cheers
An unsung hero, and oft overlooked in favor of other craft but the GRB Monarch traveled many miles in our early days and was a perfect stock class C2 companion to the Classic XL. I’d put this alongside the Minn2 and Savage River Susquehanna as the 3 finest stock class C2s ever made. So good that Wenonah even made one available at one point
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Interesting inflatable – reminds me a bit of the Itiwit 500s. Looks like some very good features for that price point. (Amusing that the brand is “Shipwreck”, but I can’t throw stones – I managed a wilderness sport and mountaineering supply shop called “Avalanche” at one time.)
Where do you usually kayak in the UK? I brought a similar sized folding kayak from the US to Yorkshire and paddled with the local canoe and kayak club there some years ago. Connected with them through the SongofthePaddle forums.
Hi, I only got into kayaking last year, well into my 60s. Started with a hard shell, but too much hassle transporting. Just bought the dropstitch, which I will be debuting this weekend. I have been on the River Ouse, River Trent and various canals around the East Yorkshire area. Now I’ve got transportation sorted I’m looking to broaden my horizons somewhat. We have a touring caravan (think you guys call them campers 
). I’m retired so get out quite a bit over the summer.
This is the hard shell I just sold, great little kayak, once I learned how to paddle/handle it properly 
How did you find Yorkshire and it’s people 
I’m also retired and travel with a caravan, a converted commercial cargo box truck fitted with a mini-kitchen, fold down full bed, loo and shower, dining area and solar and propane power – best part is that I can load my kayaks and canoe inside via the rear overhead door.
I love Yorkshire and the people i met there in 2017 were terrific. That was my second trip there (my first, years before, was one of those bus tours with my mother, and it was terribly frustrating to only have 15 minutes to an hour to explore each stop before being rushed back onto the bus). I really wanted to go back and immerse myself in the region. I hope to get back there again soon.
I was able to revisit and linger at all those sites on my own time in 2017 as well as explore further. I rented a farm cottage just a few miles outside of the market town of Malton and reserved a Citroen Cactus station wagon on which I could transport my 12’ Pakboat folding kayak with an inflatable roof rack kit.
A week before I departed from the US I posted my travel intentions on the Song of the Paddle forums and got no less than 6 replies within 48 hours! Several were from other Yanks who would be visiting and paddling around the time of my stay but the most fruitful was from Paul Lister, a member of the Malton-Norton Canoe Club, which has their own boathouse and launch dock on the River Derwent that flows through the town. I responded and shared contact information with Paul. In fact, I had only been checked into my cottage for 30 minutes before Paul and another club member knocked on the door to welcome me! We planned two outings for the coming weekend and I joined the club group on trips down the River Rye (where we launched just 2 minutes from my cottage) and to the confluence with the Derwent to their dock, followed the next day by a longer downstream trip on the Derwent ending at the restored Howsham historic site where a 17th century grain mill has been converted to a hydro power station and public park.
All the folks in the club were welcoming and excellent trip companions. I had a wonderful time with them – even with all the solo side trips I made during the 10 day visit (to York, Castle Howard, the raptor center, Rievaulx Abbey, Whitby, etc.) the high points were the paddling outings with the Malton-Norton Club. A few photos below.
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That’s really nice us Yorkshire folk were so welcoming to you. Malton n North Yorkshire in general, are usually our go to destinations. We have stayed in and around Malton a few times, and the York Area we camp 4 or 5 times per year, Malton is so dog friendly. Unfortunately the bus tours are a bit pants, they do like to ‘stick to the agenda’.
We’re camping in morning, going to a site in Church Laneham on the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border, it’s literally beside the River Trent. I’m looking forward to using my new kayak, I’ll put some pics up if we get WiFi, or 4 - 5g. This is our caravan
It’s German, we bought it new 8 years ago, thought about trading it in but it’s still great, so probably won’t bother. We attach an air awning, which doubles the size, it has all mod cons inside, but I take an extra beer fridge
.
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Certainly nicer than a tent.
Frej (size S) designed by Bjorn Thomasson. Plans purchased at (Frej | Björn Thomasson Design)
Length – 15’ 9” overall, 15’ 3” waterline
Beam – 20”
Weight – 43 lbs.
Way more detail about the building process and the boat in the thread at: Building a Thomasson Frej | Page 5 | WestCoastPaddler Forums
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Bow of my TOC and Anna in her Illaga
IMG230213-213904F by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
Happy paddler in the TOC
IMG230213-213820F by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
My Jara
IMG230128-030059F by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
I really like these Rebel kataks and so does anna. Also my friend Steve got a TOC too. Great kayak. He may need to do some modifications to his seat however due to an old back injury, but the way the TOCs handle is wonderful. Same with the Illaga. The Jara is great, but has a Swede form hull and needs to be edged over hard to get tight turns whereas the the GL style hulls turn really easily by edging.
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I need to do this for nearly every kayak I have owned. This is expected and not a major barrier. Nowadays, I add some support with minisplit foam so my injured back can stay erect. Of course, every back is different.
I had a problem with the backband on a used kayak I picked up not staying in position and also not able to snug up to the position that best gave me the low sacrum support I prefer. Just as a “temporary fix” I cut about a 30" length of the fat (6" diameter I think) closed cell foam pool noodles and wedged it under the coaming behind the seat. That not only did the trick but 4 years later it’s still tucked in there. It gives a little, unlike carved minicell, and the rounded profile makes a nice ergonomic cushion. I’ve sliced noodles in half lengthwise to make thigh supports and to modify thigh hooks too. Even bundled and zip tied together multiple short lengths of noodle to snugly stuff a leaky-lidded hatch to minimize flooding until I could fix it.
I always keep a stash of various diameter and shape pool noodles in my work shop – the material is very handy for assorted boat comfort, flotation and transport rack modifications. Now is around the time of year I look to restock with the end-of-summer clearance sales on noodles in toy and beach gear departments.
I proudly state that I can-noodle.
Nice looking echo there! Is that the “olive” color? How much does it weigh in the “light” layup?
Thanks
Just swapped my green 1984 Curtis Lady Bug for this restored 2001 Curtis Nessmuk. Two feet shorter but half the weight at 17 pounds. Kind of a thrill to be able to toss a canoe onto the roof rack with one hand or balance it painlessly on my head.
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Yes, Olive, 38 lbs per Esquif website.
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