Kayak Stacker
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

I’ve been thinking about how to store the kayaks without having them on the dock for some time now. The original idea was to have two “J” shaped brackets with webbing strung between to cradle the kayak, but I was worried about the stability of the top “J” being only supported by the vertical outside post, which in turn is supported by a 2×4 bolted to the bottom of the dock. The weigh shouldn’t be a problem as I can stand on either support arm and each kayak is approximately 50lbs, so with both on the rack each end only needs to carry that weigh.

After staring at the problem for several days, I came up with this idea. The top cradle is hinged so after the top boat is removed the cradle can be flipped back to gain full access to the lower boat. This method allows for better support on the dock-side uprights and improved stability.

It was a wonderful sunny morning with a strong west wind blowing across the point, so while it is relatively calm water in front of the cottage, there is a nice breeze to keep things from getting too hot. Even so, after a while of working with my shirt off, I could feel the potential of a nice sunburn coming on, so on with a shirt and hat. Gee, is that wisdom or old age? A hat, since when…?

As I’m warping up the job and doing a little dock repair I hear Shirley scream from outside the lower door of the cottage, “Garry! Come quickly, there is something in the cottage!”. We’ll after the recent attack of the Squirrel Army, we’re a little on edge so I came flying up the stairs. Sure enough, as I go in the door I can hear a clatter, but soon determine that it’s just something thunking around in the dryer. Crisis averted. The Fortress is still secure from intruders.

The weather was good today, sunny, warm for the time of year and light breezes. I slept until the sun poked through the clouds and into my room. It seemed like I’d slept in quite late, but it was only 9am. After a few cups of blender grind coffee and some scrambled eggs and toast I was off to take in the last kayak paddle of the ’07 season.

Getting the 17′ Necky out of the cottage and down the stairs single handed was a littel challenging, but not too bad. Locating the paddles that were tucked away in the back corner of the shed behind the sailboat centerboard took longer. After a little boat prep, I’m off for a tour of the bay. What a difference this time of year, very quiet, very few people around, virtually no boats and virtually no wildlife. As I enter the shallow bay just north of our cottage I’m struck with the lack of wildlife. Normally, the bay/swamp is teaming with life but today it’s very quiet. No birds, no ducks, no eagles, no beavers, no otters; very quiet and very still, you feel quite alone.

As I paddle around the bay, most folks have packed up for the season and have put away docks and boats. One cottage has some interesting activity at the dock. A barge, with a bobcat is working. Using some chains hooked to the bucket of the bobcat and around some dock segments, they are lifting the dock out of the water for the winter. Up at the top of our point a crew is busy putting in a new dock with a big deck, which looks very nice.

I took a walk out to the point along the trail and sat in the chair for a few minutes, just enjoying the view and remembering the summer. After that it seemed to be time to pack up and go as the sun is starting to dip, seemingly prematurely at 4:30 in the afternoon and you can feel the chill building as the sun’s warm rays begin to fade away. Washing the dishes from the weekend and re-setting the fireplace seems to take a long time, or is it that I’m making it take a long time, drawing out the last few moments of enjoyment and soaking up that last little but if lake life before heading back to the city. The sun is setting over the lake as I arrive in Kenora. The lake has it’s hold on me as I stop in at HoJo’s for a chai latte and a little internet fix before the drive.

It’s getting dark and the road home is calling. Time to go.

Dispro #1 – Putt Putt
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

This weekend it’s Harbourfest in Kenora, Ontario an there are lots of activities all weekend long. Today, I took in a couple of my favorites, the Wooden Boat Parade and the Car Show.

This little boat has to be one of my favorites. It’s a Dispro, short for Disappearing Propeller, a true Canadian masterpiece. You can read about the boat and the company here, and about a guy building a “new” Dispro from scratch as well as restoring the Lindsay Dispro and the Water-Ford Dispro. My photo essay this year is well, focused mainly on the stern of the boat an what people are naming their floating works of art. Take a look.

After getting back to the cottage and doing some miscellaneous cleanup stuff, I took the kayak out to experience some serious wave and wind action. Today there is a strong wing out of the west and once you paddle up past the tip of our point you get the full force of the breeze as there is a good 5km of open water for the waves to pick up some good size. I estimated that the typical wave was 1.5 – 2 feet with some in the 3-3.5 foot range. Paddling into the wind was not too hard but you didn’t make a lot of headway per stroke. For the first pass out beyond the protection of the point I kept the bow into the waves and wind. It was quite an experience to have the waves wash over the entire front deck and onto my lower chest. This is where the spray skirt was really earning it’s keep. A quick 180 between large waves and I ran with the wind back behind the shelter of the point. I was able to “surf” the boat on the waves. Wow, was it fast and exhilarating!  After another couple of forays into the waves I tried some sketchier moves like paddling perpendicular to the waves which worked out not too bad, but probably not recommended practice. You really need to keep an eye on what’s coming and  counter the rolling action of the waves. The  Looksha handled it all really well, so I’m very pleased with the boat.

Back at the dock I thought I’d get  familiar  with  just how far over I can lean the kayak and what a wet exit would be like and to find out if I could self rescue. It turns out that you can lean it over pretty far and in conjunction with high and low bracing maneuvers you can keep it upright most of the time. But the next thing I knew I was upside down. Good think I read a few articles on this. Number one, don’t panic you have lots of time. Grab for the sea skirt release handle, push on the cockpit edge and lift your hips out of the boat and voila, your free.

Now of course an important part of the safety & self rescue gear is in the boat house. Somebody decided that we didn’t need the paddle float nicely stowed on the back deck. OK, scramble up on the boat behind the cockpit and straddle the boat. Gee, that was easy. Opps, spoke too soon and I roll off back into the water. It turns out kayaks half full of water are even more tippier and unstable that you’d think. OK, try #2, I’m on the boat, and it’s tippy – where is my paddle? Aggg, out of reach at the back of the boat, back into the water. Try #3 is the charm and I’m in the cockpit, pumping out the water.

Note to self – always take all the safety gear. This was fun, but the water was warm and I was close to the dock in a calm area. You wouldn’t want to be making multiple attempts if the conditions were nasty!

Every kind of vehicle has cup holders these days, even our new Necky Looksha V kayak!

Cup Holder
Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

Normally I’m up early at the lake and having a cup of coffee on the dock and doing a little reading and enjoying the early part of the day. But today, I took my coffee in the kayak and utilized the cup holder build into the seat as I went for the first paddle around our bay. Down at the bottom of the bay I spotted a turtle sunning on a log and had a close encounter with a mother duck and 5 ducklings. It was very nice and peaceful. The kayak is great, easy to paddle and it’s such a great colour.