A Book For the Canoe and Kayak Builders

Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes by Jeff Horton was the only book that I caught during 2011 for canoe and kayak builders. It’s somewhat flawed (see my review), but offers enough information to get the job done. If you follow the directions, you’ll end up with a Yost-style skin-on-frame kayak or canoe that costs about $300. That’s pretty cheap compared to plywood or cedar-strip kayaks.

For Learning Paddling Techniques

Canoe Camping: An Essential Guide by Mark Scriver was reissued in a new edition. While not a new book, it’s definitely worth reading and checking out, especially if you are just getting into canoe camping. He covers planning, packing, gear choices and more.

Adventure Books

Around Madagascar on my Kayak tells the story of a solo kayaking expedition around Madagascar. Talk about hardcore! His 3,100-mile adventure took 11 months to complete. He landed in heavy surf, traversed shoreline that isn’t hospitable to humans and had a hell of an adventure. Technically this was released in 2010, but the re-release was in 2011, so I’m including it. This one is on my reading list as I haven’t read it yet. The paperback is expensive unless you find it used, but the Kindle edition is reasonable.

Fearless: One Woman, One Kayak, One Continent tells the story of Freya Hoffmeister’s paddle around Australia. The 9,420-mile trip took a year, and on the trip Freya paddled through alligator-infested waters, made 300-mile crossings and generally experience everything bad-ass that can happen on a kayaking trip. I followed Freya’s journey on her blog and in Sea Kayaker Magazine. Now I’m looking forward to reading more about it when this book is released in late January 2012. In 2011, Freya started her next trip: a circumnavigation of South America.

For the Instructor

101 Games and Activities for Canoes and Kayaks provides 101 games that instructors can use to challenge students. They’re a way to have fun while learning on the water, taking the pressure off of learning and can make a boring class into something exciting that students will remember. In my experience, both kids and adults seem to get into games, and this book has 101 of them.

Do you have any books or suggestions to add to a winter reading list?

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: 5 Canoe and Kayak Books to Read in 2012

About the Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser

The Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser comes in a lot of flavors, such as plain ole’ plastic, which is what I used, with lights, with a computer, with a special docking station to get it started and in metal (I want this one!), and they all work on the same concept. A gyroscope inside an outer ball spins and creates a random force that works all the muscles and tendons in your arm. There’s a lot of medical mumbo-jumbo about why this works, and if you want to learn about that you can find that info online, but regardless of the reasons, it does work. When combined with a program such as the one in Treat your Own Tennis Elbow, I noticed a reduction in pain.

The hardest part of using the Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser is getting it going. It comes with a string that you wrap around inner gyroscope. You pull the string to get it started. After it’s going, you rotate your wrist in a figure 8 or circles to speed the ball up further. Once it’s going, it stays going as long as you continue to rotate your hand. I long ago lost the string, so instead of pulling a string, I pull the ball along a flat surface to get it going.

During exercise, it feels like the ball pulls your arm around and you have to fight against that pull.

My Experience

During my initial rehab, I didn’t really start noticing a constant reduction in pain until I added the Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser to my routine. I added it later in the routine, so I’m not positive that it was completely responsible, but it sure seems that way.

I still notice the pain now and then. When the pain comes back I just use the Dynaflex for five to 10 minutes a day for a week or so until the pain goes away. I plan on using the Dynaflex religiously again before the start of next years paddling season. I’m going to incorporate it into my exercise program three times a week for the three months prior to the start of the season.

At any rate, the Dynaflex helped me and was well worth the $25 I paid for it. If you worry about tendinitis, have tendinitis or suffer from a repetitive stress injury, I highly recommend trying the Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser (Of course, you should consult with your doctor before adding anything new to your workouts). It also helps to strengthen your forearms. Plus it’s fun.

Get it at Amazon

A Few Other Afterthoughts For Kayakers or Canoeists Suffering from Tendinitis

A few other things that I think helped me (remember I’m not a doctor so talk to a real doctor before you try this) are Super B-Complex with Vitamin C and ice. Whenever I get the pain, I ice it as immediately as I can and then ice again at night to take down the swelling. I read that there might be a link between tendinitis pain and a vitamin b-6 deficiency, so I also started taking that during my initial rehab.  The ice worked immediately in reducing pain, but I’m not sure if the B-Complex did anything, but I figured it was worth a try. If you have tendinitis, I feel for you. It sucks, and people without it just don’t seem to understand how debilitating it becomes. Mine got so bad that I couldn’t hold a rudder stroke on 2-foot wind waves. The paddle just seemed to want to fall out of my hands. I had no grip strength and I’d even wake up at night from the pain. If you have it, I wish you luck in your rehab. You can beat it. Just keep up the rehab and use lots and lots of ice.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Dynaflex Gyro Exerciser Review: a Tool No Paddler Should Be Without

Snow Peak Titanium Bowl Review

I purchased the Snow Peak Titanium Bowl earlier in the year and didn’t use it until I took it on a 17-day canoe trip across the BWCA. The three of us on the trip cooked single pot meals over a gas stove or over a fire.  We used cups and bowls to eat out of. We were packing a Bushbuddy-like stove to cook over, and it fit inside the single pot we were carrying, which meant that the Snow Peak Titanium Bowl needed to fit unprotected into a pack during travel. I worried that outside a protective pot it would be smashed. It held up fine and maintained its shape despite my worries.

Eating out of the bowl worked fine. Although the bowl is made from just a thin layer of titanium, it never felt overly hot while holding the bowl in my hands. It held about the perfect amount of food for a first helping and a second helping filled the bowl halfway up. It’s hard to find anything wrong with the bowl. I even found that I could easily sip out of it.

I’ve been looking for something light like this bowl for years now and in the past it tired Orikaso’s Folding Bowls, which are lighter, but harder to pack and harder to clean. This bowl packs easily and is easy to clean.

The Perfect Two-Person Cookset Thoughts

Over the last few year, I’ve tweaked my cookset for one person and arrived at something that I’m happy with, but I think that I’m finally made the perfect lightweight two-person cookset. It weighs 15 oz. plus fuel. Here’s what I’ve refined it to:

• One Snow Peak Titanium Bowl (Mine actually weighs 1.8 oz.)
• The large pot and lid from the Snow Peak’s Titanium Multi Compact Cookset (5.8 oz.)
• Two Snow Peak Titanium Short Sporks (1.2 oz. total)
• MSR Pocket Rocket Backpacking Stove (3 oz.) plus empty Jetboil 3.53 oz. fuel can (3.2 oz.)

This gives you a pot, bowl and fry pan lid that you can cook in. It includes an easy to use stove, and everything nests inside the pot. To save weight, you could change out the MSR stove for the Snow Peak Litemax Stove. That would get you down to 14 oz. and still give you all the benefits of this system. If you use a pop can stove, you’d save even more weight.

Overall

You can’t really lose with Snow Peak’s Titanium Bowl. It’s only $16. It’s light. You can cook in it. And it’s the right size. It’s durable. I dare say that it’s the perfect camping bowl.

Highly Recommended.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Snow Peak Titanium Bowl Review

I applied the sample KeelEazy strip to the stern of my Kevlar canoe. Years of abuse have worn through the gelcoat  into the keel area. The Kevlar was fuzzing up, which makes it difficult to repair. Since the stern of my canoe sees the most wear and tear, I decided to cover the section that looked the worst and head out on a 17-day paddling trip on the BWCA Border Route.

Application of the strip was easy. To apply, clean the area with rubbing alcohol or acetone, peel the blue backing from the tape, and then stick it to the hull. I used a hair drier to get the KeelEazy to conform to the shape of my keel. It seemed to stretch and change shapes easily. KeelEazy recommends applying it in 70 degree weather. I live in northern Minnesota, and we get that temperature for one month out of the year. September isn’t it, so I used the hairdryer to heat the tape up.

During the trip, I did my normal get-out-of-the-boat-and-pull-the-boat-onto-shore portage routine which tends to scuff up the stern keel area. I also ran several miles of bony whitewater fully loaded. After the trip, I inspected the KeelEazy strip. It showed some creases and scratches where rocks had run across it, and the forward section had chipped in places (see picture). It seemed to hold up satisfactory, but I wasn’t pleased with the chipping.

Will it replace a fiberglass keel strip? At this point, it’s hard to say. For the BWCA and flat water canoe trips, I’m sold on the product. It’s lighter, easier to apply and probably produces less resistance than a Kevlar skid plate. Plus it looks better. I’m much rougher on my kayaks and would need to test it out over a season. My main concern is impact resistance. A Kevlar or glass keel strip offers some impact resistance, but the tape doesn’t offer any. I’m still not sold on the claim that it’s 14 times more abrasion resistant than a composite keel strip.

At $78 for an 18 foot kayak kit, it’s more expensive than if I bought fiberglass and did a fiberglass keel strip myself. If the 2-inch tape cost only $2 to $3 per foot, it would be a no-brainer to recommend, but right now, you can make your own fiberglass kayak keel strip for less than it would cost for a KeelEazy keel strip. If you don’t care about that and just want something that’s easy-to-apply, then KeelEazy might be exactly what’s needed assuming it lives up to the abrasion resistance claim.

KeelEazy Responds:

It was interesting to read your review. A couple of comments I’d like to followup with.

Regarding the chipping, it’s not completely surprising that there would be chips on the leading edge of the strip (to the right in your picture). As you are pulling (or paddling) the boat over rocks, the edge of the strip is going to hit the rock. Since that edge has glue all of the way to the edge, it sticks up and is going to occasionally catch on a rock. In that situation, a sharp rock could catch and cut off a bit of the strip, and I suspect that is what happened. If the strip were applied down the entire length of the hull, there wouldn’t be an edge like this to catch.

By the way, the sides of the strip do not have adhesive all of the way to the edges. When the KeelEazy strip is applied, especially when applied with a little heat and a roller, the adhesive will spread towards the edges. This actually pulls the edges down tighter against the hull of the boat, so there is less to catch.

It was interesting to read your review.  A couple of comments I’d like
to followup with.

Regarding the chipping, it’s not completely surprising that there
would be chips on the leading edge of the strip (to the right in your
picture).  As you are pulling (or paddling) the boat over rocks, the
edge of the strip is going to hit the rock.  Since that edge has glue
all of the way to the edge, it sticks up and is going to occasionally
catch on a rock.  In that situation, a sharp rock could catch and cut
off a bit of the strip, and I suspect that is what happened.  If the
strip were applied down the entire length of the hull, there wouldn’t
be an edge like this to catch.

By the way, the sides of the strip do not have adhesive all of the way
to the edges.  When the KeelEazy strip is applied, especially when
applied with a little heat and a roller, the adhesive will spread
towards the edges.  This actually pulls the edges down tighter against
the hull of the boat, so there is less to catch.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Initial KeelEazy Review: an Easy-to-Apply Kayak Keel Strip

For long-time followers of PaddlingLight, you might remember that we included Volume 1 in our 2009 Great Gift Ideas for Paddlers.

Trailer

The trailer gets your heart pumping, but does the DVD?

Short answer: Yes.

The Journey

During Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2, the journey takes a group of paddlers to the Islands of St. Kilda, a rocky archipelago west of Scotland. The group of paddlers ranges from intermediate to expert and the scenes of the journey range from visiting old villages, paddling into caves, holding position under stunning sea stacks, visiting a military base and more. Willis intertwines the history of the area into the narrative. He even has a segment about the first kayak journey to the islands.

During the journey sections, I found myself talking out loud about how amazing the scenery was. I’d love to kayak there.

The journey is enjoyable when watch alone or when watched with the instructional component.

The Instruction

There’s a huge volume of information in the instructional sections. In includes so much information that other instructional DVDs that I own now feel pretty thin. In fact, I wasn’t able to absorb it all in one sitting. I consider myself well-practiced, read and informed, but there was a lot on this DVD that was new to me or different enough from the way that I do it to make me think hard about making a change. The DVD covers assisted rescues starting with the fundamentals, such as the heel hook and t-rescue. For intermediate or advanced paddlers, this will be review, but for beginners, it’s a great introduction. The heel hook is a more recent introduction into rescues and it’s great to see it incorporated into the video. That makes it feel very up-to-date. After a flat water demonstration, you see the same rescues in rough water.

From assisted rescues, Brown takes you through balance exercises and self rescues, including much to the surprise of some Midwestern coaches who frown on the paddle float — you know who you are :) — the paddle float rescue with a simple variation to how it’s taught in the states. You learn about reentry and roll. After that you end up learning about tows. There’s a section on applying the skills to rough water, and that’s followed by a rough-water, technical landing segment, which is pure gold. The video finishes with a section on learning to anticipate problems in rough water.

The instructional section includes lots of tips and information that will keep you glued to the screen. I couldn’t help but want to go paddling after watching the video. Even though there’s almost an information overload that requires multiple viewings, the video doesn’t bog down. It keeps an upbeat attitude.

Overall

This is a long video and you’ll feel like  you got your money’s worth after watching it. There’s so much information that watching it just once won’t be enough. The journey to St. Kilda feels inspiring and the instructional sections will open the eyes of beginners, give intermediate and experts new techniques to try, and it includes enough tips that instructors and coaches will have new ways to challenge their students. All in all this is a must have video for all sea kayakers.

Learn more: Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown, Vol. 2

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Review: the Rescues, Vol. 2

Fuselage Frame Boats Review

Horton borrows the term fuselage from plane building, because this method of boat building is similar to the way that lightweight planes are built. I’d argue that this style of construction for kayaks extends back before planes, but I’m not sure that that matters. Using this style, you build a strongback, which is a straight, level and flat building form that provides structure to the kayak or canoe while you build. After you construct the strongback, you cut out frames, cross-sectional structures that define the boat’s shape at a given point from one end, from plywood and the stringers, 1- by 1-inch longitudinal boards running from the bow to stern, from a softwood, such as cedar or pine. Then you attach the frames to the strongback at predetermined locations. After you plumb the frames, you run the stringers between the frames to give the kayak its shape (See my Nikumi builder’s log to see the process). The stem and stern are attached. Once everything is screwed or glued together, you sew on a skin, paint it, and then go paddling.

The way the Horton presents the process is through a number of chapters; you don’t get an overview of what you’re going to do, so you need to read the entire book before you get a glimpse at the entire process. Horton does give you a short overview of terminology. As a kayaking instructor, I’d argue with a few of the terms such as “hard chine” and “lean turn.” A hard-chined boat is a kayak or canoe with a single chine as opposed to Horton’s definition which more accurately describes a chine: “a distinct junction as opposed to a rounded over edge.” A more correct term for the way Horton defines “lean turn” is “edging.” I also felt that a few other terms could be defined, such as strongback and frame.

After terminology, Horton gives good advice about picking a shop and he lists some tools. I’d rather see all the tools listed in one location instead of addressing some in this list and “other tools as needed.” Next is how to build a strongback. I had to reread this section a couple of times to get the gist, and I’m not sure that I could build a strongback based on his instructions. I’ve built them before and knowing what I know, I can understand how to do it, but I’m not sure a first-time builder with just these instructions would understand. Also, this is where a stylistic issue starts. An instructional book should specifically address the builder using second person pronouns, such as you. Horton sways between addressing the reader directly and stating what he does. Both are used interchangeably as instructions that you as a builder need to carry out. For example:

With the two end brackets in place you need to install the center brackets. In order to keep them aligned and not end up with a twist in the keel I stretch a string between the two brackets through the slot for the keel. Make sure that the string is touching the same side of both slots. Pull it tight and tie it off. Now you have a straight edge to work from.

Note the bold that I added; almost the entire paragraph addresses the builder, but the essential step is in first person. It’s confusing to the reader and brings to mind a question: Am I suppose to do that or is that something that Horton does that I don’t need to do? While the proofreading is well done, I can’t help but think some editing would have helped improve the book. If you ignore the change in pronouns, much of the information gets communicated.

The next chapter is about building the stringers. Horton suggests that many builders should use shorter lumber and scarf the pieces together into a longer board. That’s great advice, because it can save you money and save you from the hassle of finding long, clear lumber. The problem is that he never tells you the ratio of the scarf. I suggest a 1:7 or a 1:8 ratio, which means for every inch of width in the board your scarf should be 7 or 8 inches long.

Chapter 3 and 4 spell out how to construct the frames of your boat. Anyone building one of these boats will find some nuggets of goodness in these chapters, and the mechanical drawings are excellent. In fact, they’re so good that the concepts are instantly apparent by looking at the drawings. It’s a real strength of the book and one of the reasons that make it worth buying this book. Chapter 5 presents Horton’s boats. Either you’ll like the look of the stern or you won’t. If you don’t, see below for additional resources, but keep in mind that any chined boat can be converted to this style of building. With a few tweaks, you can build rounded hulls using this method, too. See this skin-on-frame version of the 1910 St. Francis canoe as an example of converting a rounded hull to a chined hull. Horton’s next few chapters teach you how to assemble everything.

Then the section of skinning begins. Horton’s methods are slightly different than some of the other that I’ve read about or used. He sews pockets into the ends of the skin and then pulls it over the stems and finishes with the deck. On the skin-on-frame kayaks that I’ve built, I did that opposite. I.e. pin the skin in place with push pins, sew the deck and finish by sewing the stems. Horton mentions that you may run into difficultly pulling the skin into place with his method, and from what I remember using other methods, there wasn’t any real difficulties. I recommend buying either Mark Starr’s Building a Greenland Kayak (Maritime) or Chris Cunningham’s Building the Greenland Kayak : A Manual for Its Contruction and Use for easier instructions on sewing a skin. I like Starr’s method best. Horton’s book does discuss using polyester skins instead of nylon, so that would be of interest to builder’s considering using polyester.

The last chapter of Horton’s book describes outfitting. I wish he would have went into more detail about deck lines and bungee cords. Many first-time kayak builders don’t understand the importance of full perimeter deck lines or the types of deck line arrangements, so an overview would be nice. Instead, the builder needs to look elsewhere for that info. At the end of the book, Horton writes a brief section about Greenland-style kayak paddles, but he doesn’t address canoe paddles. The omission stands out.

Overall, I think that builders interested in this style of construction should buy this book. It has faults, but it’s the only up-to-date book about the subject. There are other resources, such as Tom Yost’s website and online forums, but those lack a physical copy you can bring into the workshop with you. In the years since Yost introduced some of his designs using building methods similar to Horton’s, this style of construction has boomed and many builders have tackled “fuselage” framed (Yost-style) skin-on-frames. It’s nice to have an up-to-date book about the process. If you have the spare cash, you can buy the book on Amazon.com for around $17. Here’s the link: Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes.

Other Framed Skin-on-Frame Kayak Building Resources

There are several other instructional books available that teach similar methods. The first is Zu Freeman’s Building a Jawbone Kayak. The second is George Putz’s Wood and Canvas Kayak Building. Both of these competing books use older but similar methods to arrive at a finished skin-on-frame kayak. Putz’s book is better than Freeman’s, but both are worth owning if you plan on building a canoe or kayak using this method. Putz’s includes plans for the Walrus and the Skinny Walrus, which you can also find on this website. A third building resource is Tom Yost’s website. He includes all the information that you’d need to build a skin-on-frame kayak in this style, but you need to translate some of that info from his specific designs to the boat you’re building (Horton’s book is much more generic and geared towards any plan). I printed all the pages of Yost’s website before I built my Nikumi.

I also offer a skin-on-frame version of my British-style Siskiwit Bay. If you want a British-style skin-on-frame, it’s one of the few — if not the only — options available.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes — a Review

Specifications

• Surface area: 610 sq. cm
• Blade length by width: 46 by 18 cm
• Weight for 210 cm: 23 oz.
• Available length: 205 to 230 cm

Werner Cyprus Initial Thoughts

I’ve owned a 210 cm straight shaft version of this paddle for four years, used it for over 1,000 miles of touring, plus more miles of day trips and feel ready to do a Werner Cyprus Review. When I was first shopping for a new paddle, I had experience with a number of brands, but I mostly used my Werner 201cm whitewater paddle for everything. I was also working at a guide at a place that used Werner paddles. I had grown to trust the paddles after seeing them abused daily for several years. While I liked my whitewater paddle for touring and day trips, I wanted something slightly longer and lighter. The Werner Cyprus seemed a good paddle to try.

Someone lent me a 215cm version to demo for a week and while I put it through its paces, I really started to enjoy it. The blade was smaller than my whitewater paddle, but still powerful enough. Catches with the blade felt quick and were silent. The surface area felt easy on my back and I did notice that my cadence quickened, and because of that my kayak’s average speed raised. Obviously, the whitewater paddle was just too much surface area for touring. When I’m by myself, I like to lay back on my rear deck and look at the sky while dragging a paddle blade on one side for stability. When I first tried this with the Werner Cyprus, the blade edge caught and I ended upside down. During the roll, I popped up quickly and it felt like the buoyancy helped get the paddle to the surface quickly during the setup.

After the week-long demo, I was hooked and ordered a paddle in 210cm, because I felt that the 215cm version was just too big for my 21-inch wide kayaks. The length actually felt clumsy to me.

Paddle Construction

The paddle and blade are constructed from carbon fiber, which has a beautiful black weave. The finish came from the factory completely smooth and without a single blemish. The foam in the blades gives each blade a 3D shape across the back. The thickness of the foam sandwiched between layers of carbon gives the blade strength and stiffness not possible with a simple carbon layup for the same weight. I’ve also tried a bent shaft version and the construction was equally as nice. In fact, every Werner paddle I’ve seen is of high quality.

One downside of such a smooth finish is that I find the paddle rotates easily in my hands. I use surfer’s Sex Wax to make the shaft sticky.

Werner Ferrule

The Werner Cyprus features Werner’s adjustable ferrule. The ferrule has notches at common feathers and those geared notches lock the paddle together with almost no slop or wiggle. It’s not as tight as Epic’s lever locking system, but it’s way better than a spring clip system. The advantage of Werner’s system over system like Epic’s is that nothing rises up above the paddle’s shaft, so it feels more like a one piece paddle. It has settings for 45 and 60 degrees. I use 45 because I find using that feather keeps my tendinitis from flaring up.

I haven’t had any problems with the ferrule other than the typical sand jams. I just used the hair dryer method of getting a jammed paddle apart to fix the problem.

Weight

This paddle weighs 23 oz. It feels light. When I hand it to someone using a heavier paddle the first thing they do when it gets into their hands is smile. The lightweight actually saves you energy during the day, because you end up lifting much less weight. If you paddle for eight hours on a typical touring day, you’ll lift the paddle over 28,000 times. A few ounces adds up. For example, if you use Werner’s Shuna, which weighs only 3.5 oz. more, then you end up lifting about 6,000 more pound over the day. I hate lending this paddle to someone else, because it means that I have to use their heavier paddle.

In addition to the lightweight, Werner boasts that their paddles have a low swing weight, which means that the ends weigh very little, so swinging the paddle back and forth takes less work. It certainly feels that way to me. If you pick up a paddle with heavier blades — even other carbon paddles — you can tell the difference.

Rolling

One feature that I really like about this paddle is the extra buoyancy of the foam blade. It helps for rolling and seems to pull the blade to the surface. Where it really shines though is during sculling side braces and balance braces. It’s very easy to balance brace with this paddle vs. one without foam blades. To me it actually feels like using a wooden Greenland paddle when balance bracing. Recently, I was teaching a new paddler to balance brace. She just couldn’t get it with her paddle, so I put the Cyprus into her hand. She got her first balance brace instantly.

Forward Stroke and Other Strokes

I don’t have anything to complain about. The blade shape and size catches the water quickly, it’s size feels about right for my strength — I wouldn’t want anything bigger — and the blade releases from the water just as easily as it catches. It’s a very quiet blade. When underwater, I find that I can easily move the paddle to link up strokes. One problem that I have with it is that the smooth shaft rotates and slides around easily in my hands. Now and then I’ll notice that the shaft has moved more towards one side than the other, so I have to slide it back, like I mentioned above I either use grippy gloves or wax to counteract this problem.

I find the smaller surface area of the blades feels good on my shoulders at the end of the day. Because I have a shoulder issue and don’t want to do surgery, I feel like the light swing weight and smaller blades help me continue to enjoy long-distance kayaking without losing too much power. When I shift to more surface area, I can definately feel it.

For forward strokes, I feel like 210 cm is just slightly short and 215 cm is just slightly too long for what I want. I just want a few more cm to put my catch slightly more forward.

Long Term Werner Cyprus Review

Over the long term, the paddle has held up. The blades have scratches and the tips are worn down to the fabric from pushing off sandy and rocky beaches during seal launches, but no worse and perhaps better than other paddles that I’ve used. The sticker holding the feather angles has come off a few times. I wrote to Werner about the problem, and offered to buy stickers. Instead of charging me a couple of dollars, they just sent me several replacements. I expect that the paddle will give me many more years of service.

Conclusion

I love my Werner Cyprus, and if you’re looking for an all-around lightweight paddle, then I highly recommend you buy one.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Werner Cyprus Review: A Lightweight Carbon Kayak Paddle

Sean Smith, aka THE Fat Paddler, wrote a book about his life and how discovering paddling (and eating sausages — well, okay, maybe not sausages but his website does reference them in the header) helped him through rough times. That’s a theme that I’ve personally seen manifest in kayaking students of mine. There’s something about paddling that connects us to a good inner core of humanity that can get hidden or lost from day-to-day. Personally, I think that learning paddling takes us back in time to our youth when everything we discovered was new to us. It takes us to that time in our youth when we dug worms, built forts in the forest, tromped up creeks and played outdoors. The motions involved in and feel generated by paddling are so foreign to our bodies that it reminds our subconscious minds and our muscles of what youth was like. I think that reminder connects us to the inner core and rejuvenates our life. And because water changes almost every time we paddle, it stays fresh. But I digress. There’s an underlying current of discovery in this book, and astute readers looking to change their own lives may infer that discovery provides motivation. Sean uses kayaking as a means of discovery, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use biking, hiking, climbing, photography or anything else that constantly puts you into the outdoors and new environments in the same way.

Here’s what the back-cover blurb of The Fat Paddler says:

As a hard-playing, hard-living rugby forward, Sean Smith was used to putting his body on the line. However, that soon changed when two severe motor-vehicle accidents left him with devastating physical injuries, and unable to regain his past physical fitness or his zest for life. After witnessing firsthand the 2002 Bali bombing,  Sean also found himself suffering from post-traumatic shock.  Compulsively working long hours in a stressful job and battling to find time to be with his wife and two small daughters didn’t help either.  A losing battle against obesity and an ongoing struggle with depression followed.

After being told by doctors he was a prime candidate for a heart attack at just 36, Sean decided enough was enough.  He took up kayaking (a sport that could accommodate his injuries) and then decided to tackle one of the toughest paddling competitions in the world: the 111-kilometre Hawkesbury Canoe Classic.

What follows is an entertaining and inspiring account of Sean’s journey back to health and fitness.  His many hours training on the waterways of Sydney, and a trip to Alaska paddling amongst icebergs and running away from bears, fueled a new appreciation for the beauty of the outdoors and recaptured his enthusiasm for living.

Sean’s story is an uplifting experience for those looking for motivation to regain their fitness and enjoy life to the full.

The book got my attention with it’s opening by Cas and Jonesy the authors of Crossing the Ditch:

In The Fat Paddler, Sean Smith takes us on an intensely personal journey of an ordinary bloke who has more than his fair share of faults.

That felt refreshing to me, because I also have lots of faults. I’ve also had a debilitating injury that kept me from doing what I love. Also, because I’ve been reading lots of adventure stories and books lately where the adventurers may talk about their faults, but it’s secondary to the adventure. In Sean’s story, the faults are center stage. He doesn’t put up some fake adventurers facade, like in some stories when the writer just seem so super human, fueled by unlimited sources of funding and a desire to be the first at something. I’ve been there. My failed Around the Great Lakes Expedition was suppose to gain me fame and fortune by being the first, and I have a friend that has done many firsts with massive budgets. Sean’s not worried about that. He’s worried about getting better for himself and the sake of his wife and kids. That’s refreshing.

I’ve been following Sean on Twitter and via his website, Fat Paddler, for a number of years and remember some of the events described in his book, so it was fun to read about what motivated him to get to the point where I started following him. After there, I got to relive his first race, his first roll and other things that I had heard him talking about online. That was fun for me.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable book. If you like reading about paddling and about personal rediscovery, I urge you to get a copy at the FatPaddler.com.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: The Fat Paddler Book Review

The problem was that the repair involved cutting out the broken plastic and replacing it with fiberglass. I just didn’t have the time. Additionally, because the elite layup flexes like a wet noodle, spider cracks were forming along each bulkhead (It was suggested that these are pressure cracks from air expansion in the cargo holds, but the front is vented, which means there’s no expansion there, so that leaves the hull flex or stress riser problems from the bulkheads). Those spider cracks were chipping out, so I had a half dozen or so gelcoat chips on the bulkheads. With very little time before the trip, I couldn’t properly repair the problems, so I bought Marine-Tex Rapid Set Repair Epoxy and decided to see if it would work. This is my Marine-tex review.

Marine-Tex Claims

Marine-Tex claims that the Rapid Set Epoxy is a waterproof epoxy that cures in one hour in 72 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. It’s 1:1 ratio makes it easy-to-mix. It also claims that the epoxy provides a good bond for filling cracks and voids in fiberglass, wood, many hard plastics and several other materials. It can also be used to secure loose hardware and fasteners. The 2-oz. kit is the smallest and easiest to carry in an emergency repair kit. It comes as a set of two tubes. One contains the resin and the other contains the hardener.

Using Marine-Tex Repair Epoxy

To use the Marine-tex epoxy, you mix equal parts of paste from each tube together. Once mixed, it starts to harden. Marine-tex states that you have about five minutes of working time before it becomes too warm and needs to be discarded. I worked in smaller batches to ensure that I had time to spread the epoxy.

Before the trip, I used a popsicle stick to mix and spread the epoxy evenly into the cracks in my skeg box. I also built up the epoxy over the box lip to a height equal with the original gelcoat. For the gelcoat chips, I filled the chip even with the rest of the gelcoat. The paste is gray, so it stands out on a white hull. I wish it came in white. On my first application, I came back in about an hour and it felt like it setup, so I sanded it smooth. Sanding was easy.

My Marine-Tex Review and Experience in the Field

The gelcoat chip repairs held up for the 45 days I was on expedition, but the repair around the skeg box gave way after about 25 days. Considering that the skeg box saw rock hits, was dragged across beaches, filled with sand and rocks, and generally just beat up, I felt the repair epoxy worked well. If the plastic skeg box hadn’t cracked further, I think the repair would have held up the entire trip.

In the field, I re-repaired the NDK skeg box on a remote beach. I found a flat rock on which to mix the epoxy and a small twig to mix and apply the epoxy. The repair went on as easily in the field and it did at home. It wasn’t as smooth, and I didn’t have any sandpaper, but I was more worried about further damage to the plastic skeg box than appearance. The repair lasted the remainder of the trip. In addition to the SKUK skeg box repair, two patches holding my North Water Under Deck Bag to my kayak came loose. The epoxy held the patches for the trip and are still holding the patches.

Going on a Trip, Buy Some, It’s Worth It

Overall, I’m happy with the performance of the Marine Tex Rapid Set Repair Epoxy. It’s something that I can highly recommend for paddlers that use composite kayaks or canoes. I paid $18 at a marine supply store. It’s only $13 through Amazon and the above link.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: Marine-Tex Review: Rapid Set Repair Epoxy for Emergency Repairs

SeasonFive Phantom Features

In addition to the waterproof/breathable Atmos fabric, the Phantom features a zippered expansion on the shirt’s back, flat lock stitching to make the seams feel comfortable and a set on cuff. SeasonFive designed the piece with a snug fit to keep out water and support your muscles. It features a 4-way stretch, which allows the piece to move with you. It combines gray-colored side panels with a black main body and a welded logo for a clean look.

In Usage

During the time that I tested it, I used it primarily in three ways. I used it under my drysuit as a layer, under my wetsuit and a short sleeve drytop and over my wetsuit as a barrier layer. It had advantages in all three uses. Before I address all three uses, I want to say something about the fit. The snug fit felt very supportive, and during my expedition, especially towards the end, when my muscles felt tired in the morning, the fit felt great and soothing to put on.

As a layer under my drysuit, it provided additional wind protection, which basically stopped any wind that happened to get through the Gore-Tex of my suit. When I wore the suit without the top, I could feel the difference in wind penetration. The outer fabric move smoothly inside my drysuit which made the drysuit feel like it fit better (it already feels like it fits perfectly, so this was a pleasant surprise). I found that the shirt worked best under a drysuit with a synthetic long underwear top worn under it. This seemed to help wick the moisture away from my body and through the Phantom quicker than without it, which kept me feeling drier during the day. I layered extra insulation over the Phantom as needed.

Under the wetsuit and drytop, it functioned in much the same way as under a wetsuit. It provided extra warmth and wind protection. Because I was using a short-sleeve drytop, the arms of the Phantom were exposed from my elbows to my wrists. On my expedition, where I didn’t wash my clothing that often, the cuffs of the Phantom stretched slightly, which allowed some of the 45 degree Fahrenheit water into the sleeve. The water sloshed around a little until it drained back out of the cuff. Also without the drytop on if I did rolls, the top would flush water into my wetsuit, which on colder water felt like a shock.

Wearing the Phantom over my wetsuit, worked great. When water flushed into the top, it didn’t flush my wetsuit, and the extra wind resistance of the top, kept me warm. The fabric dried quickly after a roll or during brace practice. I think this is the ideal use for the top, but when you wear it this way, you don’t get the soothing supportive fit. In warmer water, wearing the Phantom without a wetsuit works well, too.

Overall Conclusion About the SeasonFive Phantom Top

I like it. It’s one of the best rash guards that I’ve had the pleasure of using. I definately like having it along on a long-distance expedition, because it feels versatile and warm under a drysuit on a cold day. During practice on warmer water, wearing it over my wetsuit felt perfect. It kept the wind off, which allowed me to wear less layers of neoprene. I think this top is ideal for someone who uses a wetsuit often or for someone who paddles in warmer water and just wants a top to break the wind. The fit feels flattering, and the clean look feels stylish, which doesn’t hurt the ego. If you’re looking for a rash guard, this one is worth your money.

Phantom Long Sleeve | $99

I want to thank SeasonFive for providing the top to test and letting me keep it longer than usual to use on my expedition. It was a pleasure to test this product.

This article originally appeared on PaddlingLight.com. Leave a comment and an opinion by clicking through here: SeasonFive Phantom Review: A windproof, waterproof rash guard