Is a kayak-y cO-NONE-Drum

While out today, piddlin’round on Laurel lake, I gotz ta thinking about the very boat I was in, what I am planning on picking up next weekend, and formulating plans, or possibles, or something like that (Shush Brudda B, I know, “ya need to stop thinkin’ so much!”)

I had sorta made tentative plans to put Lyssa up for sale after purchasing the Yella-Nanner-Boat  (that is what I am calling her right now,,, as  distinction between ‘this kayak, that kayak, etc’)   I haven’t made that purchase yet, so there is still room to wiggle out if I decide such is in order.   Not that its a money issue: I have that in hand.    It could be used in other areas just as easily (and probably in better ways, but,,,,)

I keep thinking,,,   Yah, thats my problem, the brainium never shuts down: there is always a running dialogue between me, myself, the characters in my head, and IS,,,   IS is the quiet one most days, but has the greater ‘vote’,,,    And Lyssa has been one hell of a great boat, still is; just a little tired, not quite up to my needs in some ways,

and HEAVY.    

I’m getting to that point in age, where loading/unloading her can be intimidating, and yes, there have been sessions where I decided to NOT go paddling because of the ‘gotta get her down to the water AND BACK AGAIN,,,,’   The old gurl weighs nearly 70#, empty!!!  The Yella-Nanner-boat is a full 12# lighter and is more than a foot longer.  Even with a trolley, Lyssa wears me out movin’ over ground.

Still, she is the ONLY kayak I have owned that has not put me in the drink,,,  Intentional rolling sessions, yes!, Accidental capsize: not once!!!  And thats  even with getting squirelly with the GP blades: they will slice and dice you into a capsize if you aren’t ready. (which is what usually puts me in the drink,,,  )

if only I could find that Alabaster Unicorn: the Wildy Tempest 180pro,,,,     Rarer than hens teeth, and always list as if new, because the owners KNOW what they have,,,,,   That or the P&H Cetus MV,,,,    the hull designs are so close, I am surprised that P&H hasn’t been hit with a copyright lawsuit.  (American company vs British company.,,,  Yeah, no lawsuit in that future, eh?)    Still,,, $$$$$$   that Dio ain’t got (yup, bad grammer,,, get over it!)

(actually, there IS a Wildy 170pro on the market right now: even in my price range.   The problem is location,,, Upstate NY near Canada: 12 hour drive one way and dude wants cash,,,,   No e-pay.   If he would take e-pay, I would find a way to get it to me,,,,  There are groups of kayak lovers that are always on the move and willing to haul a boat on the cheap ‘if they are going that way,,,,’. and right now, there are WW festivals all over this section of country where someone might be willing to pick up and deliver somewhere much closer to me.)

Anywhoos,,,, Lyssa isn’t leaving my fleet anytime soon.  She is too solid of a boat, forgiving where she needs, demanding enough to teach ya something new,

just one heavy bitch,,,,

maybe I need to find a hull-a-vator for Buffalo,,,,,

I have seven days to make up my mind about the Yella-Nanner-boat,,, I won’t be picking it up until Sat or Sun of the coming weekend  (still not set in stone with seller yet)  And who knows, maybe some Golden Unicorn of a boat will pop up ‘along the way’ and all of this post is moot,,,,  

I don’t think I am that lucky,,,,,   

Live, keep on livin’, laugh at the ‘tards in DC, learn something new about yourself and the world around you, and KEEP LOADING THOSE MAGS AND SHELVES,,,, we aint’ out of the storm yet.  (hell, it hasn’t really started yet,,,,)

ADDENDUM: got home, still daylight,,,   thought to self, “We’re keepin’ Lyssa, how can I improve on what’s there?”   This isn’t the first round of this thinking either,,,, been lots of eyeballin’, thinking, and judging of ‘costs’: not neccesarily financial ones, but depreciation of value costs.   Any changes I make to a boat are going to reduce it’s overall value, no matter if its makes the boat better,,, It’s no longer factory,,,,     

Long story short, I cut the rear bulkhead out of the poor gurl.    There are two rear bulkheads,, the one at the back of the cockpit, and the one between the day hatch and the rear compartment.   I had once flooded both compartments and siphoned them out into a bucket to measure thier REAL volume.   Much easier than doing a ton of math.   Both were right around 6 1/2 gallons.    Thats a LOT of displacement back there, and only half of it accessible with a large hatch.  That compartment also holds the skeg box, which cuts the back half of the compartment, neatly, in two with little to no usable space.   Small items like tent poles and such slide back there and don’t get lost, but there isn’t much else that will and definitely nothing in a dry bag.    So, I cut that bulkhead between the day hatch out (which I have always felt were as useful as teats on a boar-hog: accessible to Yoga masters that have tight rope walker balance, but normal peeps need to beach or raft up to get in those dinky hatches with VOLUMES of space that swallow anything small.)  (the last boat I had, that had a day hatch, I swapped the VCP cover out with a hard access cover that operated with flip latch, and a cat-bag inside.  Much easier to access.)  Busted out the sander (and a vacuum cleaner to suck the atmo out as I did: fiberglass dust gets ugly,,,) to smooth out the rough edges remaining.   Wiped it all down with Windex and a micro fiber towel.   And grabbed two of my drybags with gear to see if I had made an improvement.    EUREKA!!!!    I am seriously considering, as a winter project, sealing up that day hatch opening.   One big hatch that can leak is bad enough,  two could get ugly.   For now though,,,   

Well, I have yet to put her to a feild test, and thats going to be at least two weeks out, but so far, I’m confident she just gained some usablility that I have been grumping she lacks(ed).  And I still have the full bulkhead that can be ‘glued’ back in, if I ever decide to change my mind.