Flotsam & Jetsam
Your letters and such...
Regarding his article Anticipating Old Salt and the note that followed from Naval Architect Steve Judson, writer Greg Willihnganz says:
My apologies to naval architect Steve Judson who took offense at my article Anticipating Old Salt. I am not qualified, by training or experience, to make any serious, in-depth comments about the profession of naval architecture. While I do think there was some overall truth in my article, the primary thrust was to be an entertaining piece with humorous observations. In particular, my use of the word condescending was intended to be satiric rather than factual. Readers of these pages should be warned that future articles are likely to be in a similar vein and if I need to be called out on them, by all means, call away.
About the same subject reader Stan Zdunek from Slipstream Watercraft writes:
This may not be an exactly parallel situation but it still makes the point regarding designs that target a specific market segment—i.e. elderly, mature, aged, getting on, vintage and as our grandkids say “older than dirt”
Full disclosure: we love the concept and esthetics of the Old Salt 15 —our hope is to build and market a composite version.
The not-exactly-parallel-situation:
At Slipstream Watercraft we modified a John Henry Rushton Wee Lassie canoe design from 10’ 6” to 13’. Literally cut the Wee Lassie in half, stretched it to 13’ and fared the in between. An intentional design modification was made to introduce just under an inch of reverse rocker or hogging to the hull. The objective was to target canoe paddlers that want to spend less time using a J-stroke or rudder and more time going straight—to create a boat that tracks like it’s on rails.
The Impulse 13 with its slight reverse rocker has been a resounding success. There’s has been a little scuttlebutt from a couple of paddlers who say it’s a design flaw. On the other hand, if you ask the hundreds and hundreds of paddlers who own one, you’ll find the “flaw” makes the Impulse 13 their favorite design.
What started as a one off to help someone who had difficulty making a canoe go straight has become a top seller in our line of canoes and kayaks. We see it not as a “flaw” but as an accommodation that enables paddlers to cover more distance with less corrective paddle energy. Feedback also confirms that “older than dirt” paddlers are aggravating basal thumb joints, wrists, elbows and shoulders to a noticeably lesser degree when paddling the reverse rocker Impulse 13.
All this to say it’s obviously a departure from traditional or elite designs. But it effectively targets a group of enthusiasts who benefit from more time on the water... and with less stress. Time on the water, isn’t that really the point? We applaud the Team’s efforts in creating the Old Salt 15!
We’ll ask for more classified listings soon, but we wanted to share reader Richard Hamley’s post below:
I have some old things that I would like to offer to subscribers in the Mid Atlantic area. I wonder if I may offer some or all of them via your classified section:
1. Two old Bahama Skulling oars (free).
2. Arthur Martin’s original pair of 7.5 ft prototype foam core fiberglass oars from 1972 (Free).
3. A good pair of 8.5ft varnished wooden oars made by Sportsman’s Pride in Nova Scotia ($40).
5. A 16 ft fiberglass sailboard mast on gooseneck ($50).
6. A large collection of hundreds of unusual and rare oarlocks, mostly brass and bronze. Mounting rails for about half of them. Great decoration for boathouse or seafood resturaunt ($1500). Pictures available.
All items to be picked up by buyer in northern Virginia. Contact: dickhamly@aol.com
Regarding a reader question about boating with bears in Alaska, David Peebles responds:
I have kayaked and camped on beaches along much of the outer coast of Vancouver Island, and also one trip in Alaska to the Kenai Fjords, which form a national park, and another trip to Haida Gwai (Queen Charlottes). Out of many trips we saw one or two bears at a distance. These all appeared to be black bears, not grizzlies, but from a distance sometimes hard to tell. As soon as they became aware of us, they invariably skedaddled. In numerous trips, we have never had an actual bear visit our camp, though we were always diligent about hanging our food. On one of our last trips there was no good place to do so. So one of the guys said to hell with it and stuffed every thing into his kayak. The rest of us followed his lead, and we had no problems, even though we knew we were in bear country (in islands south and east of Bella Bella). I would not be so careless where bears have access to a garbage dump. They are used to associating humans with food.
What you do need to do is protect your food from mice. Below decks serves very well for this purpose. If you suspend your folding bucket full of water (for handiness in the camp kitchen) you are sure to have a drowned mouse in the morning. You have to suspend folding buckets, otherwise they are sure to spontaneously collapse and spill all your water.
Our friend Lloyd Jones called to say he’s desperately seeking a Heron Dinghy in the United States. Anyone with a lead on one please contact Lloyd at: llydjones@gmail.com
Here’s a website about building a barrel barge. —Eds •SCA•
About 25 years ago, I took an amazing REI adventure tour to glacier Bay, Alaska. We were put overboard from our mothership every day in wonderful fiberglass tandems. On every excursion that we went on, we took our food in bear canisters. In fact, when we beached our kayaks, we carried the canisters many yards away from the boats. When I asked the guide why we did this she told me about an incident where they left canisters inside the kayaks only to have a grizzly bear come to investigate the canisters while crushing all the fiberglass kayaks. On numerous occasions, we saw folks who were kayak camping on wooded islands in glacier Bay setting up camp on one side of a small island while grizzly bears roamed 100 yards away. When traveling to a new area, it’s always good to know who or what is at the top of the food chain. Jim Smith
Barrel platforms are fun and practical. I recommend filling at least the outer layer of barrels with A/B foam so that the platform has a better chance of withstanding a gunshot when left unattended in a wilderness bay. (Voice of experience)