Regarding our article Small Boat Survival, reader David Peebles writes:
Following the suggestion of Phil Bolger in regard to rowing, I have found that a short, quick paddle stroke works best in head winds. I surmise this is because a paddle blade is almost always in the water, keeping steady pressure on the boat, rather than intermittent, powerful strokes. Saves shoulders and backs, too. Incidentally, I always paddle unfeathered, and have never found this to be a problem. But my homemade paddles usually have narrow blades.
About rip currents: often the area of broken water is fairly small; if you can just stay upright, the current should flush you through to the other side (beyond the rip). Usually better than frantically trying to muscle your way through. Interestingly, we are more likely to encounter dangerous currents in Puget Sound than out on the open ocean (our ocean paddling is usually along the west coast of Vancouver Island, B.C.).
Reader Llew Johnson shared his thoughts on the idea of collapsible oars, as mentioned in our article Sacrilege or Solution:
Solution, YES! Sacrilege, NO!
I’ve been rowing for decades with 9’6” oars, both wood and carbon fiber (see photos attached). An example is a 29-day row-sail-motor the full lengths of the Lower Snake and Columbia Rivers. The wood oars were from Barkley Sound Oar and Paddle LTD (now defunct). Note, I added oarlock stanchions to my Drascombe Lugger to allow standup rowing; standup rowing facilitates navigation through bodies of confined water.
Another example is rowing from Seattle to Prince Rupert in my Heritage 18 (Little River Marine, Gainesville, FL). For this vessel I recently upgraded from wood oars to carbon fiber (XPL 2-piece purchased through Duckworks Boat Builders Supply, Port Townsend, WA).
Thanks for including rowing as an integral part of your adventures!
Reader Kees Van Weel suggested we should do an SCA reader book exchange. We’re not sure what it would look like—perhaps just readers posting a list of books they have available and an email address. Or maybe someone has a better suggestion of how we might facilitate it? Let us know in the comments below or at josh@smallcraftadvisor.com
Yes, I am to blame. I am decluttering the house and have books I bought based on what I saw in the book stacks photos posted here. Many I have read but will probably never read again. Instead of reselling them, I thought if we have a book exchange or lending library I can pass them on to someone else, maybe for the cost of postage or maybe free....
We recently installed new floors in our house and basically boxed up everything in order to clear the rooms, including scores of books. (I'm not a Hoarder, I'm a Curator!). I now have the opportunity to cull and purge before moving (some of) the furniture back in. I was able to steer clear of the enticing "almost free" collections of books at the Fisheries swap meet and noticed no one else was walking around with armloads of those bargains either.
I'm a proud Luddite who prefers print over screen (including navigation charts), but this wondrous new thing called "the internet" has taught me that much of the information taking up space in the house is more current and more easily accessed online - plus it's free and portable via my smarter-than-me "mobile device". I'll keep a core of printed knowlege, dreams, and beauty (including all my SCA issues) and won't promise I'm done buying books, but I will be creating a list of what I no longer need.
Anyone who thinks their library will fetch big money at a garage sale is dreaming. Last time I took a couple of boxes to Half Price Books they gave me about three dollars for the lot - barely enough to buy a used CD!
So Yes I'm open to a swap scheme where good books can find new homes.