Photos A Walk in Nature

Just Tom. said:
Out Muddy Branch and into the Potomac this morning:
fYzsEBk.jpg


I had the usual in my pocket, but no occasion came up to use or photograph it:
Muk7EMQ.jpg
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Great to see photos of your boat trips, Tom! :cool::cool::thumbsup:
Is the boat performing as you hoped? Any winter modifications you're planning?
I might have missed a post about it, but you mentioned showing a park ranger how you get your boat up onto your vehicle. Are you willing to briefly describe that loading/unloading process (or provide a link to a previous post that includes such a description)? Thanks!

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Great to see photos of your boat trips, Tom! :cool::cool::thumbsup:
Is the boat performing as you hoped? Any winter modifications you're planning?
I might have missed a post about it, but you mentioned showing a park ranger how you get your boat up onto your vehicle. Are you willing to briefly describe that loading/unloading process (or provide a link to a previous post that includes such a description)? Thanks!

- GT
Click to expand...
Thanks!
The boat performs pretty much how I expected, I suppose. The flat bottom means it has a tendency to yaw a bit. When paddling it’s easy to control using the ‘J’ stroke, and I am getting better with the push pole each outing. The big advantage it has is that it draws very little water.

The only modification I might make would be to remove the eye bolt at the bow, and attach the painter through a hole in the top part instead. The bolt has a tendency to get hung up on my clothes when loading and unloading the boat, besides the risk of it digging into my groin…

As for my loading method, first I push or pull the boat to my car like an upside-down wheelbarrow. Then, in the only difficult and awkward part of the operation, I lift the bow up and set it on a crossbar I built, which is strapped to the trunk of my car. Once that is done, I can just shove the boat forward onto the roof racks from behind. Here are some pictures from before I painted it, showing the crossbar and the offending eye bolt:

NjXjEga.jpg


SYaQbaf.jpg
 
Just Tom. said:
Thanks!
The boat performs pretty much how I expected, I suppose. The flat bottom means it has a tendency to yaw a bit. When paddling it’s easy to control using the ‘J’ stroke, and I am getting better with the push pole each outing. The big advantage it has is that it draws very little water.

The only modification I might make would be to remove the eye bolt at the bow, and attach the painter through a hole in the top part instead. The bolt has a tendency to get hung up on my clothes when loading and unloading the boat, besides the risk of it digging into my groin…

As for my loading method, first I push or pull the boat to my car like an upside-down wheelbarrow. Then, in the only difficult and awkward part of the operation, I lift the bow up and set it on a crossbar I built, which is strapped to the trunk of my car. Once that is done, I can just shove the boat forward onto the roof racks from behind. Here are some pictures from before I painted it, showing the crossbar and the offending eye bolt:

NjXjEga.jpg


SYaQbaf.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks for the description and pics, Tom. Clever way to be able to load the boat yourself without hurting yourself. Do your tie-down straps hook into the door frames somehow, or do the straps run all the way across the ceiling of the passenger compartment?

When I used to kayak a lot on our vacations, I had trouble with yawing - I was Mr. Zig-Zag due to inexpert paddling, and I had trouble holding a course when there was a crosswind. At some point we bought our own kayak that was substantially longer than the ones we previously rented, and it had a foot-operated rudder system. Both of those features helped me stay on a straight line.

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Do your tie-down straps hook into the door frames somehow, or do the straps run all the way across the ceiling of the passenger compartment?
Click to expand...
They run all the way across the inside. I have the front one positioned so it doesn’t interfere with my vision, and my head wouldn’t hit it in the case of an accident. I also put the ratcheting tensioner on the outside - I’m not sure what it would do if it failed, but I wouldn’t want it smacking me in the head…
 
5K Qs said:
Thanks for the description and pics, Tom. Clever way to be able to load the boat yourself without hurting yourself. Do your tie-down straps hook into the door frames somehow, or do the straps run all the way across the ceiling of the passenger compartment?

When I used to kayak a lot on our vacations, I had trouble with yawing - I was Mr. Zig-Zag due to inexpert paddling, and I had trouble holding a course when there was a crosswind. At some point we bought our own kayak that was substantially longer than the ones we previously rented, and it had a foot-operated rudder system. Both of those features helped me stay on a straight line.

- GT
Click to expand...
Back in the eighties I went on a canoe trip with my somewhat new girlfriend. The put in was in a creek about 100yds from the Eleven Point River in southeast Missouri. We zagged into the left bank. We zigged into the right bank. As we ricocheted our way toward the river, I said, "I thought you said you knew how to canoe."
She swiveled her head around to eyeball me and said, "I thought you said you knew how to canoe." 🤪
Just Tom. said:
They run all the way across the inside. I have the front one positioned so it doesn’t interfere with my vision, and my head wouldn’t hit it in the case of an accident. I also put the ratcheting tensioner on the outside - I’m not sure what it would do if it failed, but I wouldn’t want it smacking me in the head…
Click to expand...
I love the ingenuity :thumbsup::thumbsup: Problem solved in an inexpensive and relatively simple way :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Just Tom. said:
I also put the ratcheting tensioner on the outside - I’m not sure what it would do if it failed, but I wouldn’t want it smacking me in the head…
Click to expand...
thumb.gif
 
Here you go Tom - add one of these to your forward deck. Will be very useful from that position. Stainless/marine grade of course.



EDIT EDIT J Just Tom. This won't work on your deck as it will always be in the way when loading and unloading off the car. Better to simply replace the eye bolt with this on the stem. Will flop down when you don't need it so will never be in the way but always available for your bow line.
 
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RayseM said:
EDIT EDIT J Just Tom. This won't work on your deck as it will always be in the way when loading and unloading off the car. Better to simply replace the eye bolt with this on the stem. Will flop down when you don't need it so will never be in the way but always available for your bow line.
Click to expand...
Even better! Thanks for putting so much thought into this :D:thumbsup:.
 
Just Tom. said:
Thanks!
The boat performs pretty much how I expected, I suppose. The flat bottom means it has a tendency to yaw a bit. When paddling it’s easy to control using the ‘J’ stroke, and I am getting better with the push pole each outing. The big advantage it has is that it draws very little water.

The only modification I might make would be to remove the eye bolt at the bow, and attach the painter through a hole in the top part instead. The bolt has a tendency to get hung up on my clothes when loading and unloading the boat, besides the risk of it digging into my groin…

As for my loading method, first I push or pull the boat to my car like an upside-down wheelbarrow. Then, in the only difficult and awkward part of the operation, I lift the bow up and set it on a crossbar I built, which is strapped to the trunk of my car. Once that is done, I can just shove the boat forward onto the roof racks from behind. Here are some pictures from before I painted it, showing the crossbar and the offending eye bolt:

NjXjEga.jpg


SYaQbaf.jpg
Click to expand...
Nice setup. I vote "Painter". But then, I'm a retired canoeist, and manufacturing engineer. I love to see innovation in progress. Good lookin' boat too.
 
DirtDawg said:
Nice setup. I vote "Painter". But then, I'm a retired canoeist, and manufacturing engineer. I love to see innovation in progress. Good lookin' boat too.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
I didn’t really have the time to commit to building something fancier, so I figured this would get me out on the water with a minimum investment in time and money, with only hardware store materials.

I too have spent a ton of time canoeing, mostly as a child and teenager. We had a Browning 17’ aluminum canoe, then later also a wood and fiberglass one my dad made. By the time I was in high school my dad trusted me to take them out on the river with a friend, unsupervised, even for 1 and 2 night camping trips.
 
Just Tom. said:
Thanks!
I didn’t really have the time to commit to building something fancier, so I figured this would get me out on the water with a minimum investment in time and money, with only hardware store materials.
Click to expand...
One big advantage of hardware store parts is parts availability. One early Sunday morning I repaired a home brewed motorcycle pannier mount in the parking lot of the Lowes in Greenville, Mississippi :thumbsup:
 
It rained all weekend here, so no big outdoor adventures for me. Late this afternoon the sun came out - I figured the rain was over, so I went for a walk to a local park.
mzeORmt.jpg


Apparently I figured wrong, because I got soaked…

I didn’t plan on posting or taking any knife pictures, but someone left this giant plastic grasshopper on a trail marker, and I couldn’t pass up the photo-op:
iTREQlo.jpg
 
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