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I wish we had an instructor here in town for that...A group of us paddle about 5 miles every Tuesday evening once a week, but that's it...

I, myself, am a kayak fisherman who dabbles in paddling....

 

Around here a lot of people train for the MR 340....

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We live about 1/4 mile south of Lake Ontario and we have an awesome bay in our town with camping areas on its shores.  We support two kayak/canoe paddling centers who offer classes for all levels (level 3 spends the entire class falling out of the boats and learning to get back in them) as well as guided tours and trips.  Trips can be anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days.  The end of the bay is all protected wetlands so plenty of paddling with the wild-life.

 

An hour to the south are the Finger Lakes with a few hundred wineries, breweries and distilleries.  So not only are there chauffered wine tours, there are paddling wine tours.

 

Also it is only a 4-hour drive to the Adirondaks where you can disappear for a few days on the thousands of ponds/lakes/trails...

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My paddling buddy is an instructor. I have never taken any of his classes but of course he shares info with me while we are paddling.  A few weeks ago I attended his beginners class as his photographer and then I worked with him as his assistant on a Team Building event. I must admit I was surprised and impressed. After watching the class I now HIGHLY recommend new paddlers take a class. So much I had to learn the hard way they learn in that class!

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Just got off the phone with Ridge Carbide who is fixing my TS blade; they had to replace 2 teeth, two others were bent and are doing a general sharpening grind on the rest of it, should have it back early next week.  At this point I wonder how cost effective the repair was vs ordering a new blade...it is a Tenryu Gold Medal that I have had for 12 years so kinda attached to it.

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Yeah, except I am planning on ripping walnut.  I do have a stack of those for the circular saw though, good back-up plan...also just ordered the plans for the Lanui (SUP by Dave Gentry).  We gave my oldest son (almost 8) the choice between the tadpole and a SUP for an xmas present/project, sorry Jeff, he chose a SUP.  They also do SUP Yoga in the wetlands near our bay, my wife is trying to convince me of doing that, I would be the only guy in the class (we saw the class Tuesday night during our kayak class).

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Kayak is way more efficient. We always joke that it's harder to paddle the board 2 miles, than swim it. Especially if it gets windy.

I would much rather paddle a kayak if I wanted to get somewhere.

A regular old lay down paddle board is a hoot, too, but we wanted to be seen.

Apparently my canoe with a flagstaff carrying a diver down flag wasn't visible enough.

6 foot guy in chartreuse standing up is hard to miss...so far.

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They say SUP are a lot of fun.  I wonder how they would compare in effort and speed to our kayaks.  Does anyone know?  I bet Jeff will have a SOF SUP design in the future.  

Speed is slower.  They have flat bottoms and hence high wetted surface to achieve flotation.  The long shaft and terrible leverage of the paddle adds even more effort to the added drag of the board.  The only claim in favor of a paddle board is that it is good exercise.  It isn't even remotely efficient.

 

edit: As to fun, that is a matter of opinion.  Some really like them, I think they are kinda silly.

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The "fun" report that I had on a SUP was one that was located at a Canadian cottage.  I now see that the fun may have been hanging out in the bay, climbing up, diving off, swimming from it, sun bathing, horsing around and maybe even fishing from it.  Now, to every kid, and even a few adults, that is some serious fun!  Thanks for filling me in on the weaknesses of them as a mode of transportation. 

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 I bet Jeff will have a SOF SUP design in the future.  

 

Sorry but no plans for this. I probably should but then I have to build something I have ZERO interest in. If you live on the coast and used it to surf, I can see it. But to stand up and paddle on a lake??? I don't get it.

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 I bet Jeff will have a SOF SUP design in the future.  

 

Sorry but no plans for this. I probably should but then I have to build something I have ZERO interest in. If you live on the coast and used it to surf, I can see it. But to stand up and paddle on a lake??? I don't get it.

 

I couldn't understand how a guy competed in the MR 340 and finished on a SUP....came 31st out of 116

http://www.supthemag.com/features/standup-paddling-the-longest-river-race-in-the-u-s/

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Picked up our new canoe/kayak transport device...new to us anyway.  Happened to stop at the local dealer and someone had traded it in so I bought it and brought it home, cleaned up the surface rust and got a few coats of Rustoleum on there.  Looks awesome, now just got to build and mount some carrier racks. 

 

Toolbox came with it and gets mounted back on the tongue, just waiting a few days for the paint to dry 100%. 

 

There is a drop gate but took it off for painting and cannot transport any boats with it on there anyway.

 

trailer.jpg

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I have one, just like that except I think it is good big bigger.  This should make you a good one. I have often thought about how to add removable racks so I could use it but I have a dedicated kayak trailer. And my utility trailers track is wider than the car, while my kayak trailer has the same track width,so I never have to worry about tires running off the road unless the truck is too. 

 

Two things to keep in mind.

 

Springs may be to stiff and  you may need to remove some leaves. Keeping the tire pressure low on ta lightly loaded trailer makes it ride much better too. To much air and it bounces like a ballon. I probably don't have 10-15 lbs in those on my kayak trailer and they absorb a lot of the bumps.

 

Second thing is you may need to extend the tongue. Makes a big difference when hauling long boats. I extended my kayak trailer, which started as a utility trailer. 

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Thanks Jeff for the pointers,

 

It is a 5x10 so at this point the worst case is put the bows at the front rail and everything hangs over the back by 5'.  It is the same width as the minivan and the Outback so no worries there, I like it cause I can pick it up by the tongue and push it where I need it so not too heavy, I even pushed it up the driveway, not that it's really steep, but does have some pitch.

 

Previous owner had the tire pressure around 20 PSI and it was still bouncing a bit bringing it home so will probably drop it a bit more.  Though I want to be able to use it for everything: Cub Scout trips, mulch, plywood and lumber transport, etc.  So the racks definitely have to be removable and I don't want to change the spring configuration unless I have to.

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I like that solution Woodman, thanks for the pic.  I will be using the trailer for Cub Scout trips so having the enclosed/semi-enclosed storage is a big plus.

This is a lightweight jetski trailer I pull with my Geo Metro.....

http://s147.photobucket.com/user/scrawford_photos/library/kayak%20trailer?sort=3&page=1

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