Messages

1

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Paddling UK canals?

« on: January 17, 2020, 12:15:49 PM »

Indeed! I'm going to be more about channeling James May than Laird Hamilton.

Not quite RedBull or X-Game worthy, but some sight seeing to be had

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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Paddling UK canals?

« on: January 17, 2020, 11:59:45 AM »

Ha, this is the program that actually planted the seed for this trip in my head!

I've never been on the canals, but I watched a number in the series 'Travel by Narrow Boat'.  Mildly entertaining compared to most programming, but would provide a preview for what you might see.  ' Sounds like fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRBzs422Dhk

Jim

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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Re: Paddling UK canals?

« on: January 16, 2020, 07:59:01 PM »

Thanks for the tip on the FB page and British Canoeing!! My current conundrum is my American insurance broker has no policy which will cover me to the satisfaction of the CRT because here in America SUPs are not considered to be boats as far as liability/insurance is concerned. British insurance agents who do offer such policies won't sell me one because I don't reside in the UK. Hopefully membership in British Canoeing can resolve that for me.

Weather I'm not too worried about. My trip is the first week of May and I expect it to be cool and damp. The weather in the London area pretty much always matches the weather in Seattle so I'm used to quickly changing conditions and know the value of a good layering system! We've also had a pretty windy and wet weather and even had snow this week.

I was originally planning on going down the Thames to Battersea but apparently the London Port Authority doesn't let you paddle past the Putney Bridge. Now I'm thinking about taking the Paddington branch of the Grand Union and getting out in Little Venice right before the Haida Hill tunnel since I've heard tunnels are off limits to paddlers. Also a lot less traffic than the Thames which I imagine is probably like paddling on Lake Washington here in Seattle but without all the seaplanes!

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Travel, Trips, Destinations / Paddling UK canals?

« on: January 16, 2020, 01:01:48 PM »

I'm heading to the UK to paddle from Milton Keynes to central London on the Grand Union Canal. It's 66 miles over 6 days and my plan is for this to be more of a floating pub crawl than any sort of athletic endurance event.

1) Has anyone from the USA done this and if so, did you get a CRT license to do so? I want to do things on the up and up which means paying for a license. I'm fine with that since the fees support maintenance on the canals. Challenge is they require you to have boaters insurance.

2) Is anyone familiar with the conditions? It's a canal controlled by locks so there will be no current but I'm also wondering about weeds and wind conditions.

3) How time consuming is it to portage around the locks?

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Flatwater and Touring / Advice on paddling the Willamette, Columbia and Cowltz rivers?

« on: June 04, 2015, 09:31:04 AM »

Hi all,

I'm thinking of planning a multi-day paddling trip. My plan is to take Amtrak down to Portland and paddle down the Willamette River taking the left fork around Sauvie Island, onto the Columbia River and finally up the Cowlitz River to Kelso where I can catch the Amtrak back home to Seattle. This maps out to 55 miles and I'm thinking I could do it in 4-5 days. There appears to be plenty of parks along the way to camp at (Burlington Bottoms, Coon Island, Sand Island, Sandy Island and Prescott Beach) Of course how things look on a map can be deceptive and I've never spent anytime paddling in this neck of the woods. I know Portland receives shipping traffic so I'm assuming this stretch of the Columbia is free of rapids and I'd be going with the current. Any idea how bad headwinds are along this stretch? Any other considerations I should think about? Best time of year to try this?

6

NorthWest / Re: Paddling near Seattle

« on: June 04, 2015, 09:20:27 AM »

Cyclocross, what iSup did you get?  I recently bought a Red Paddle Co 10'  Surfer---my first board.  SUP is harder than I thought!  I can see how progress will be made with each session, though.

I picked up a 12'6" Imagine Surf Compressor Mission. Seems to be at least as fast as my home made Chesapeake Light Craft Kaholo wood board. I did a fun trip last week where I took Amtrak from Seattle up to Edmonds and then paddled home to Golden Gardens. At the end I rolled up the board and walked home.

Also be sure to check out Rob Casey's blog, he has tons of good advice and lives in Seattle so it's very relevant to our neck of the woods. http://stokemagazine.blogspot.com/

7

Gear Talk / Solutions for carrying an isup?

« on: May 21, 2015, 02:11:19 PM »

So i'm loving my new inflatable board and thinking about taking it on the train then inflating it and paddling downwind back home. To do this I need a way to carry the board with me. The bag which came with the board is really more of a rolling suitcase. It will be great for flying or driving somewhere but what I need is something that will let me carry my board and pump but then once I've got the board inflated it needs to pack down small enough to carry on my board. I have a strap to keep the board rolled up an was thinking I could just use a shoulder strap from a gym bag and sling it over my shoulder. Any other ideas?

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NorthWest / Re: Paddling near Seattle

« on: May 05, 2015, 04:12:09 PM »

All depends on what you're used to. I paddle year round. I stopped wearing a wetsuit this year in March but this was also the sunniest, driest winter I've seen in the 12 years I've lived here. In the dead of winter I only wear a long john suit with a Smartwool top under it and sometimes my REI eVent jacket if it's raining/drizzly. I've tried wearing a full body 3mm wetsuit and even in the winter found it to be too warm (and I grew up in AZ so it's not like I'm a native to this climate!) I wear 4mm booties in the winter and 3mm in the fall/spring. I live in Ballard/Crown Hill so most of my paddling is on the Sound heading out of either Golden Gardens or the Elks beach across from the Surf Ballard shop. During the summer I'll try (usually very badly) to catch and surf freighter waves. In the winter I try to avoid them and also carry a dry bag with warm clothes just in case I do go in the water. I prefer to avoid Lake Union/Washington in the summer - too much boat traffic. The river running from Kenmore to Redmond is also a great place to paddle. My inflatable SUP arrived this weekend and this summer I plan to take Amtrak up to Edmonds and then paddle from there 12 miles back down to Ballard.

9

Gear Talk / Re: Imagine Surf Compressor Mission 12'6" - anyone use one?

« on: May 05, 2015, 01:16:29 PM »

I went ahead and ordered this board and it arrived today. I looked at this board, the Tower 12'6" and the Isle Touring boards. Went with the Imagine for the following reasons:
1) It came with what I wanted and nothing I didn't want. With the Tower board I'd have to buy a pump, bag and D-rings (which I'd have to install). With the Isle I'd have to buy a bag and be stuck with a paddle I don't need and wouldn't use.
2) Seattle instructor/blogger/author Rob Casey recently posted a brief review of the 14' version of this board. Normally I don't give much weight to reviews but Rob does most of his paddling on the same waters I paddle on so that is pretty relevant.
3) I ordered it from REI so if I'm not happy with it I can easily return it to my local REI store.

First impressions:
The bag is really nice. It has wheels and hidden backpack straps. It also has a place to strap the pump, a pocket for the fin, and external straps. It unzips on 3 sides which makes loading/unloading a breeze.

The fin is a rubber model and mine was pretty warped to one side. I warmed it in the oven and put some bricks on it while it cooled to straighten it out. I'll use my Future Fins JB Keel most of the time though the rubber fin could be handy on rivers. The fin has a stainless thumbscrew which makes for tools free installation which is pretty handy in a iSUP. The box is a standard 9" box and all my fins fit perfectly.

The pump is a Bravo SUP Pump HP. It comes in it's own bag. I was able to inflate the board to 15 PSI in 5 minutes with a lot less effort than I anticipated. The first 5 PSI were more tiring than the last 5. I plan to take my board on public transit and then inflate it make downwind runs to home and for that I'll probably invest in a small K-Pump. 

The board itself is blue with orange accents. This is odd since the 2014 Imagine Surf catalog shows it as being orange and white. Either way it looks good. It has 4 D-rings and a bungie up front and a D-ring for the leash in back. The board can inflate to 18 PSI. I only took it up to 15 PSI and when I stand on it on the living room floor it feels very solid. The deck pad is pretty thin but the board gives a bit. It feels like a solid board with a thicker deck pad. As Rob Casey mentioned in his review the carrying handle will be a bit snug to grab when wearing gloves. Not a surprise since Imagine are based in Florida so they probably never need gloves unlike Seattle where we get out even when it snows. All the seams are straight and the board has no twist to it which I've heard can be an issue with cheaper iSUPs.

Hoping to get it out on the water in the next day or two. Pesky work...

10

Gear Talk / Imagine Surf Compressor Mission 12'6" - anyone use one?

« on: April 25, 2015, 12:20:14 PM »

I'm looking at picking up the Imagine Surf Compressor 12'6" and wondering if anyone has any experience with them. I'm looking for an inflatable board which will be mostly used for rivers where I dare not take my wood board. I also plan to use it for one way trips where I can deflate the board and then take public transit to get back home. Finally, it would be nice to have a board to take with us on our annual Hanalei trip. I know Red and Uli boards are nicer but $1000 is my absolute limit in terms of budget. The Imagine looks better than the budget boards from Isle or Tower. Any others worth considering in the sub-$1000 range?

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Gear Talk / Re: Isle inflatable SUPs - anyone use one?

« on: February 22, 2015, 03:02:05 PM »

The Red Paddle Explorer or Sport is probably my first choice (the 11'6" Starboard Astro Touring being second) but both are a bit too much out of our budget range.

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Gear Talk / Isle inflatable SUPs - anyone use one?

« on: February 22, 2015, 01:48:58 PM »

Hi,

I'm looking to get an inflatable board. Ideally, I want to keep it under $1000 and I've been looking at the Isle Explorer. Specifically, my usage will be (in order):
1) A board for my wife and kids to take out on the Puget Sound which is mostly flat to choppy.
2) A board I can take on rivers that I'm reluctant to take my wood board on.
3) A board we can take with us on our annual trip to Hanalei. Most of the paddling there would be rivers and maybe getting out on the ocean to try and surf some smaller waves.
4) A board I can use for touring, mostly over night outings though my dream trip is fly to the UK and paddle the Thames.

Any big reasons to avoid Isle? Any other options to look at?

13

Gear Talk / Re: Inflatable SUP for flatwater?

« on: January 11, 2013, 10:02:34 AM »

Thanks all, I'll have to check out the Starboard and Uli. Would love to get a 14' board - seems to work better for the conditions I usually go out in.

14

Gear Talk / Re: Good board for Puget Sound?

« on: January 11, 2013, 10:00:57 AM »

The area just north of Discovery Park and just south of the Ballard ship canal usually gets waist high waves from passing ships. Fun to play in during the summer though I got caught out there yesterda afternoon and it got a bit...exciting. I don't mind taking a swim in the summer but this time of year I don't want to go in the water, wetsuit or not!

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Gear Talk / Inflatable SUP for flatwater?

« on: January 09, 2013, 01:21:17 PM »

Anyone tried the new Naish One inflatable board or know of any other comparable boards? Thinking about making my next board an inflatable so on windy days I can head downwind one way, deflate the board and then hop on the bus home. Mostly it would be used on the wave free Puget Sound. Just starting to research inflatable boards and the reviews seem very mixed. I know none will be as good as a solid board but the convenience factor is pretty nice.