September 8, 1999

Happy Birthday

Trip #48

14 miles

MAP

My 48th trip in a kayak took place on my 38th birthday. Not in my Guillemot that I had grown used to, but in a Current Designs Gulfstream. I had really liked the Gulfstream last weekend when I demo'd her at Atlantic Kayak, but I wanted to spend a full day on an extended day trip to see how I really felt about her before doing something as rash as buying a third boat.

A pushed away from Leesylvania State park a few minutes after 8:00 am. The water was perfectly flat with no wind that I could feel. The Gulfstream is equipped with a skeg, but it stayed retracted the entire trip across the Potomac as it simply wasn't needed. As a matter of fact, I didn't take a single corrective stroke across the river either. Why? When I veered off course just putting a little weight on the side that I wanted to turn away from was all it took to bring me back on course. I took Matt Broze's suggestion on rocking the boat first to make minor course corrections. They worked like a charm.

Being rudder dependent in my Guillemot, I was worried I might be a bit right handed as far as power goes. I suspected I would veer left a little or a lot, but that turned out not to be so. By this point I was gawking over how great my paddling skills were, or how great the boat handled and was making it look like I had great paddling skills. I did try to spend time paddling the Guillemot without the rudder when I took her out, but after about an hour I would be mentally drained and need to put the rudder down. The Gulfstream did not demand any mental thinking at all. I think I could have closed my eyes and ended up near my destination across the river.

As I got close to Sweden Point I found myself in "the groove". I can't explain it well, nor duplicate it readily as it has only happened to me once before. My body rotation was perfect. I simply wasn't pulling at all with my arms and my back muscles were doing all the work, although it didn't seem like work at all. I paddled this way for about 10 minutes when I stopped to look back to spot the boat I heard coming up from behind. And it was gone. The rhythm that is. The feeling of not really doing any work. I tried for the rest of the trip to get everything working perfectly again but I just could not get it going. I think this will come in time.

I stopped at the marina at General Smallwood state park to eat a quick snack. I chatted with an elderly couple who told me their son and grandson were taking kayaking lessons somewhere on the upper Potomac. They headed off to explore a trail and I headed off to explore further up Mattawoman creek.

Up near Marsh Island on Indian Head, a siren was going off and I could see a red light flashing from across the water. A puff of smoke went up followed by a *BOOM*. After the explosion the siren was turned off and peace resumed. This happened about 4 times as I paddled up beyond Proctors Warf. Each time I heard the siren I stopped and turned to watch the explosion.

Further up and around the bend I passed some sort of little park just past the base in Indian Head. I thought I might try to go further as I was not feeling tired, but if I did it would mean returning the kayak during rush hour. I certainly didn't want to be caught on the beltway too late in the afternoon. So, I reluctantly turned around and headed back.

As I passed Thoroughfare Island I started thinking how I wish there was some wind for the trip back across the Potomac. I wasn't hot, since I had rolled several times to cool off, but I wanted some wind and waves to test the boat. I wouldn't be disappointed as the wind began to steadily build all the way back to the edge of the Potomac.

I was about to learn a important lesson. I've read a lot about skegs, and I thought the way they worked was to provide a thin edge to the water to keep the kayak tracking straight. If this is what you thought too, you are only partially right. About mid-river the waves were about a foot high and the wind getting stiffer. I had come this far without the skeg, but it was getting more difficult to hold a straight line. I could still easily edge the boat back in line but I was spending more and more time on edge and didn't want to do this the rest of the way across.

I decided to play with the skeg. Have you ever been doing something you weren't quite sure about when all of the sudden it all clicked? I'll try and explain what I learned today about skegs (at least as it pertains to this Gulfstream):

The boat has a slight tendency to turn into the wind. If you're paddling into the wind, you just paddle with the skeg retracted. Now suppose you want to paddle at right angles to the wind. Drop the skeg down all the way and go to it, right? NO! Deploying the skeg fully made the kayak turn downwind.

Imagine the boat at rest with the bow pointing West and the wind out of the South. If all things were equal the bow and stern would be pushed at the same rate and the boat would remain at right angles to the wind (broached). But they aren't equal and the stern is pushed slightly faster than the bow. This causes the bow to point into the wind (more accurately it causes the stern to point downwind (north in this example)).

So how do we slow down the sideways movement of the stern? Deploy the skeg! Not too much. Too much skeg and you'll slow down the stern so much the bow passes it and your bow is now running downwind. You play with the skeg and find that happy medium where the bow and stern are being pushed sideways at the same rate and bang, you're paddling at right angles to the wind with almost no corrective strokes. If you want your track to be just slightly downwind, add a little more skeg till you are pointed that way. A little upwind? Reduce the amount of skeg exposed under the boat.

In practice, once I started paddling I had to change the amount of skeg exposed by adding a little more or less from my rest position (I think it was a little more - can't remember). I suppose this is because of the forces acting on the skeg as it cut forward through the water.

I'm sure this all seems like, well, "Duh Woody" to everyone else, but I was thoroughly elated about this lesson on skegs. Although I couldn't test it, I suspect what I have sitting on the front or rear deck catching the wind will have more effect on skeg position than how hard the wind is blowing.

So the big question - What color do I want to order it in? I think Yellow on top (more like signal orange) and white on the bottom. White is supposed to show scratches less, and the orange (yellow) should be a good visible color to help keep the bass boats from plowing me under. I think I have the green light from the boss lady (her beef is with where I plan to keep it).

I learned a lot this trip:

1) Skegs don't just act like I thought they would. The amount of skeg deployed actually controls where the kayak is pointed.

2) I learned that with the proper boat it can be controlled like many people have told me it could be, by leaning. My Guillemot had me thinking I didn't know how to do it (I've put the Guillemot up on edge and paddled it in a straight line before). Today I found I could do it, as long as the boat was designed to work that way.

3) The Gulfstream is wider and a bit shorter than my Guillemot. Yet I paddled 14 miles today withtout getting the least bit tired. I suspect this is because the rudder on the Guillemot bleeds off so much energy that it takes more effort to paddle it.

4) The Gulfstream is an excellent boat. Designed by Derek Hutchinson and mass produced by Current Designs, this kayak seems to be really able to take you where you need to go. The most enthusiastic endorsement I got sent to me on the Gulfstream said " Take it out in the s*** and she'll bring you back". I think I have to agree. Good primary and secondary stability. As I become used to the boat I suspect I should be able to edge it even better.

What didn't I like about the GS? There are a few things:

1) Plastic bulkheads. I got one email saying they leaked, another saying after a lot of abuse they didn't. As long as they don't blow out (no one has told me this has happened to them) I can repair minor leaks.

2) I don't really care too much for the rubber hatch covers. They are just plain ugly. But through all my rolling today they didn't leak a single drop. They are quicker to open/close than the neoprene hood and plastic cover type.

3) I think my butt is about the biggest that can fit in the seat. The boat is wide enough that they could put in a wider seat and accommodate a few more people.

4) The back band is minimal. It provided good support for my lower back, but I found my middle back rested on the coaming. In rough water this could have bruised my back. I intend to order a back band that is a bit taller. Tightening up the band would have gotten my back off the rim but I still would have liked a little bit more back support. Adjusting the back band is impossible on the water.

5) Deck lines are minimal, but functional. I can't really say I didn't like'em, other than I thought they were just a bit ugly in their layout (functional, but plain).