CASKA: Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Association

New boats for sale!

Check them out here: http://caskaorg.typepad.com/caska/for-sale-from-caska-membe.html

and check back for updates. Looks like more may be on the way soon. This might be a good time for shoppers to snag some great deals! 

New CASKA sponsor: JerseyBin(TM)

Special offer from JerseyBin creator Rob Kortus (just in time for the holidays!):

"Greetings! I'm reaching out to other outdoor enthusiasts to take this time to showcase my new product (JerseyBin™) that I believe would benefit your kayak/canoe club members. This product is wonderful for keeping personal items in a durable 8 gauge vinyl pouch, i.e., cell phones, cash, keys, small digital cameras, etc. And, because of its material, it will keep personal items dry.    

The initial feedback from this wonderful new product has been received with many positive accolades.  I truly believe that the JerseyBin can be a very useful item for your members. 

I hope that you find the JerseyBin aesthetics and functionality a good reason to purchase for your organization. If you are interested and only want to purchase the two JerseyBin pack to review, I offer you this 10% coupon on checkout, coupon code: jbski10percent (valid through 31 Dec 2008). If you would like to purchase more after reviewing, please revisit the site.  

Please visit my website at www.JerseyBin.com for additional information.  Thank you for your consideration and contact me for absolutely any questions that may arise.

Rob Kortus
Founder, JerseyBin™"

Skin on frame kayak for sale

http://pkdog.com/sof

Paddle in the tradition of Greenland Style.  Built in 2006 by a master kayak builder.  My boats have been featured in wooden boat magazine.  Excellent choice for a Big Guy paddler ready to learn Greenland style rolling.  Plenty of foot room and easy entrance large cockpit 29” x 19”

Materials are Alaska Yellow Cedar, ballistic nylon, artificial sinew and oil based poly urethane.

Contact me if you are interested in paddling this boat at the UI-C pool session.

http://pkdog.com/sof

Paul Doughty

(773) 320-5119

paul@pkdog.com

 

 

 

  

 

  

 

   

Paddling At Night: A Recap

For the sake of newer paddlers, after all the back-and-forth discussion on the CASKA Yahoo Group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caska/), I want to try to recap and gather thoughts on paddling after dark in Chicago:

1.) It's GREAT. It's serene, it's thrilling, it's convenient, and done properly, it's safe. The skyline, the fireworks, warm gentle breezes -- is there better paddling anywhere in the world? And, a full schedule of Wednesday night outings. In fact, ten years ago when I began kayaking, most of my very first paddles as a raw novice were done at night on Lake Michigan with CASKA! Fear not, get out there and have fun.

2.) Like all paddling, night passages require proper equipment, preparation, and common sense. All the daytime guidelines apply, plus the following:

*You are required to have one white light. In open water, where you can focus on individual vessels as they approach, some people prefer to leave this light off to maximize their own night vision. In traffic or where sightlines are not open this is not practical.

*Additional lights are highly advisable, but if used, they should be regulation: a red light on the port bow, a green light on the starboard bow, and a white light on the stern. A hand 'torch' or headlamp is useful for aiming at approaching craft, illuminating a compass, rendering aid, etc.

*Batteries! Check 'em, have a spare, and a spare spare.

*Reflector tape on hull, paddle and pfd are highly recommended.

*A strobe is the single most useful visible distress signal (VDS) at night. It should be worn on the chest or shoulder and only be used in distress situations.

*Audible signals (horn, whistle, etc.) are essential at night. At least one person in the group should have a VHF radio and be monitoring Ch. 16 and 9. Send a securite warning if you're in a vulnerable position.

*Even more so than in the daytime, there is safety in numbers. Keep the group tight. Rescues and other maneuvers will be just that much more difficult at night.

*Pay particular attention to vessels approaching from the east -- you are especially hard to see against the busy lights of the city.

Bill Burton

CASKA's Kayaking Safety Brochure

CASKA is pleased to announce the release our Kayaking Safety Brochure!

This brochure, together with our Kayaking Safety Center, is intended to promote safe kayaking on the Great Lakes & in the Chicago region .

Please contact us with any question or comments!

Safe paddling,
CASKA

SPOT Satellite Messenger

From the SPOT website:

"SPOT. The World’s First Satellite Messenger.

With the SPOT Satellite Messenger, you and your loved ones have peace of mind knowing help is always within reach. SPOT is the only device of its kind, using the GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, and then sending its location – with a link to Google Maps™ – and a pre-programmed message via a commercial satellite network. And unlike Personal Locator Beacons, SPOT does more than just call for help. Tracking your progress, checking in with loved ones, and non-emergency assistance are also available, all at the push of a button. And because it uses 100% satellite technology, SPOT works around the world – even where cell phones don't."

Gear Recommendation: Contact Tow/Mini-Shockle

From Tom Bamonte:

Over the past few weeks I've needed to employ a contact tow on a few occasions. I've been using something called the Mini-Shockle and it worked very well. You can find it here:

http://shockles.com/products06/minishockle.cfm

The Mini-Shockle is a dressed up firm bungee cord with carabiners on each end. It is easy to deploy and
seems strong enough for contact tow purposes. The Mini-Shockle is handy to have around. When I had to drag my kayak through some shallow water I just clipped it to my bow toggle and I was set to go.

 

Thanks to Jim Tibensky for the tip.

Paddle Float Recall

NRS Paddle Float Recall - click here for more information, and please check your gear!
Thanks to Paul Doughty for the update.

Kayak storage

Bill Burton:
"I use a cheap pulley system made to lift a bicycle
http://www.amazon.com/Racor-Ceiling-Mounted-Bike-PBH-1R/dp/B00006JBL3
by separating the pulleys farther (about 1/3 boat length apart) and putting the travel straps around my boat and hooking them with the hoist. This lets you raise the boat to the wasted space in your garage aboev your cars' hoods. I keep 2 padded sawhorses folded nearby to set up and rest the boat on before raising or lowering.

If your boat is heavy for you, the Harken Hoister
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1022
lets you raise the boat directly from your car roof and suspend it underneath your garage door -- if you have the space, and the money."

Jim Tibensky:
"For ceiling storage in my old garage, with a normal height ceiling, I used a Z-drag system. Much easier on the old body than single pulleys.

I made a large loop with the line threaded through a piece of rubber hose to give more area for the boat to rest on. The free end of line from that loop went through a pulley attached to a roof rafter. Then the line went through an eye bolt attached to a wall stud high up and another lower down, about knee height. Then the free end went through a carabiner attached to a loop tied in the free line just below the higher eye bolt. This makes the "Z." I then anchored the free end, once the boat was hauled up to the rafters, in a cam lock like some paddlers put behind their cockpits for towing. This was just below the knee-high eye bolt. One rig at the bow, one at the stern. It takes some adjusting to get everything to work right, but cost was minimal and it worked really well. I would drive my Neon into the garage, park under a boat (including my 22 foot long double), and drop the boat onto the roof racks. Very nice to use.

For wall storage I just put large eye bolts in the wall studs, put a piece of climbing line through the eye and tied a figure eight knot in the end. The other, loose, end has a loop tied in it and that is hooked over a large hook placed just above the eye bolt. This only works for light boats.

Now I have a garage with fifteen foot ceilings, so I have just strung some heavy lines from wall to wall and slide the lighter boats in. My double sits on the floor on foam blocks and the whitewater boats that I don't use as much are hung on the walls. The single sea kayak sits on saw horses."

Kristofer Dressler:
" The biggest room in our basement is 18' and our boats are 17'7".  I had to put some thought into an efficient hanging system.

If you choose to hang your kayak, the one piece of advice I have is to buy good line and ball-bearing blocks.  Even though the loads on the line are not that great, having a 3/8" braided line is much easier on the hands than tearing up your palms with some little 1/4" or smaller twisted line.  The blocks (pulleys) that you may find at your hardware store suck.  Check with all of your sailing friends to scavenge some old 3/8" Harken ball-bearing blocks.

In order for my wife to comfortably raise her 51-lb boat to the ceiling we used a 2:1 purchase on 2" nylon slings on the bow and stern, the two lines join and go through a another single 2:1 along the ceiling.  This way, the line that she actually pulls on to raise the boat has a theoretical 12.5 lbs but accounting for friction losses in the blocks I would guess it's about 18 lbs.  It doesn't sound like much, but try picking up two gallons of milk with a single rope and you will get a feel for how hard it is."

Manufacturers

Some links to popular manufacturers:

www.valleyseakayaks.com (Valley Sea Kayaks)
www.seakayakinguk.com (Nigel Dennis Kayaks)
www.phseakayaks.com (P&H Sea Kayaks)
www.wenonah.com/CDKayak/kayaks/kayaks.asp (Current Designs Sea Kayaks)
www.impexkayak.com (Impex Kayaks)
www.seawardkayaks.com (Seaward Kayaks)
www.fosterkayaks.com (Nigel Foster Kayaks)
www.necky.com (Necky Kayaks)
www.bbkayak.com (Betsie Bay Kayaks)
www.superiorkayaks.com/superiorkayaks001.htm (Superior Kayaks)

Gear:
www.wernerpaddles.com
www.wavedogpaddles.com
www.lendel.com
www.mitchellpaddles.com
www.snapdragondesign.com
www.patagonia.com
www.chillcheater.com

Many more listed under www.paddling.net, which also includes a user review forum that might be helpful when evaluating boats.