Came home from work not feeling great and hadn't even considered paddling; that is until my better half said are you going out tonight? I thought about it and decided; yes, I would go. I wasn't sure if any of the other Monday regulars would be around and sure enough they weren't which meant unloading the boat on my own. I had the club boat as I'd put a new coat of varnish on the gunnels on mine and it hadn't fully dried yet.
I put in a Cattawade and decided that I'd paddle up to Flatford and back. I tend to paddle on the right side and am not that good on the left still. The BCU two star award requires that all strokes be performed on both sides so I decided that this would be a good time to practice. I got up to Flatford after a few stops on the way to watch a heron and then the barn owl that I've seen before and practiced some strokes in the mill pool.
I headed back still paddling on my left side, which, by now felt completely natural so it was worth the effort. Trip time was about 2 hrs, distance ~4.5 miles.
Tuesday 17 July 2007
Dedham to Flatford
Took the "Big Blue Canoe" out on the ICC club night and put in at Dedham. Got there a bit late so the carpark was pretty full. The wind was quite strong in places; especially where there were open fields and no trees. The canoe tracks well and is very stable but as previously found out it's not that manoeuvrable e.g. turning on its axis.
During the lesson we tried doing some prys, the boat moved sideways but also seemed to be moving forward too. I think this was due more to my technique than the canoe.
We got down to the lock gates at Flatford (scene of Constable's "The Hay Wain") where the Trusty II was moored. This is an electric boat that does river trips up and down the Stour. They also rent out some row boats of which there were a few about so some dodging was required.
Chris demonstrated an unusual technique of propelling the canoe forwards without a paddle. He stood on the stern gunnels and bounced until forward motion was acheived then promptly lost his balance but credit to him he managed not to fall in. I'm going to try this at the next training night since we're doing rescues and will be wet anyway.
During the lesson we tried doing some prys, the boat moved sideways but also seemed to be moving forward too. I think this was due more to my technique than the canoe.
We got down to the lock gates at Flatford (scene of Constable's "The Hay Wain") where the Trusty II was moored. This is an electric boat that does river trips up and down the Stour. They also rent out some row boats of which there were a few about so some dodging was required.
Chris demonstrated an unusual technique of propelling the canoe forwards without a paddle. He stood on the stern gunnels and bounced until forward motion was acheived then promptly lost his balance but credit to him he managed not to fall in. I'm going to try this at the next training night since we're doing rescues and will be wet anyway.
Monday 9 July 2007
First trip out
Launch day. Went down to Cattawade on the Stour since I know that part of the river pretty well now. The river was higher than normal and there was a definite flow that I hadn't seen there before, not suprising really given the amount of rain we've had. Also the wind was gusting well.
I had my kids with me so decided I should test the canoe out on my own first and make sure everything was o.k. I seem to have got the thwart in the right position so the boat felt quite nicely balanced. It tracked well but turning on its axis isn't so great which must be due to the bilge runners.
Sea trials over, it was time to get the kids in. One at a time to start with then both in together, one in front and one behind. We did a couple of trips just to get them used to it and went up as far as the lock gates for those who are familiar with the river. Again the flow was strong here and the kids didn't want to go through so that was the limit of trip that day. with the flow the way it was I'd expect the current to be strong further up at Judas Gap weir.
The kids seemed to really enjoy it and somehow I managed to get permission from my canoe loathing wife to take the kids on an overnighter for the Sudbury to the Sea trip in September.
Monday 2 July 2007
C'est finis
Yep it's finished, all bar tying the painters on. The paint and varnish need to fully dry and next weekend I'll take it out for its maiden voyage.
I finished the painting early Saturday morning as yet again the kids woke up at some ungodly hour. It took an hour to apply the second coat and I'd finished by 6:30am! I put a couple of coats of varnish on the gunnels as these edges will get the biggest wear due to the paddle running against them.
I finished the painting early Saturday morning as yet again the kids woke up at some ungodly hour. It took an hour to apply the second coat and I'd finished by 6:30am! I put a couple of coats of varnish on the gunnels as these edges will get the biggest wear due to the paddle running against them.
It feels strange that it's done although I've noticed a few minor blemishes that need tidying. It's a bit like when I finished writing my dissertation for my degree I sat around thinking well what do I do now? No chance of that this time round as I've got the Triumph Vitesse to renovate.
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