ARGH - 2 FOR 2 :)

k..

first time i took my new Oasis out (by myself), i pulled one of the seat threaded 'pad eyes' out.. turned out the eye was badly made. had rounded threads and not the sharp cut threads. Wild River took care of me in 5 minutes (and i bought a 2nd just in case..)

this w/e my wife and i went out in a '20% chance of rain' day.. drove to the marina watching the black storm clouds come in..

went out anyway in a very light drizzle.. got 15 minutes out and got caught in a deluge.. then heard thunder. sharon asked 'what do you want to do?' i answered 'run away'.. ..

got back to ramp with people still coming and going.. 20 minutes later we tt a guy in a jon boat. he was laughing 'did you see me? i was bailing with a paper coffee cup.'..

left the marina soaking, tired, and headed into sunshine. good thing i have vinyl interior...

we will try again this w/e.. could use your thoughts for a non-eventful day..
*********************

2 questions..

can the rudder be tightened up a little to stay both down and to 'hold' a turn? oh and it seems to turn to the left better than to the right. before i monkey with it i will be checking that sharon wasn't leaning on her control...

i would like to put a rub strip along the bottom especially the very aft corner. when taking the yak off the ladder rack it rests on the 'point' and i would like to put a bumper or an aluminum strip (or those beach/keal strips they offer for boats that are beached).

anybody offer any experience on method to affix??

thanks
Steve

If this is a newer boat, are you cleating the rudder down line when you lower the rudder?

_________________

Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

only thing i can say it 'doh'..

read your response and instantly wanted to bang head on desk..

and i was looking at the cleat when i was showing sharon how to lock the drive up..

thanks

We all have them days

3rd times a charm!

_________________

Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

A little scrap of carpet works great for protecting the end. Some guys make a carpet "sock" for the stern so they never have to guess exactly where the carpet goes.

Sometimes it's hard work having fun.

_________________
I'm right 98% of the time. The other 3% I don't worry about.

They have these clever little devices called umbrellas that shield you from the rain. You don't see them too often these days but they make a great accessory -- stow easily where the paddle goes or in the cargo well and can double as an expedient sail if the rain turns to a nice following breeze!


Rainy days are some of the most beautiful and you usually get the whole place to yourself!

LOL.. yea.. thats what i need.. to hold a pointed aluminum shaft above my head in a thunder storm.. LOL././

hey - wait a minute.. where's my exwife..

Of course, there are several ways to look at the umbrella issue. Acknowledging that the far better solution is not to be there in the first place, one might ask -- is it better to be dry (and somewhat insulated) or a soaking wet conduit in the presence of lightning?

Is it better to have lightning strike the umbrella above your head or hit your wet head directly (similar concept to the protective roof of your car)? Well, maybe it doesn't matter much if it's that close. Besides, apparently most strikes are not direct hits anyway, but proximity or secondary effects and usually survivable.

Does it matter what the umbrella is made of? Most agree, it's the comparative height, not the material that matters. But if it makes one feel better, they do make umbrellas out of fiberglass and wood as well as aluminum. Along the same reasoning, it would be better to keep close to shore (if you can't be on shore) and hold the umbrella low over your head.

Near as I can tell, if you're afloat during lightning, it doesn't matter much whether you use an umbrella or not (in terms of being a target). So why not use the umbrella and stay dry while heading for shore. On the good chance that you'll survive regardless, you'd be more comfortable on the drive home! If not, at least you wouldn't be miserable during your last moments.

There are many "experts" on this subject, with almost as many opinions. Here's one that appears to be somewhat knowledgeable and fairly typical: http://wvlightning.com/lmwn3.shtml

PS With your luck, the ex-wife would survive anyway!

LOL

Good link Roadrunner. When I'm out kayaking in a thunderstorm, people, who own pets and drive cars, think I'm crazy.

Comparatively speaking, I'm much safer kayaking.

Lightning Statistics 2010: 28 killed, 241 injured (http://www.struckbylightning.org)
Dog Bite Statistics for an average year: 33 killed, 31,000 reconstructive surgeries, 885,000 hospital visits (http://www.cdc.gov)
Automobile Statistics 2008: 39,000 killed, 2,300,000 injuries, from 10,200,000 accidents (http://www.census.gov and http://www.cdc.gov)

(These are US statistics only for all 50 states).

Fun facts, except you're forgetting one thing. There aren't many people kayaking in a Lightning storm. So to judge your risk, you're better off to look at the people who DIDN'T have issues.

So...

How many people were kayaking in a lightning storm last year, and didn't get hit?
How many people were in close proximity to a dog last year and didn't get bitten?
How many people drove a vehicle last year, and didn't get in an accident?

To really have an accurate picture, you'll have to figure out how much time each person spent in each of those activities without an incident. I guarantee you'll find a LOT less minutes spent on the kayak then anything else.

I'd keep out of the lightning whenever possible! Or at least take a few statistics courses.

Kidding!! It's all fun and games here, don't take me seriously... except for the staying out of the lightning part... I'm serious about that!

_________________

I made no mention of how many kayaking minutes were spent with dogs, cars, or lightning because I was not posting a statistical analysis of the risk factors per the amount of time spent in any activity. I shared interesting Data to compare the relative danger based on overall injuries and deaths in the United States, related to dogs, cars, and lightning. To turn this into a "I'm statistically smarter than you are," and "your data is flawed," type conversation is immature. I provided verifiable facts - you did not.

I respect lightning but I will not stay inside all day because there is a 20% chance or a 90% chance of a thunderstorm. 310 million people in the US and only 241 were injured by lightning in one year, compared to 885,000 dog bite injuries and 2,300,000 automobile injuries? Based on those numbers, lightning poses the least risk to me regardless of what I am doing.

A woman named Linda Cooper who lives in Florida, has been struck by lightning four times. She was struck the first time in front of a post office, the second time while making a phone call at home, the third time while washing dishes (the lightning traveled from the sink to her arms) and the last time through an open car window.

The moral here is no place is "safe" from lightning - it can hit cars, go through buildings and walls, and leap across the air, and go bouncing in the form of a ball to wherever it wants to go. I've seen it shred a tree, and blow out bricks from a home.

With reference to kayaking in lightning storms, there are places you can kayak to minimize your risk of being hit by lightning, just as there are places you can kayak to increase the odds of getting hit. If you don't know one from the other, then by all means, do not kayak during a lightning storm.

Based on the provided injury facts, I still believe I'm much safer pedaling on the water (wisely) in a lightning storm, than I am pedaling on the road (dog bites), or driving to a launch site (car accidents).

Not at all my intention to insult. Honest. Just mentioning that it's dangerous to kayak in lightning.

_________________