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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:20 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:52 pm
Posts: 2
Location: Norfolk UK
Having seen the Mirage drive kayaks a year ago at the London Boat show I was much impressed and spent some time deciding on which to go for. My main desire is to explore the Norfolk Broads which to those the other side of the "Pond" are a collection of small lakes connected by a river system. But would also like to travel around the UK for river, canal and some in shore sea use. I am planning to start with rooftop carriage on my Volvo XC60, so my first question is how do you get on with long distance carrying, what safe speed on the highway do you tend to cruise at? How much of a hit do you find on fuel consumption?
Later I would like to cross to Europe and tour some more rivers, may well consider a trailer for longer distances.
Further question re what to wear, our weather is always rather variable so need appropriate clothing for cold weather and water, do I use a part wet suit, a dry suit or I see somebody was using some trousers with boots/socks attached. If we ever get a summer then no problem! ( A biting East wind and 2 degrees Celsius at present)
My boat will probably not arrive for another two months as here in the UK the dealer has to get his stock from the European agent in Holland, they have my order in stock there but obviously the dealer will only cross the channel every few months or so when he has enough orders to cover his trip. So by May the weather should be better for my first trip!


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 1:10 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 12:07 pm
Posts: 1041
Location: Ontario, Canada
Congratulations on your new boat!!

There's a lot in your post, and I've only got a few minutes, so I'll check in with this post later and add some more thoughts. There are plenty of others who will also help you out.

As far as transporting. I use a Yakima rack system with MAKO saddles, with our Oasis and it works great. I've used the same system for a Revolution and even a complete AI. The bad news is that fuel economy does take a bit of a hit. Wind resistance is a big factor in fuel economy, but it's not the end of the world. As a side note, about the trailer, I tow a Hobie Bravo which weighs about 200 lbs, on a 300 lb trailer and can get better mileage doing that, then with my Oasis on the roof. By that I mean that my mileage is hardly affected at all by the trailer, but it is by the boat on the roof. So if you're considering a trailer, it's going to save you some gas, but of course, the trailer costs money too.

A good Thule or Yakima rack will allow you to drive at normal speeds without worry. ALWAYS USE A BOW AND STERN LINE!! You just want to be safe, if anything were to fail, you don't want to lose the boat, but most importantly you don't want to be responsible for the lives of others if the boat came loose.

As far as clothing, 2 Celcius is COLD. I wouldn't go out in that, but I use a system of clothes. I have a spray top, a full wetsuit, Dry pants with built in feet, neoprene booties, wet suit vest, wet suit shorts. Usually between that selection of clothing, I'm able to layer on and off as necessary. Most of the time when I go out, the weather changes enough that what you started with at the beginning of the day was different than what you need throughout the day, so layering, and choosing smart layers is always best. I like to wear long sleeve, quick dry shirts instead of sunscreen, and they're usually the best layer for close to my body.

Hope that helps. I'll check back later if you have more questions.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 2:17 pm 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 10:34 am
Posts: 134
Location: Portland, Texas
Congratulations on your new Oasis! I've had mine for three years and love it more every time I use it. Initially I used a set of Thule Roof Racks for transport. They worked very well. As Augaug said make sure you have it strapped down well with bow and stern lines as well as straps across the hull where it sits on the rack. I've gone down the road often at greater than 90 kph with no problems. Mine sat upside down on the gunnels while on the rack which makes it fairly aerodynamic and not much of a drain on fuel consumption during transport. I also purchased the telescoping slide for the rack which made loading and unloading the kayak a lot easier when doing it by myself. Since that time I've purchased a trailer which makes the whole process easier yet. I now live on the Gulf of Mexico and don't need all the cold weather gear I once did. However, I used to live near Puget Sound in Washington State which had a climate very much like yours. You will need to consider clothing to offer you protection against the cold water. My brother continues to kayak in that area and almost always goes out with the full protection of a dry suit and accessories. With that level of cold water you need to play it safe because if anything happens you may not have the time for a second chance.

By the way welcome to the forums. Feel free to bring any questions you have to this group. There are more answers here than anywhere I can imagine when it comes to these kayaks and how to care and use them properly. And more importantly, the natives are very friendly. :D

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Roger
2010 Oasis
Lucie Belle


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 4:50 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 5:17 pm
Posts: 679
Location: Auckland NZ
Great boat for the broads - congratulations on your purchase :mrgreen:

I carry mine (2x Adventure) on the roof of my XC-70 no problemo.

I carry them in kayak cradles which allows them to travel right ways up - I find this much better than upside down as
1. it is easier to load them singlehanded (I have already posted on the technique so have a dig around on the forum) and
2. you can then use them as a top-box by filling them up with all the gear that would otherwise fill the car up - the paddles, masts, sails, fishing rods, clothing, PFDs & cart all go inside and I even carry heavier items in the load tray under the bungee.

I always transport them backwards... (no, I don't reverse all the way to my destination :lol: I load them onto the car so that the stern of the boat is pointing in the direction of forward travel) this means that you can leave the seats in place (just unhook the seatback bungee & fold the back down) and the rudder doesn't really need to be bungeed as airflow tends to make them lie flat rather than lift up.

As to clothing - it doesn't get half as cold here in NZ as it used to in the UK where I used to do a lot of windsurfing year round. The problem was always the extremities - when windsurfing you need to hang on with your hands and you simply couldn't get gloves which would keep your hands warm, not cut off the circulation to the fingers and allow you to grip in the winter - mitts were useless but might work for kayaking. Your feet weren't too bad because the boots we used to wear tended to fill up with warm water sluicing down to the feet from inside the wetsuit - this won't happen when you are sitting down with your feet raised in a Hobie kayak. Here in NZ I have a pair of waterproof kayaking pants which I use with a dinghy sailing smock in the colder weather in our winter (which can give similar conditions to many UK summer days); I suspect that pants with feet in them would be required in the UK. The key, I believe, will be either to stay dry or, if that's not possible, to keep the wind off wet skin. One good thing is that since you really don't need to paddle much, if at all, you should be able to keep your hands pretty dry and therefore warm, and you won't be subject to the constant dripping of water from the paddle which to me was always the bane of using a paddle in cold water. My mate was a builder & he used to swear by 2 pairs of washing up gloves in the winter - one pair worn over the other - dunno if this works cos I never actually tried it, but it wouldn't be too costly to experiment before shelling out on fancy schmancy kayaking gloves.

Hope this helps.


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:52 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:52 pm
Posts: 2
Location: Norfolk UK
Thanks guys, I have Thule slide bars and should be able to use one as a side extension loader. Am continuing to browse the chandlers and web for suitable clothing. Have diligently read the posts in this Forum and gleaned lots of useful tips! Now roll on May and arrival of the new boat...


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