[Paddlewise] Newbie's new boat trip report

Armed with some good information from Paddlewise about boats that are 
better for larger paddlers I've been out shopping for a new boat. I've sat 
in a lot of them...talked to a lot of dealers, went to two paddle shows and 
a few garages of people selling used boats.  I even drove 45 minutes to 
look at what was advertised as a 17' kayak that turned out to be a canoe 
with spray skirts. Someone was confused. I finally made a decision and 
bought a brand new Sealution II XL. It's plenty big enough for me...almost 
too big in fact. But now I'll  have the room in case I want to put in a 
pool table later.
    Of course it was cold and raining the night I picked it up and for the 
next 3 days. Last summer we had record drought here in the north east until 
the weekend I bought my Seadarts...then it poured. Never mind that El Nino 
crap...kayaks control the weather.  I've paddled in the rain and I've 
paddled in the cold...but I wasn't real thrilled about paddling in the cold 
rain. So for the next few days I spent a lot of time in my garage sitting 
in the boat with a fan on me simulating a windy crossing...staying away 
from glaciers of course. I tied to get my son to rock the boat and yell 
boom once in a while so I can practice paddling in bad weather but he just 
walked away mumbling something. Finally 3 days later I peaked out my office 
window and saw it...the sun. I made an excuse to leave work and 45 minutes 
later I had the new boat loaded on my truck and headed for the water.
     I picked a lake near me which according to my topo software is 1.48 
miles long and 0.4 miles at the widest point. I figured there I could never 
be more then 0.2 miles from the shoreline. The air temp was 46 and the 
water temp was about the same and there was about a 15mph wind. I figured 
it was too cold for anyone else to be out on the lake and I'd have it all 
to myself....I was wrong. Along with the dozen or so canoes and jon boats 
out fishing the Yale rowing team was there training in 3 four man rowing 
shells. I wasn't crazy about having an audience or the possibility of 
getting center punched buy a rowing shell...those guys are crazy, then 
don't even look where they're going. The good side was at least there was 
someone there if I got in trouble.
    I unloaded the new boat and a pile of new gear including a bilge pump, 
spray skirt, a wet suit, paddle float and a new PFD to replace the 
"fisherman" life jacket I was using...is a PFD a politically correct life 
jacket? I wanted to take my copy of "The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking" but 
I figured the pages might get soggy so I left it. I wasn't sure if I should 
take the paddle float...I'd read they are essential safety equipment, not 
much use and that they are downright dangerous. So I decided I'd take it 
and not use it. Now I had a big decision to make...would I take the 
stainless steel .44 magnum or the 12ga loaded with slugs. the Yalies didn't 
look all that threatening so I opted for just 10% pepper spray and a couple 
of bear bangers.
   A few minutes later I was ready...sitting in my new boat, wet suit 
zipped up, skirt secured, PFD fastened tight...I pushed off. I drifted for 
a few seconds waiting to see of I would capsize or sink from being over 
loaded but I didn't do either...cool. I reached for the cord to lower the 
rudder but it was stuck...poo, forget to take the off the bungee. 
Ok...that's easy...back to the boat ramp, unseal myself, pop it off and 
push off again. Rudder drops down, I start to paddle and I'm moving...life 
is good. I maneuvered out of the channel that leads to the lake and waved 
to a guy in a Folbot coming back in...no PFD. In fact I noticed I was the 
only one on the lake wearing a PFD and that included the rowing teams...are 
they exempt?
    In a few minutes I was out on the lake and moving along nicely, not 
sure I like the rudder because it's another thing to think about but I'm 
trying to get the hang of it. The plan was to keep it simple...just follow 
the shoreline and get the feel of the boat. I'm pleasantly surprised, I'm 
having no problem with it and in fact it's kinda nice. I did 2 lengths of 
the lake without capsizing or being rammed by a rowing shell and my 
confidence was growing.  I had the footbraces a little to far forward so I 
headed for a beach so I could get out and adjust them. I ran the bow of the 
boat up onto the beach and wiggled out like I've done dozens of times in my 
garage floor. This time the boat rocked and my size 13s caught the 
thighbrace as I climbed out. The next few seconds are fuzzy but the result 
was me on my back in 6" of water with my feet still in the boat. This was 
apparently amusing to a couple of guys fishing up the beach because they 
were laughing...and rolling on the ground. Now I wished I had brought the 
.44 mag. I've been reading the thread about using the paddle to get in and 
out with great deal of interest.
    I adjusted the foot braces and had a short talk with the fishermen who 
turned out to be ok guys and interested in kayaking. After we decided that 
it was in fact funny I was ready to go again. I managed to get myself back 
in the boat and pushed off again. I spent about an hour following the 
shoreline until they pulled the rowing shells our of the water. Now I had 
more room so I zig zagged back and forth across the lake just playing and 
seeing how the wind affected the boat from different directions. The 
fishermen had gone so I went back to the beach and sat a few yards away 
trying some bracing and edging to see how far I could lean it without 
getting wet. I really like the feeling of almost wearing the boat rather 
then just sitting in it. By now it was getting dark so I decided not to 
push my luck and head in. There was time to do one last length of the lake 
and I wanted to see how fast I could do it. The best I've done it in the 
Seadart was 19 minutes and was curious how much faster the Sealution was. 
I'm an engineer so I don't believe anything I can't measure. The bow 
touched the boat ramp in a few seconds under 17 minutes without even trying 
hard...very cool. Better than that, this time I was able to get out of the 
boat and on my feet without getting wet. I loaded it all back in the truck 
and drove home with an ear to ear grin and lifting my hip and dropping my 
knee in the corners....damn I love this stuff.

Disclaimers...
I hope none of this offends anyone. I'm poking fun but I've got nothing but 
respect for the knowledge and experience I've seen here on PW
Also please don't confuse my attempt at humor for having the wrong attitude 
about what I'm doing. When it comes down to me in the boat and in the water 
I am very serious.
And kids...don't try this at home

dave

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