I love compasses and charts, too. I love my dog-eared copy of 'Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation'. It's been a year...I need to re-read it. I love gadgets, but I just haven't gotten that excited about GPS. I think it would be a cool (and cheaper) alternative to a knotmeter, especially for flatwater forward stroke training. I guess I haven't needed a device to tell me where I am, when I usually know where I am. I think they'd have a great use for big, open water crossings (especially like the Channel Island crossings Duane did), where lines of position could be sketchy, and you've paddled a bearing long enough that your DR gets questionable. I like Rob's laminated chart idea. I had the pleasure of a night paddle with him on his home turf, and he had an extra laminated map of the Tacoma Narrows for me to borrow. (Well, along with his wife's kayak, skirt, PFD, and a paddle!) Color copying is getting affordable, and charts aren't getting any cheaper, so no reason not to. Speaking of "DIY charts", anyone know what happened to the NOAA Mapfinder website? They used to have 72dpi "Not for Navigation" chart scans of all their charts...made for great research/study material. Anyone ever download any of these charts? I saved most of the Puget Sound charts in .gif format. (about 5mb each) Princeton Tec makes two "submersible" headlamps--the Solo and the Vortec. I have the Vortec, and it seems to be reasonably waterproof. It has good gaskets around the battery doors, and a good gasket on the lens. Its headband is removable, so it's easy to lash to a plastic helmet with zip ties. (If you capsize, a waterproof headlamp isn't of much use if it comes off your head and sinks). Shawn _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! Enter now. http://promotions.yahoo.com/goldrush *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Like Shawn, I won't paddle a new place without a chart. And, I almost never paddle familiar home waters without one. I own a GPS (gift from my son). I do not use it on every trip. But, despite my Luddite ways, my GPS is an important ingredient on days when visibility may become limited. On the Columbia, during times of heavy current, there are strainers from hell (aka wing dams; aka pile dikes) placed across the current by the US Army Corps of Engineers, designed to hold sand and confine the bulk of the current to a navigable channel. (They do not work very well; that's another story.) These pile dikes are often 300 - 400 meters long, and allow about 80% of the current through, but the piles are spaced too closely to allow a kayak through, although a swimmer would make it, most likely. They are nasty to come on unexpectedly. When I paddle sections of the Columbia where these monsters reside, I waypoint the outward ends of each one I may cross, so that the GPS will tell me whether my course made good will actually allow me to clear the outward ends. Because these things are frequently in parts of the river with poor or indistinct landmarks behind the dikes, ranging will not tell me if I'll make it. Pre-GPS, I had a couple close calls. Twice since acquiring it, the GPS has saved my bacon from these monsters. It allowed me to do paddle trips safely in places on the river where I could not have done so without. Paddling a 4.0 - 5.0 knot craft across a 4.0 knot current makes these dikes dicey! BTW, laminated charts sink. Don't ask me how I know this. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shawn Baker" <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com> > I love compasses and charts, too. I love my dog-eared copy of > 'Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation'. It's been a year...I need to > re-read it. I love gadgets, but I just haven't gotten that excited > about GPS. I think it would be a cool (and cheaper) alternative to a > knotmeter, especially for flatwater forward stroke training. I guess I > haven't needed a device to tell me where I am, when I usually know > where I am. I think they'd have a great use for big, open water > crossings (especially like the Channel Island crossings Duane did), > where lines of position could be sketchy, and you've paddled a bearing > long enough that your DR gets questionable. > I like Rob's laminated chart idea. I had the pleasure of a night > paddle with him on his home turf, and he had an extra laminated map of > the Tacoma Narrows for me to borrow. (Well, along with his wife's > kayak, skirt, PFD, and a paddle!) Color copying is getting affordable, > and charts aren't getting any cheaper, so no reason not to. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 28 Aug 2004 at 7:32, Shawn Baker wrote: > Princeton Tec makes two "submersible" headlamps--the Solo and the > Vortec. I have the Vortec, and it seems to be reasonably waterproof. > It has good gaskets around the battery doors, and a good gasket on the > lens. I've got a couple of PT lights, including the Solo (converted to LED). I've taken the other one (4AA flashlight) scuba diving and can verify that it is seriously waterproof. The light/seal etc are the same on both. These are pretty tough too. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> I like Rob's laminated chart idea. I had the pleasure of a night > paddle with him on his home turf, and he had an extra laminated map of > the Tacoma Narrows for me to borrow. I have mentioned this before but for those with large hard disk computers and scanners should consider scanning in a chart and then printing out the parts of the chart that you need using Adventure paper from National Geographic (available at REI). You can print using ink jets to this paper and end up with a waterproof chart. I like scanning because I can scale and print just the parts of the chart that I want and add whatever notes I want prior to printing. Using Photoshop or the equivalent you can "rearrange" the chart (for example make a "chart" with the immediate coastline only) or combine data from multiple charts or sources. Minimize the chart to get an overview and magnify the chart to get easily seen detail etc You can print on both sides. Great stuff. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Quoting Robert Livingston & Pam Martin <bearboat2_at_comcast.net>: > I have mentioned this before but for those with large hard disk computers > and scanners should consider scanning in a chart and then printing out the > parts of the chart that you need using Adventure paper from National > Geographic (available at REI). You can print using ink jets to this paper > and end up with a waterproof chart. I like scanning because I can scale and > print just the parts of the chart that I want and add whatever notes I want > prior to printing. Using Photoshop or the equivalent you can "rearrange" the > chart (for example make a "chart" with the immediate coastline only) or > combine data from multiple charts or sources. Minimize the chart to get an > overview and magnify the chart to get easily seen detail etc > > You can print on both sides. While it is true that you can print on both sides and that the print will not wash off, when wet, the ink can and will migrate into the paper and adjacent maps. So I do not recommend printing on both sides unless you plan to keep the maps dry. BTW, you don't need a scale if you use Canadian topo maps, because they are overprinted with the UTM grid. This makes estimating distances easy, particularly if you use the metric system or are good at converting kilometers to miles. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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