Re: [Paddlewise] Best Vehicle

Kirk replied (snip):
>I do miss my 24 pound boat the preceded this one. Alas that weight resulted 
>in durability issues.  The 32 pounder feels
overbuilt, not quite in the Doug Lloyd sense though ;-)<

Geesh Kirk, my Thule wind-deflector weighs 24 pounds!

As for best kayak vehicle, it's probably a dog sled, but as I don't live 
that far north, my Dodge Minivan with left and right sliding doors is about 
as perfect a vehicle for me these days, though my previous small Hyundai 
sedan was a more perfect gas-saver/wet-booties-doesn't-matter/easy 
kayak-lift-height/reliable vehicle. It suffered badly from rust though, as I 
did a lot of paddling from it, which necessarily left a lot of dripping salt 
water pooling into the crevices. I shall not praise the Hyundai too much 
however, lest Gordin be afforded the opportunity to jostle with yet another 
fine off-shore vehicle name. :-)

I do spend a lot on vehicle maintenance with the Dodge however. A full 
shock/strut mounting plate/tire job just cost me as much as a new kayak 
recently. Perhaps I should slow down on those logging roads. A new CRV does 
sound nice. The payments don't.

MY all-time favourite kayak vehicle was my early air-cooled VW station 
wagon, eventually retired due to parts inventory issues. It had no radiator 
to freeze or overheat (however, no air-conditioning/ proper heater to keep 
me from freezing or overheating either, but then I was tougher in those 
days). Frontward, under-hood bonnet storage AND rear-area station wagon 
storage, positive gutter roof-rack mounting, independent suspension, unibody 
construction, go-anywhere traction, and no one wanted to steal it! Left it 
for days on end in remote spots on the side of logging roads. And I could 
fly over those logging roads with equanimity. I stripped it down, doors 
removed, and repainted everything from factory mustard-yellow to bright 
Guards Red to match my freshly painted Nordkapp in matching aircraft epoxy 
paint; we had a lot of fun times through the eighties, heading off on a 
whim, winter or otherwise, to chase down hurricane-force paddling conditions 
out on Vancouver Island's west coast. No family back then; some days were a 
little lonely, yes, and especially desperate when equipment failed or there 
were hull-failure issues  -- times where caution had been thrown to the wind 
and then things went "south"; they were, however, days where the full import 
of adventure and life-to-be-lived-large coursed through my veins with the 
simply turn of the ignition key...

Some dumb observations:

1. Kayak look better on a sedan.
2. Remain unfriendly toward kayakers who don't tie down properly for road 
trips; and/or, befriend them, then try converting them.
3. 'Tis better to rinse your kayak hull off of sand before placing it on the 
roof racks.
4. Always throw excessively saltwatered-wet gear into garbage bags (or 
equivalent) as dried salt-residue mucks up your interior making it look like 
slugs (or some other slime-producing equivalent) had an orgy in your 
vehicle.
5. Um, don't forget to remove that wet gear when you get home.
6. This vehicle thread re-appears on Paddlewise from time to time; an "I 
remember that post" mental inventory check reveals the Subaru GL wagon still 
elicits the most passionate responses. :-)

Doug Lloyd
Victoria BC
***************************************************************************
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/
***************************************************************************