[Paddlewise] Fw: Assembled our Long Haul Double...

 for a weekend trip to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. Great paddling and
 great food. A vintage boat show at the museum to boot. If you happen to be
 there, paddle past Judge North's house near the Miles River YC. I believe
 that he may be having a party where he rolls out his vintage cars on the
 lawn for all to see. Absolutely stunning cars of Pebble Beach Concours
 quality. If you go to bigmac.smugmug.com, you will find photos of an 
earlier
 trip to St. Michaels.

 I was impressed once again with the utter brilliance and simplicity of the
 Long Haul/Klepper construction, details and strength. Nothing like Teutonic
 efficiency of design tweaked to perfection by Mark Eckhart, a genuine
 Amurican from Coloradi. I think that one of Mark's boats should hang in the
 Museum of Modern Art along with the Movado Watch and the other masterpieces
 of modern design. Wood.....stronger than steel ounce for ounce. God was a
 hell of an engineer.

 No pullys, tools, belts or pins. Goes together like a dream.

 The Long Haul double will never win awards for the lightest and most agile,
 but it's the boat I want to be in if things go wrong, I want to bring the
 kitchen sink, take a nap, read a novel or land a bluefin.

 I rigged a new Spirit Sail on a Long Haul deckboard and will be anxious to
 see how well it works. The Spirit Sail also has a certain simplicity of 
design that appeals to me.

 After our shake down in the Chesapeake, some friends and I will be off to
 Lake George in Early July for three days of camping on one an island in the
 Mother Bunch group.

 August will find us on Barters Island near Boothbay Maine for two weeks.
 We'll be staying in a Cottage with Finnegan and Lily, our perps. Jan's not 
a
 camper, but she's an avid paddler.

 This year we added a new Stolquist PFD for Janet, the Spirit Sail and and
 Icom M-32..... which means that I have shot the wad and can't think of
 anything else that we could possibly need except good weather. Actually, I
 was thinking of getting a 17 foot composite single to tow behind the long
 Haul. Inspired, I think, by the Ford Explorers towed behind the giant RVs.

 So there. I have half my fantasy. The 38 foot Erickson will just have to
 wait until I'm reincarnated as an investment banker. In the mean time. 
We're
 having a hell of a time with our little red kayak.

 John MacKechnie
Bethlehem, PA
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