[Paddlewise] Thought of Doug Lloyd

Jim said:
>If I remember correctly Doug likes a minimal PFD.  What about this one 
>Doug?  I wonder if the straps would chafe? I suspect they might if wearing 
>light clothing like I wear much of the year in the American South.  Still 
>it looks pretty minimal.

http://www.astralbuoyancy.com/02/hybrid.php

Jim et al<

Jim,
I like the look of this minimalist PFD. You don't need a PHD in ergonomics 
to see the benefits afforded by increased mobility, comfort, and 
adjustability  - all within a defined criteria of approved buoyancy 
provision and other water-born activity  requirements.

I prefer my Mustang inflatable when worn over a drysuit for truer freedom of 
motion, but the Astral buoyancy aid might be the ticket for summer 
paddling - though there again, the inflatable vest is so minimalistic, that 
there is never an occasion to be tempted to stow the aid under the bungee 
cords.

I'm not sure about chaffing. I doubt any well designed product tested true 
by paddlers would be prone to chafe at the normal points of contact. Most of 
my chafe-inducing experiences were due to various buoyancy aids restricting 
my "undergarments" (be they paddling jackets, etc).

And in other news::

Hey - got my kayak up on some new "J" saddles finally, along with a Yakima 
easy loader which actually take the weight of the Nordkapp when extended 
without unduly flexing. I bought a small aluminum step ladder kept under the 
back seat for strap tightening. The kayak looks kinda weird with the kayak 
sitting on its edge atop my GMC Safari. I went with some no-name saddles, 
shoehorned on to the Yakima bars off the old Caravan, mounting them on the 
4" outboard overhang section of the bar. Now there's room for the whole fam 
damly to put kayaks across the rest of the roof racks.

My two daughters were waiting in the van for me the other day, behind smoke 
glass windows. A guy was looking at my kayak up-close, unaware he was being 
observed by the two girls. My daughters reported he was muttering to 
himself, trying to figure out what all the accessories were and what the 
functionality was for all the modifications I've done. And they say cedar 
strip kayaks garner all the attention.

Well, the old Nordkapp looked fairly cool with snow piled high on the 
leading edge recently, then subsequently cooler with icicles dangling down 
the underside later on after the big freeze ended. Unfortunately didn't get 
out paddling - split a finger wide open on the tablesaw - again. Was using 
push sticks - just absent mindly shoved my free hand into the blade after 
pushing some cove molding across the blade at 45 degrees. Duh.Was hoping to 
get one more snow paddle in before heart surgery.

Doug 
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