Just a little repost from my other blog, since I am concentrating all paddling related posts here. This is concerning the name of my boat.
After much deliberation, I have settled on the name for my boat.
Tashi
Firstly, it is Tibetan in origin and the name translates roughly as " a blessing or good luck" As part of a longer phrase, Tashi Delak, it is used as a greeting to fellow persons around.
It is a unique name. Suitably female for the naming of a sea going vessel, conforming to the traditions of old. And applicable to any seafaring activity in a kayak, "a blessing" would mean a good and safe journey to anyone who takes this boat to sea and from another angle, it is a blessing to be able to use the craft to take us to where we so desire.
And so we have it.... my feathercraft..... Tashi
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
It Floats! The Kayak Test Run
Today is test kayak day! After its arrival last week, today we officially get the Wisper wet.
So Fran and I brought the boat to MacRitchie Reservoir after Mass. I figured that a controlled water environment and fresh water would be a better choice for the first run. We had some time from 1400 hours to dusk to do the boat tests. So here is how it went.
Setting up the boat in the afternoon heat is not a simple task. I was drenched in sweat by the time I got the boat ready for the water. It was a highly anticipated moment when I lowered the boat slowly and gently into the water. The silence was only broken by Fran's exclamation, " IT FLOATS!"
Me: ...
So after about 2 hours of paddling, I have one thing to say....SUPERB! The comments on the Feathercraft that I have read prior to the purchase were true. The boat felt comfortable even when sitting into it for the first time. The sponsoons offered great stability to the boat yet the boat was nimble enough for you to execute a mean edge. The boat sits quite high on the water but probably due to the fact it is unloaded at point in time. It was a fast boat, maintaining a reasonable speed with a minimal of effort. Tracking was good. This was a concern as the skins of the Feathercraft are hand-made and some variations occur between every piece of boat they ship out. I am fortunate that the boat tracks pretty well under mild conditions today.
The sea sock works well in preventing flooding of the boat during a capsize. Which I did, in the interest of testing every aspect of the boat's handling. The boat did take in some water, though minimal, but this was likely through a not so thorough securing of the bow hatch. A combination of the sea sock and the spray skirt did make paddling a little warm in our kind of weather.
The skin proved to be really watertight and water repellent. Water dripping off the paddle just beaded up on the deck and rolled off.
The other piece of equipment that was a real good buy was the paddle. The 4 piece carbon paddle from Aquabound was, in my opinion, a real performer. The Eagle Ray is designed for touring and for a low paddling angle. The feathering angle can be adjusted as desired. Entry of the blade into the water is effortless and silent. Turbulence is minimal and as you exert pressure on the blade in the water, the blade moves smoothly all the way until it exits the water. It does not have the little wobble that I so often feel in other paddles when you pull hard on the blade.
I brought the boat back strapped onto the roof rack. This was easily done with a couple of ratchet straps and another from the stern to the spare wheel. It would be a challenge to bring the boat around on my own, because I had the help of Fran today, and it took putting the boat onto the bonnet before I pulled it up onto the rack.
See the pictures at this Flickr set Kayak Test Paddle
Now.....I need a name for her.....
So Fran and I brought the boat to MacRitchie Reservoir after Mass. I figured that a controlled water environment and fresh water would be a better choice for the first run. We had some time from 1400 hours to dusk to do the boat tests. So here is how it went.
Setting up the boat in the afternoon heat is not a simple task. I was drenched in sweat by the time I got the boat ready for the water. It was a highly anticipated moment when I lowered the boat slowly and gently into the water. The silence was only broken by Fran's exclamation, " IT FLOATS!"
Me: ...
So after about 2 hours of paddling, I have one thing to say....SUPERB! The comments on the Feathercraft that I have read prior to the purchase were true. The boat felt comfortable even when sitting into it for the first time. The sponsoons offered great stability to the boat yet the boat was nimble enough for you to execute a mean edge. The boat sits quite high on the water but probably due to the fact it is unloaded at point in time. It was a fast boat, maintaining a reasonable speed with a minimal of effort. Tracking was good. This was a concern as the skins of the Feathercraft are hand-made and some variations occur between every piece of boat they ship out. I am fortunate that the boat tracks pretty well under mild conditions today.
The sea sock works well in preventing flooding of the boat during a capsize. Which I did, in the interest of testing every aspect of the boat's handling. The boat did take in some water, though minimal, but this was likely through a not so thorough securing of the bow hatch. A combination of the sea sock and the spray skirt did make paddling a little warm in our kind of weather.
The skin proved to be really watertight and water repellent. Water dripping off the paddle just beaded up on the deck and rolled off.
The other piece of equipment that was a real good buy was the paddle. The 4 piece carbon paddle from Aquabound was, in my opinion, a real performer. The Eagle Ray is designed for touring and for a low paddling angle. The feathering angle can be adjusted as desired. Entry of the blade into the water is effortless and silent. Turbulence is minimal and as you exert pressure on the blade in the water, the blade moves smoothly all the way until it exits the water. It does not have the little wobble that I so often feel in other paddles when you pull hard on the blade.
I brought the boat back strapped onto the roof rack. This was easily done with a couple of ratchet straps and another from the stern to the spare wheel. It would be a challenge to bring the boat around on my own, because I had the help of Fran today, and it took putting the boat onto the bonnet before I pulled it up onto the rack.
See the pictures at this Flickr set Kayak Test Paddle
Now.....I need a name for her.....
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Setting up the Wisper
The weekend was spent trying to set up the kayak and practising how to do it smoothly and with as little pain as possible.
I find no fault with the instructions or manual and the DVD included was just invaluable in making life a little easier. So blame it all on my ineptness, but my inaugural attempt in setting up the kayak took about an hour. I tried to be meticulous in making sure I do not do anything wrong that may damage the boat even before it hits the water.
On day 2 of practice, on my second try, the time taken to set the boat up was 37 min from the opening of the pack to completion. Dismantling took just slightly shorter at just about 30 mins. The bulk of time went to packing it properly into the pack.
Setting up the frame of the boat is easy, and planting the frame into the skin is also a relative;y easy. The most difficult areas are actually,
1. Making sure the frame is centred in the skin.
2. Tensioning the frame with the extension bars
3. And placing of the crossribs especially crossrib 2
But all in all, the kayak feels solid so far on dry land. The component pieces are well made and there was never a situation where the pieces did not fit one another. Design of the frame was well thought of with every piece having its role and doubling up in function sometimes.
Here are the photos of the kayak during the weekend.
I find no fault with the instructions or manual and the DVD included was just invaluable in making life a little easier. So blame it all on my ineptness, but my inaugural attempt in setting up the kayak took about an hour. I tried to be meticulous in making sure I do not do anything wrong that may damage the boat even before it hits the water.
On day 2 of practice, on my second try, the time taken to set the boat up was 37 min from the opening of the pack to completion. Dismantling took just slightly shorter at just about 30 mins. The bulk of time went to packing it properly into the pack.
Setting up the frame of the boat is easy, and planting the frame into the skin is also a relative;y easy. The most difficult areas are actually,
1. Making sure the frame is centred in the skin.
2. Tensioning the frame with the extension bars
3. And placing of the crossribs especially crossrib 2
But all in all, the kayak feels solid so far on dry land. The component pieces are well made and there was never a situation where the pieces did not fit one another. Design of the frame was well thought of with every piece having its role and doubling up in function sometimes.
Here are the photos of the kayak during the weekend.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
My Boat is Here!
Today has been a long anticipated day. The order for my kayak made almost 2-3 weeks back has finally been delivered. See here for write up on the wisper and the order.
Brimming with excitement, I went together with Fran to collect the boat. It was also the first time I was meeting the guy who brought in the kayak for me, Huey. He has a rather colourful history with regard to kayaking and is now in the business of bringing in kayaking equipment, particularly folding kayaks. Check out the website: kayakasia
Now back to the boat. The backpack in which the foldable kayak was packed into was larger than I thought it would be. The other accessories were packed into the backpack with the foam blocks and buoyancy vest in a separate box. All in all, everything as in good order except for my neoprene spray skirt which was inadvertently left out in the order. This will have to be rectified in the coming weeks.
Therefore, this is my kayaking purchase and equipment thus far, my FIRST kayak plan.
1. Feathercraft Foldable Kayak: Wisper with front and rear hatches
2. Aquabound Eagleray Full-carbon 4 piece paddle
3. Feathercraft Klatwa 2 piece Greenland paddle (spare)
4. Astral Tempo 300 Personal Flotation Device
5. Feathercraft Neoprene spray skirt
6. Feathercraft Deckbag
7. NRS Bilge pump
8. NRS universal kayak blocks
Other pieces of good news include the approval from PUB to allow foldable kayaks into the reservoirs to paddle. Although the only open reservoirs so far are MacRitchie and Marina Bay, others in the pipeline include Lower and Upper Seletar Reservoirs. Once again, Huey has made arrangement for all foldable owners to have a tag to indicate registration with an organisation.
I have chose the number tag 7 for my boat.
All I have to do now is decide on a name and then will have to christian the boat during our first trip to the water. I cannot wait....
Brimming with excitement, I went together with Fran to collect the boat. It was also the first time I was meeting the guy who brought in the kayak for me, Huey. He has a rather colourful history with regard to kayaking and is now in the business of bringing in kayaking equipment, particularly folding kayaks. Check out the website: kayakasia
Now back to the boat. The backpack in which the foldable kayak was packed into was larger than I thought it would be. The other accessories were packed into the backpack with the foam blocks and buoyancy vest in a separate box. All in all, everything as in good order except for my neoprene spray skirt which was inadvertently left out in the order. This will have to be rectified in the coming weeks.
Therefore, this is my kayaking purchase and equipment thus far, my FIRST kayak plan.
1. Feathercraft Foldable Kayak: Wisper with front and rear hatches
2. Aquabound Eagleray Full-carbon 4 piece paddle
3. Feathercraft Klatwa 2 piece Greenland paddle (spare)
4. Astral Tempo 300 Personal Flotation Device
5. Feathercraft Neoprene spray skirt
6. Feathercraft Deckbag
7. NRS Bilge pump
8. NRS universal kayak blocks
Other pieces of good news include the approval from PUB to allow foldable kayaks into the reservoirs to paddle. Although the only open reservoirs so far are MacRitchie and Marina Bay, others in the pipeline include Lower and Upper Seletar Reservoirs. Once again, Huey has made arrangement for all foldable owners to have a tag to indicate registration with an organisation.
I have chose the number tag 7 for my boat.
All I have to do now is decide on a name and then will have to christian the boat during our first trip to the water. I cannot wait....
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Feathercraft Wisper
Sounds like an advertisement for women's sanitary napkins. Rest assured, this is not about it!
I have decided on my kayak. After making tentative inquiries with dealers and evaluating both the features of the kayak as well as the depth of my pocket. I have finally come to a conclusion.
Having said that, it was by no means easy coming to the decision. The main difficulties were with the kayak itself. A host of questions had to be answered: hard shell vs foldable; length; model/brand were all considerations. The one which caught my eye the most were the Feathercraft boats, due to their portability and consistent reviews of seaworthiness. Fears of tracking and speed compared to their hard shell counterparts were slowly but surely dispelled by the many favourable reports for the foldables. After all, the physics was sound. The oft cited weakness in the foldable structure may actually act to absorb more of the wave energy thrown at the boat, allowing it to cope better with choppy sea states.
Feathercraft has a few models available. Earlier one, I had my eye on the Khatsalano, a greenland styled kayak. However, the price made the boat quite out of reach and if you noticed, it has been a while since I've revisited the issue of owning my own boat.
Here is where the Wisper comes in. It is a cross between the Khat and one of their other models. It maintains the Greenland style characteristics but in a slightly shorter package with a wider beam.
The most important thing...is the freedom the craft will allow. Paddling anytime, anywhere and being to camp out to explore the remote reaches of our island home. The possibilities are endless. I just cannot wait. Await the next post when I announce its arrival. Now I need a name for her....suggestions?
I have decided on my kayak. After making tentative inquiries with dealers and evaluating both the features of the kayak as well as the depth of my pocket. I have finally come to a conclusion.
Having said that, it was by no means easy coming to the decision. The main difficulties were with the kayak itself. A host of questions had to be answered: hard shell vs foldable; length; model/brand were all considerations. The one which caught my eye the most were the Feathercraft boats, due to their portability and consistent reviews of seaworthiness. Fears of tracking and speed compared to their hard shell counterparts were slowly but surely dispelled by the many favourable reports for the foldables. After all, the physics was sound. The oft cited weakness in the foldable structure may actually act to absorb more of the wave energy thrown at the boat, allowing it to cope better with choppy sea states.
Feathercraft has a few models available. Earlier one, I had my eye on the Khatsalano, a greenland styled kayak. However, the price made the boat quite out of reach and if you noticed, it has been a while since I've revisited the issue of owning my own boat.
Here is where the Wisper comes in. It is a cross between the Khat and one of their other models. It maintains the Greenland style characteristics but in a slightly shorter package with a wider beam.
The most important thing...is the freedom the craft will allow. Paddling anytime, anywhere and being to camp out to explore the remote reaches of our island home. The possibilities are endless. I just cannot wait. Await the next post when I announce its arrival. Now I need a name for her....suggestions?
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Ramunia
Four days of kayaking, eating and sleeping. Priority was in the same
order too. The title of the post tells of the location of the most
exciting kayaking course attended so far. From the 18-21 Jan, the 4 star
kayaking training course was conducted by Outward Bound Singapore and
Changi Sea Sports Club.
Weather was initially disappointing. Seeing how it was storming the past 2 weeks before we arrived, I thought that the rain and wind would make the sea a little more challenging. But it worked out pretty well as the wind did pick up over the next few days and the waves did get bigger. By the end of the course, I was humbled by the raw power that mother nature can harness and hurl at us.
So we spent the few days, soaking wet, jumping in and out of the boats and attempting to garner what little control we can to impress the instructors enough to pass us. Under the watchful eyes of our 'spotters' on the beach, we made sure we did not stray and collide against other kayakists, who similarly were tossed about by the waves.
Occasionally, actually quite often, after getting dunked by the waves and rolling ourselves into an upright position, we were often confronted with the big "L" sign by our spotters (Read LOSER) It was good fun!
So officially, I am glad to say that I have made it through the 4 star course. Just have a couple more expeditons to go in order to qualify for the award. That should be anytime soon.
A shot of our group of three
Weather was initially disappointing. Seeing how it was storming the past 2 weeks before we arrived, I thought that the rain and wind would make the sea a little more challenging. But it worked out pretty well as the wind did pick up over the next few days and the waves did get bigger. By the end of the course, I was humbled by the raw power that mother nature can harness and hurl at us.
So we spent the few days, soaking wet, jumping in and out of the boats and attempting to garner what little control we can to impress the instructors enough to pass us. Under the watchful eyes of our 'spotters' on the beach, we made sure we did not stray and collide against other kayakists, who similarly were tossed about by the waves.
Occasionally, actually quite often, after getting dunked by the waves and rolling ourselves into an upright position, we were often confronted with the big "L" sign by our spotters (Read LOSER) It was good fun!
So officially, I am glad to say that I have made it through the 4 star course. Just have a couple more expeditons to go in order to qualify for the award. That should be anytime soon.
A shot of our group of three
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