kites kayaks & corgis

That special kite deal is gone!

2010-03-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

Keep an eye peeled for more to come!
-r

Something newsworthy

2008-01-28T10:20:00.001-05:00

well....there is another blog for you to check out....
the blog of WindsweptKites......my new online shop...for art single line kites.....
something to add to my list of fun!!!!!
keep an eye peeled to see what pops up there!!!!
the main site will be up soon.....
rob

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http://WindsweptKites.blogspot.com

Is there a kite shop on line around here somewhere????

2008-01-10T14:26:00.001-05:00

do you want a Scott Hampton Cypod but are having trouble getting your hands on one to purchase????
looking for a weird and wild kite but are nto certain about where to find one???
let me know......
keep your eyes peeled for a new kite website out there soon!

The xo wiki

2007-11-30T14:41:00.001-05:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XO-1

good info....

Stohlquist B-podT

2007-11-29T14:38:00.001-05:00

Stohlquist bPod-T

As drysuits go, this suit is terrific. Having used competitor's suits, as well as two-part dry systems in the past, I was looking forward to trying this suit out when I first read about it.

For the budget minded individual tired of two-part dry systems, or of no-dry systems, this is a good item to take a serious look at. The price is below the mainstream K…… suits with comparable benefits, and a step up in comfort.

This drysuit is made of a waterproof, breathable fabric TTwerwefnkjf. It includes fabric booties for complete waterproofing and comfort (which look to be able to take a size 12 or better, at least bigger than mine). A nice cross body waterproof Ti-Zip starts above the right shoulder and ends at waist height. According to all of the information about this suit, and subsequent series, any relief zipper is not necessary for males wearing it. I know that I will be in the suit for long periods of time, so I asked for this suit to have a relief zipper added, just in case. The addition of the zipper was up to the usual level of Stohlquist's modification work: excellent. The legs of this suit were also modified for me; they removed ~2" from the legs to so that there was no uncomfortable bunching of material while paddling - excellent work there as well, all the way to the phone calls to me to make certain of measurements and how the legs of the suit were to be re-sewn and sealed. The protective foam kneepads were raised so that they actually covered my knees. The finished product was sent to me and it fits perfectly. Unfortunately, Stohlquist is no longer doing their own repair and modification work, they now have Rainy Pass of Seattle to do such things. I had previously talked to K…… about the same modification; they were unable to do such a thing, only offering to move the cuffs 2" (but they were willing to add a relief zipper to any of their suits).

When I first read about the neoprene collar it appealed to me. After all of my drytops and the dry suits I had used, tried to garrote me I was annoyed with a latex gasket. The first try-on I was pleasantly surprised with the comfort, but still dubious of its seal. After wearing the suit around the house for about ½ an hour I was assured of its breathable factor since I was building up a sweat. When I removed the suit my neck was still dry. This gasket works by making contact with your neck, instead of in a 1/16" area like latex, but over a 1" tall area covered by a flat neoprene collar coated with a Titanium coating for a super smooth finish. In doing so there is no longer any sawing of the tender flesh of the neck (and it also does not cause any ingrown hairs in my beard like the latex did!). You can turn your neck and the collar turns with you. The Ti-coated collar is attached to a shoulder width collar of normal neoprene so that there is a large amount of mobility available. In talking with their rep before my purchase he admitted to me that the neck gasket of this suit works well with a bigger person-no twiggy thin people here. Ya know when you turn your neck sometimes some tendons pop out of the side of your neck? Well, on a thinner person, without extra meat to protect their throat, those tendons could potentially cause a chute to form that water could pour down in the case of a flip or big wave. I do not have the problem of having a little neck, so I had no worries about that factor. During a handful of rolls, as well as horsing around in the surf to test the suit out there were no leaks.

Another thing I like about the design of the suit is that the latex wrist gaskets are made of thicker gauge latex. It feels much more secure than the thinner competitors gaskets. I had less worry of a blowout or a tear in these.

This suit is the bPod-T. That T stands for tunnel, as it has an over tunnel for a spray skirt. When getting geared up this suit made it much easier than the 2 part dry systems, trying to keep all the parts in place while pulling on a skirt, and much more secure than not having no over tunnel. The skirt lay in place comfortably, and the zipper ended below where the skirt rode, nicely out of the way (I can definitely see how they can push the no-need for a relief zipper).

During all of my first uses of this suit it is very comfortable, just by not having a gasket sawing away at the neck while looking back over your shoulder for a wave it is making paddling in colder weather much nicer. The zipper is up off of my shoulder and chest enough so that there is no tugging of the material making it uncomfortable while paddling. I have no worries or qualms about taking out in mid-December for a nice surf, or for in and out of the cockpit practice while instructing. Overall, this is a great drysuit that I will be using for years to come.

My use of this suit will be including but not limited to: surf kayaking, sea kayaking, kayak instruction, sailing, rafting, and I imagine that if someone stuffs me into a whitewater boat in colder weather I would wear it as well, also it will be worn if I have to go into one of our big aquariums at work.

Give one get one

2007-11-29T11:55:00.001-05:00

i have been thinking about getting one of these (means givinging one too then)

kinda neat little expedition laptop...or just for internet and ebooks.....

http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

hmm....lets see if i can sell some stuff to get one......hmm...........

HQ padded Bag

2007-11-26T15:47:00.001-05:00

I was asked by a kiter for more info on the HQ padded deluxe Travel bag that i love so dearly....

and so...here it is:

pix on picasa showing the inside of the bag....

definitely worth the 100$ the bag is sold for!!!

Good Winds every and anyone...

--
kites kayaks and corgis

the collection

2007-11-18T10:34:00.001-05:00

Well...started in october to photograph each and every kite we have...going to be a lot....working at high flyers for 9 years provided me access to many kites that normal retail shoppers would nto have.....so..the collection is extensive.....
Occasionally some of these kites MIGHT come up for sale..never know.....

The Collection pictures

New Case for the cypods!

2007-11-08T15:07:00.001-05:00

This is the new Cypod containment and transport system!!!

Job?

2007-10-22T20:08:00.001-04:00

hey...looking for a job in southern maine.....

anyone got any ideas????

looking for a house for two people a cat and two corgis dogs.....

anyone????

--
kites kayaks and corgis

new boat in the yard

2007-10-16T13:51:00.000-04:00

new boat in the boat yard....
about 20 years old....made by Wilderness Systems....
i have been told it is most likely a Rave.....
anyone konw anything about it????
have a bit of work to do on it....gotta learn glasswork somehow right?

album of pix here....

2007-10-02T15:28:00.000-04:00

2007-10-02T15:25:00.000-04:00

pix of the Rochopper

2007-09-28T12:49:00.000-04:00

Here

and Here

and here too

review of the RH340

2007-09-28T12:48:00.001-04:00

The Rh340 "Coastal" from Bluesky kayaking and Teksport

i have been following this boat for a few years before i was able to get one...i was entranced by the idea that a boat for touring would also surf and be a stable and fun boat to rockgarden in.....
in this genre of boats i had previously owned a Sun Max Velocity that i was overall unhappy with....
so when i saw that there was another boat in this stream of thinking i was ecstatic....

so....after years of reading about it online in forums and emailing with everyone i could find who had one i finally got to unwrap mine.....

first thoughts:
neat looking boat...just as i imagined from the pictures i had seen of it....simple bungee system-3 parallel across the deck....and the stern bungees are set up to hold a spare paddle quite well....
the deck hardware is well recessed to keep from getting caught on any part of you/boat....
kajaksport oval hatch in the rear...with an extra retaining bungee line to go around the edge of the hatch...simple webbing grab handles....skeg control-a big block to push on....the seat looked basic....no thigh pads..
the foot area has no footpegs...instead it has a "buoyancy pod"...a big chunky white plastic thing that attaches to the side of the boat white water boat style with two aluminum rods with screws back by your knees....there aer a bunch of holes in the metal to provide a range of sizing for anyone to use it.....
i had ordered a set of the fins for the boat as well...i found them in a Ziploc bag with 4 simple stainless screws....an extra amount of $ for them but i figured that if i was surfing (like i know i was going to) i would want them...
the boat also has a skeg-looks like a standard P&H skeg...interesting thing is that the wire is not cut to fit specifically this boat...the skeg control tube runs all the way up into the bow....makes a kind of weird rattling noise if it bounces around....
there are rubber thigh hooks attached to the cockpit coaming-pretty basic but they work well...
back band is basic as well....

specific complaints/changes/modifications:

fins-i wish that Teksport had included the allen wrench that fits the screws-i had to hunt around for a bit to find the correct one...i do have wonders about the longevity of the fin attachment places....might think about putting in a real long board finbox at some point in the future-taking the fins off would be simple then...
bow and stern handles-neat simple webbing....the bow handle ripped out because the hole that was burned in the webbing for the screw to hold it down was too big...this was an easy fix and Teksport quickly sent me a packet of webbing to fix it up....
the handles were a bit small for my hand....so when they sent new webbing a wee bit extra was included so i made the handles bigger-enough to get a gloved hand into it...when i brought that issue up with Teksport they said that they are not allowed to make the handle any bigger legal-wise...

Deck rigging-there is NONE except for bungee!!!!
for a boat that is designed to be used in surf and moving water "conditions" to not have any deck rigging is interesting....the only spot on the bow to hold onto was the handle (which pulled out-mentioned above).....and the stern you had bungee and a too small handle too....
i figured out how to make this boat safer and easier to hold onto....i spun all the recessed deck fittings (rdf's) that held the bungees 90 degrees....so that the bottom-most hole in the rdf was lined up pointing towards the bow/stern...and since there were three rdf's in a row on each side of the bow that made it really easy to string a line through them and up through the handle and back down the other side...
now there is a bow line to hook a tow line to/or to hold onto if you are in the water....
the stern-i did the same thing by spinning the rdf's and stringing a line through.
the seat-i added in a seat padz from NSI to start with....i am thinking about drilling holes and adding in hip pads-make it fit more like a white water boat....

using the boat......

sitting in it it is quite comfortable stock....the deck height IS 16" inches but theseat is about 2" thick so it does not feel overwhelming....it fits any skirt that would fit a capella (the designer's words)....the rear deck height is a little high but overly bad....the back band provides a good cushion when rolling....
the buoyancy pod for the feet is a comfy item....very reminiscent of foaming out your own bulkhead (i did add a 1/4" sheet of foam to it for some give)....i am 5'10" and fit great....a friend who is 6'4" fit great with room in this boat....and the pod was NOT all the way forward....can get a whole range o people into this boat easily......

the skeg control is on the left of the cockpit-a little weird for me....and it is stiff.....not certain why.....the skeg box is a good width with two nubs to keep the skeg inline (ie P&H Capella RM style-noticing a pattern?)

rolling: let it settle out upside down and then you will find a standard roll works just fine (in my experience)....because of the higher area deck a fast layback roll in the surf can be painful but it does get you back up on top quickly.....

hull: this boat has a good amount of rocker to it.....both bow and stern...it was designed for maneuverability when you need it....the 1st third of the hull has a pronounced V shape to it with LOTS of flare for a dry ride....i have yet to purl the bow on it...the rear 2/3rds is a modified planing hull for the surfing speed and maneuverability that you love when surfing....this boat can catch a swell out past the boardies at eh beach and screw on between them all....
when on a wave the 2 fins stick that stern in place on a wave....do not expect any cutbacks that are amazing but i can imagine that they might be possible (not for me yet)....a well placed stern rudder is wondrous on a wave face as well....and you can carve (not huge turns-but some smaller ones)....i have found that having the skeg down on a wave does not help me....just the fins and a blade is enough.....
flatwater: this hull weathercocks something fierce.....did you not expect it????i did.....
drop the skeg and it straightens right on out...with out any issues.....it does respond well to a edge in wind but the skeg is much easier...

this boat can spin 360 degrees with a good edge and two easy sweep strokes....it can spin 360 with out an edge too-only 3 sweeps......makes it easy to spin in place to see what is going on behind you in the water.....
this boat is super stable....i have not tried a split or headstand (could not do those on land anyhow) but it is wide and flat enough around the cockpit to make it be no problem if you are fumbling around.....
it leans well in a turn and edges great....
it front surfs GREAT and back surfs well too (keep your weight forward).....
there is a lot of space in this boat for storage....i know of a paddler or two who have these and do overnight trips easily.....
the kajaksport hatch has proved to be dry even after rolling in the surf....even after a bumpy wet exit in the surf too....
t rescue is simple in this boat too....had to try it....getting back in was no problem...DO CARRY a pump...the design of the cockpit and width of the boat makes a shoulder that is hard to dump out completely....

overall i thoroughly enjoy this boat...i am happy with it...and even happier with the modifications that i made to it (feel free to email for pix about the mods)......................
any questions?

Rockhopper

2007-08-24T16:17:00.000-04:00

http://corgimas.googlepages.com/home
links to my pages abouthte rh340

2007-06-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

Webbing now has 5 holes instead of 4...and is 3" longer...

Handle is now big enought o get my hand in with gloves....

new look of bow with deckline and new handle....

Stern handle...you can see how the webbing makes a loop that ends up having the screw on top of the webbing handle....that loop is for the new deckline for the stern...

2007-06-27T19:40:00.000-04:00

the hole in the webbing of the front bow handle was too big and the screw and washer slipped out one day after playing in the surf....ugh....

kites kayaks and corgis

2007-05-18T19:28:00.000-04:00

simple as that....
any questions?