Back to a Normal Life! | SouthernPaddler.com

Back to a Normal Life!

oldbuffpilot

Well-Known Member
May 13, 2014
629
34
80
Central Kansas and Central Texas
Back to a normal life! After about two months of in and out of the hospital,seven endoscopic surgeries on my pancreas and stomach, losing 50+ pounds, I am on the recovery road! I’ve managed to gain back about 25 pounds, strong enough to load the pirogue, and grateful.Seems I had a 14 cm diameter pseudocyst in my pancreas. Guess it almost killed me--but it didn’t! Iwas a firm believer in prayer-- now I’m a fanatic!
Anyway that’s behind us, we are still in Texas but will be going home to Kansas next week. I have been working (slowly) on the JEM Crawdad I left here last winter, just about done.

Been able to fish 2 times this week. Yesterday was too windy but I went to lake Georgetown anyway, which led to a surprise I didn’t expect from the high sided square back original Crawdad. Wind was 20- 25 paddled across the lake into the wind, no problem. However, when I came back with the wind from the stern, the boat wanted to turn around 180 degrees and point into the wind. Was actually hard to maintain a line back to the truck. I finally just let the wind take me to the truck with the nose pointed backwards . I love that little stable boat--BUT that was a surprise! Still a great evening on the lake!

More later,
Good Fish’n
Andy
 
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Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Andy, I hadn't known of those travails in your Life. Sorry to what you had to go through. Very glad to hear that ypu came through the woods. Good on you!

The first kayak that I built - a Queen Charlotte from Pygmy - had fore and aft stem ends that stuck up prominently. They produced such a high wind sjgnature, that it would track oddly. In a high wind, IE: anything over 9.5mph - it would go in ONLY one of four directions. It went strsight up or down wind, or at 90 degrees cross wind to left or right. My next kayak has low fore and aft decks, and is largely immune to cross winds. Very low wind signature.

Verlen Kruger's Sea Wind canoes HAVE NO SHARP CORNERS TO GRAB - OR BE GRABBED BY - WIND OR WAVE. Think aerodynamically and hydrodybanicslly clean. Compare Rutan's Long Easy to the Wright Flier, and you have it.
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
1,917
59
Glad you are doing better. Boat building and fishing will lift one's spirit.
Winds in Texas must be different than Louisiana. I never seem to find one that pushes me to the landing.:rolleyes: