Need a free 'yak?

[islandpiper]

I have my Dennis Davis Design yak, 16' long, open water boat. it was fast and a straight tracker....and has been languishing here. Honestly, there are a couple of soft spots, but epoxy and glass would take care of that. or use it as a plug to make some all glass boats.

I'll let her sit for a while, and if there is no interest, i'll cut 'er up and put 'er on the curb.

Overall, it's about like losing a pet.

piper

 

[islandpiper]

The old yak has a new home. I'm sure we'll all hear about it. piper

 

[jdupre']

Yippppeeeee! Getting a new toy to play with. Piper has entrusted me to be the next caretaker of his beloved Dennis Davis designed kayak. I am excited to get to paddle a kayak for the first time. He says she needs a little TLC to get her seaworthy, but that's half the fun. I'll post a few pics when I start refurbishing her.

Now I'll have to start thinking about how to get in and out of this thing with all the "stuff" lining all our waterways-- cypress trees, cypress knees, driftwood, water plants, hurricane debris,etc.etc.etc. No mud flats or sandbars to sidle up to. Everything here without a foot and a half of water on it has something growing out of it. But, to quote one of my archery books " It just adds zest to the problem!"

Thank you, sir. I'll take good care of her.

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

Joey, ya have to sing it to sleep at night. And, once in a while, run a cat through a wood chipper. The boat gets lonely for a certain howling sound.

Try not to do that if some innocent, fastidious fellow is sleeping nearby. I still owe Piper San for that one. Maybe I'll quit spitting in his sandwiches.

 

[jdupre']

Jack, my singing WOULD sound like running a cat through a wood chipper. Although, let's see..... a bagpipe is a cloth bag with wooden dohickeys coming out of it..... I have wood, and a little cloth left over from a project............Naw , I better leave that alone. :lol:

 

[Kayak Jack]

Joey, I'm thinking you could combine your blow pipe with a haversack, cut some bamboo reeds.... HEY man! I think you could do it. Maybe a small starter engine from one of your John Deere diesels - running a pump for a continuous and uninterrupted air supply?

Fix it so that at a certain note - PHOOOT out goes a dart.

Now, if you could attach a charcoal smoker to it, that cooks bacon and sausage together at the same time, and steams up crawdads (craw fish fer you web footed guys), and has a beer cooler on one side????

 

[jdupre']

Uhhhhh.........I need a bigger boat. :?

 

[Kayak Jack]

Go back to Piper San. I'm sure he would donate another one to the cause. He is a genruss man.

 

[islandpiper]

Well, the old gal is off to a new home. Joey and i loaded it into his truck today. I was amazed at how light that boat is.....even with the half gallon of epoxy and glass i slobbered on it last week. I think she weighed 42 or 47 pounds when new , and painted .

here's to you and the yak, Joey. May many miles pass happily beneath your keel. piper

 

[Kayak Jack]

Joey'll treat her right, Li'l Brother. Probably out on the carport right now, singing her to sleep.

 

[jdupre']

Keith, I got home safe and sound. Caught a little rain, but not enough to fill up the cockpit. Layed it on the grass as soon as I got home and got in. Wow, that's a tiny cockpit. I see what you mean about wearing a yak. It's like putting on a snug pair of jeans. Don't think my Lacrosse knee boots are going to fit under that deck.

Got out, put it up a on a set of horses and spent an hour sanding down the patches and everything below the waterline. I'll give it a try this week after work.

Thanks again, Piper. I enjoyed our visit and shooting our "toys". That Slavia pellet gun that bearridge lent to Piper is a really nice weapon. Solid , accurate, and has the smoothest LIGHTEST trigger you could want. That trigger has to be measured in ounces, not pounds.

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

Joey, CAUTION be very careful of large boots in a kayak. Entrapment is a real danger with boots or shoes that stick out from the side or back. They catch on stuff up under the deck and delay your exit in case of a capsize. Having your head above water is usually a good thing.

Fit the cockpit to you. A good fit is when you can slide your fingers down next to your hip, and pull them back without effort. Adjustable foot pegs so your feet are forward and relaxed, but still in solid contact. Knees should fit snugly up against the under side of the deck. Padding is a definite help. You may have to experiment for how far apart our knees are. Sometimes, if in the wrong position, you can pinch a nerve and get tingly and numb.

When a boat fits right, rough water is much less problem. Your body rides and sidles with the boat, and it doesn't bother you. Your head and trunk remain upright while your hips swivel and hinge to match the pitch, roll, and yaw moments.

 

[bearridge]

That Slavia pellet gun that bearridge lent to Piper is a really nice weapon. Solid , accurate, and has the smoothest LIGHTEST trigger you could want. That trigger has to be measured in ounces, not pounds.

Friend Joey,

A fella in Texas who runs a pawnshop....by the name of Tim Johnson "tuned" that Slavia. It wuz a simple tune, nothin' complicated.....mostly lubes. It does have a fine trigger. The only problem wuz the dovetail bein' catawampus. Made mountin' a scope a chore Hercules woulda turnt hiz back on. With a scope, I'd like ta see what it kin do. I give my brother one jest like it. When I wuz settin' out in hiz backyard with him (showin' him how ta cock it), I used the open sights on a blackbird in hiz neighbor's tree....bout 200' tall, 30 yards away. I let go 'n that black bird went down like a White House intern back when Willie Jeff wuz the Sleaze Bag in Chief. My brother lost hiz breath. I tried ta "aw shucks" it, but he wuz havin' none of it. I wuz rite up there next ta La Trang hizownself.

Ya'll have fun with it. It iz a fine shootin' airgun, perhaps one of the best I had til Ole Buzzard Tom bestowed that Walther Model 55 on me. If ya'll wanna work on the dovetail (ta mount a scope), have at it. But if ya'll fix it where a scope sets jest rite....I mite come pay Mister piper a visit 'n call in that loan. [grin]

regards
bearridge

It is on this article, universally consented to by all mankind, that the Deist builds his church, and here he rests. Whenever we step aside from this article, by mixing it with articles of human invention, we wander into a labyrinth of uncertainty and fable, and become exposed to every kind of imposition by pretenders to revelation. Thomas Paine

 

[jdupre']

Got home from work and changed into something that I didn't mind getting wet and put her in the bayou behind the house.

We had a gully washer today (5-6 inches of rain) and the bayou looks like cafe' au lait. After a few hilarious minutes trying to get into this hole where, they tell me, you're supposed to sit, I tested my balance. VERY tippy indeed. She's 23" wide with a 3" deep vee formed by the lower hull panels. I spent a couple of minutes rocking back and forth to get a feel for it. She does stiffen up a little when leaned over to the gunwale.

Went out into the bayou and paddled up current. She is responsive to the paddle and has good speed. Tracks well. Needed a few sweep strokes to go back the other way. I was out there about 5 minutes when I get a strange sensation up against the family jewels.

Forward compartment. Rear was about the same.

I think I'll let her dry out really well and silicone the little leaks. The jury is still out on me being able to use her around here much . I'm going to take a few bayou trips in her to get more of a feel of how she handles the area.

I really enjoyed my first ride in a kayak. Glad to have rescued a trusted craft from the dumpster.

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

Piper San - you told me the leak was much faster, and he would sink well out away from shore. You screwed up! He made it back. NOW what are you gonna do??

Old Piper San used to be more precise when he lived in Michigan. He's much slower now that he lives in the South. (sigh)

 

[jdupre']

Jack, he failed to factor in the plugger upper factor of a all that suspended mud in that bayou water. Had it been in the pristine waters of the north, that water would have come in there like a fire hose.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Yer right about that, Joey. Sludge factor saved your ar$e there. Maybe a sink drain for a water source isn't all bad? I'd hate to lose my Pal, Joey. (I may even make a movie by that name!)

 

[jdupre']

The kayak is all dry and I'll probably patch up a few leaks this weekend. Waited until dark and searched for holes with a trouble light stuck up inside the boat which highlighted them from the outside. Piper did a good job of stiffening up the really bad spots and all I have to fill is a few small holes and a couple of slits. I'll just use poly resin, since that is what is was built with.

I might have to open up the cockpit some. It is a little claustrophobic for this old open boat feller. Front deck is a might low for my big webbed feet too. And don't suggest cutting holes for my big toes to stick out like another far-ranging hijack of another thread a while back. :mrgreen:

 

[jdupre']

I put the kayak in Grand Bayou this evening to see how my patch job did. I got MOST of the holes- just a couple of little seeps coming in. Ran a board across the forward bulkhead for a temporary footrest. Still quite a bit wobbly getting in the yak. Once out on the water it is speedy and has an excellent glide. Couldn't help but look along the bank as I paddled at the absence of places to get in and out of this thing.

Paddled about a mile and went back to the landing and heard some eerie cracking noises as I got out. There's a couple of places where there's just not any "peanut butter" left. I'll keep using her as long as I can.

Joey

 

[islandpiper]

joey, wow......you got 'er in the water. Bravo!! I'm thinking that the water is leaking in THROUGH the ply, in the little tiny cracks and then between the plys. No doubt it needs to be TOTALLY epoxied, or at least thickly painted, two coats. Maybe paint with some talcum powder mixed in? or some dry powdered drywall mud for a filler? if you use silicone ANYPLACE nothing will ever stick to it or bridge over it. Actually, a complete cover of LIGHTWEIGHT glass in epoxy would be best.

Yes, they are a different ride than a pirogue. And if Miss Joy is watching you show off remember to wink with BOTH eyes, not just one. Balance is critical.

piper