It's Just a Paddle

 I started kayaking around 8 or 9 years old on a swim team outing on the Sacramento River, up near Redding, California. These were Fold-a-boat knock-offs that were made by one of the parents. He had made enough of these plywood and canvas boats to fill a pick-up truck bed up to the ceiling of the shell. The paddles for these ingenious kayaks were made from a closet rod with paddle blades made from pieces of plywood fitted and bolted into slots at the ends of the closet rod and secured with a couple of bolts each. They worked great as we paddled around the edges of the river. They were so popular that we had to take turns with one of the parents being the timer, so everyone got a turn on the river. 

Over the years, my kayaks were mostly "Tupperware" varieties of different shapes and sizes with the paddles being purchased new from the lower end of the cost spectrum. The used paddles were often the prizes being slightly higher quality and accompanying a used kayak purchase. The really good ones allowed you to offset or feather the blades. Fancy!

On one of our first trips together this last Fall after we had made the decision to do the journey together, Peter brought a "practice" Greenland paddle with him. What the practice was about was that he had made the paddle from a Douglas Fir 2x4 to practice making a paddle. I loved the shape--long and narrow--but was it heavy! I flailed about clumsily using it like one would use a "Euro" style paddle, because it would take several YouTube videos before I realized that paddling using the Greenland style paddle is done completely differently than using the "Euro" style paddle. I put "Euro" in quotes because up until the introduction of the Greenland paddle, it was only known to me as a "kayak"
paddle. 

I'm not sure which came first Peter telling me about Brian Shultz and Cape Falcon Kayak or my telling Peter that I found this set of plans on the interwebs and he told me about his conversations with Brian. Either way, I ended up following Brian's lead in building a Greenland kayak paddle. https://cape-falcon-kayak.thinkific.com/collections/greenland-paddle-building 

Peter smuggled over a Doug Fir 2x4 one day that he said would be perfect to build a paddle. Clean, straight, and so pretty that it seemed like he was showing his latest shipment of Cocaine from Canada. (Just to be clear, Peter is not involved in the Cocaine trade and it wouldn't come from Canada anyway.) The two paddles on the left are Peter's "practice" paddle and his broken paddle. I don't think I've gotten the story yet on how he broke it, but it impressed upon me the need to build at least two.

Armed with my $12 set of plans from Brian Schultz' web page and having watched his videos several times, I set out to carve me a paddle. 

At my friend Steven's workshop, he helped me shave a bit off the length and width of the paddle blank. When we tried to use the bandsaw, it was clear that I didn't have the skills to cut such an unwieldy piece of wood using that tool. I used a jigsaw instead. Like Brian said in one of his videos, the quality of tools helps tremendously! It was a joy using some of Steven's nice tools.

The act of focusing on shape while carving, scraping, and sanding was very therapeutic. I was able to work for hours at a time, which for me is usually an effort. I didn't track hours or costs in building these paddles. On purpose. It didn't matter. The Western Red Cedar blanks were $41 each, but they were perfect. I'm glad that Peter picked them out for me, as I would have fussed and fussed over the choices. 

Lots of shavings were produced in carving the three paddles. The fir shavings went to pathways in Steven's yard and the cedar shavings went to making bee homes, which were a project Steven had underway. 

I used Rubio Monocoat, which was suggested by Brian in his videos, to put the final finish onto the paddles. I did all three paddles at the same time, and they came out great! Now, they just have to sit for a week before I can use them. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5iVbqo3SRcMCSNucA

 Link to entire photo album

"INSIDE One Woman's Journey Through the Inside Passage"

The memoir by Susan Marie Conrad is an excellent read. Let me get that out of the way right off. Published in 2016, it documents in a very personal way her 2010 trip from Anacortes, Washington to Juneau, Alaska in a sea kayak. While the imagery conveyed was stunning through her words, the personal journey she traversed was where it became real. Good read.

It begs the question for me is why this journey for me? What drove me to so quickly say, "yeah" when asked if I wanted to accompany Peter on this trip? I hope to find out.

The Planning Spreadsheet

Lists have been around since men had more than three things to think about. After three, our poor little minds are overwhelmed and overloaded. Some special cases can handle less. It's decent club. We meet on Tuesdays at noon at the park. Join us!

This spreadsheet workbook is a collection of lists that will be massaged until the electrons fall off from being so worn. It will never be finished,  but there will be a time when a version is used to pack the boats.

Inside Passage Planning Workbook

Things are going to have to change

I'm awake at 3am to go pee for the third time since collapsing at 9pm the previous nite. It wasn't just the urge to pee that woke me up, but the realization that Peter and I would be embarking on our voyage in about six months. A half a year to prepare for a 4-6 week trip seems like plenty of time, doesn't it? Yet, I try to start filling in the holes with what needs to be done and the time slots become scarce.

Besides the paddles to create from blanks of western red cedar,  the Tesla to prep, the gear to purchase and learn to use, the biggest time such lurking in my mind is the necessity to get my body prepared. 

I still am able to work hard for a guy that is woefully out of shape, yet this picture taken today with my mom is a clear indicator my river DeNile is running strong. I could list the reasons, sure. A quick calculation,  though,  tells me I don't have enough time. 

I don't do well with prescriptive regimens generally. They tend to fall apart on day two. Still, things have got to change.

Let the Planning Begin

An old box of charts and photographs printed on copy paper was dropped on the counter of our community clubhouse as my back was turned to the sink getting water for a cup of coffee. While I was negotiating with the Krueg machine to brew me a cup of coffee, Peter was emptying the box layer by layer. Kind of like finding an old box in the attic and discovering the secrets it held. As each layer emerged, a story, a comment, excitement, regrets. Then he found the charts.

Laying them out on the tables that had been arranged end-to-end for the up-coming board of directors meeting, a mish-mash of laminated 8 1/2 x 11" copies of someone who had made the voyage before Peter and his twin boys had attempted their journey, a  found marine atlas of the area, and some good old-fashioned marine charts covered two tables. 

A voyage adventure is never just about covering miles across the surface of the globe. We talked,  planned, swapped stories, asked hard questions, and set expectations. We agreed that either of us could bail on the trip at any time, a strong overlying imperative is that we are able to at least be cordial to each other as neighbors when we're done, and the slowest, weakest, or member wanting to take pictures sets the pace. 

Strong, important first step of the journey.

"Yeah," I think that would be a cool trip

I'd heard through Pam that my new neighbor Peter was looking for someone to go with him on a 400-mile kayaking trip through parts of the Inside Passage. She told Denise that Peter should ask Jay, because Jay is crazy enough to go, or something to that effect. The next day at a garage sale, Peter and I ran into each other. He started in immediately telling me about his planned trip. I listened patiently and interested. After taking a breath, he asked, "You want to go?" "Yeah." "Yeah?" "Yeah." 

The adventure begins.

We are selling Lucille, our 1995 Roadtrek 210P

Motor homes can be pretty complex vehicles and they can seem pretty daunting at first. They have all the systems that you would have in a "sticks-and-bricks" home, except that this one rolls on down the road with you. You have power systems, water systems, sewage systems, entertainment...you get the idea. It took me a couple of years, but I eventually worked through them all.

I'm sure that there are nicer looking Roadtreks out there, but we didn't want one that was too pretty. While we didn't want a target for someone to steal or break into it, we also didn't want to be kicked out of the park for looking trashy. We wanted one that was a happy medium and that's what we found in Lucille. Her paint is a little faded, but she has a good heart and strong legs.

I have written a couple of times on some of the work that was needed to make Lucille travel-worthy and what we wanted to make ourselves comfortable in our new home.
http://seemedgoodatthetime.blogspot.com/2015/08/getting-ready-is-part-of-trip-too.html
http://seemedgoodatthetime.blogspot.com/2016/04/get-out-bottle-of-champane.html
It didn't end where the blog posts summarized, but what was done was done to keep her and us safe.

Let's start with the engine and drive train. With a 190,000 miles on her, she is still strong with lots of miles yet to go. I take good care of Lucille's 454ci motor with 5W30 synthetic oil every 5,000 miles and she consistently gets about 11-12mpg. She just had a new exhaust manifold gasket and new doughnut gaskets installed to keep her purring quiet. The air conditioning system was completely replaced a couple of years ago and has never let us get over-heated since. I make sure that all the fluids are regularly changed, including tranny fluid and rear-end gear oil. The brakes and regularly checked and adjusted--always have the rear brakes adjusted not just checked. The tires have about 20,000 miles on them.

The suspension and steering have had major overhauls and upgrades. The whole steering assembly, including the steering box have been replaced when we had new tires put on a few years ago at the tail end of our long trip around the United States. We have had heavy-duty front and rear sway bars and heavy-duty shocks added to add driving comfort and safety in windy areas and curvy roads.

The interior upholstery was completely redone just before we purchased it, so the seats, bed, and carpets are still very nice. We don't smoke and I don't think that anyone who has owned it has smoked in vehicle. We haven't had animals travel with us in Lucille. This vehicle only has two seats in the front for road travel. The spaces for the two rear seats have been replaced with closets to make long-term travel more comfortable. The traditional Roadtrek drain in the floor has been covered over with a sturdier plywood/carpet floor. Showers are still possible with a small, portable tub that is placed on the floor.

We have set up Lucille to operate off of the grid and the 160W solar panel on her roof is sufficient to keep the house battery charged, while being able to work all day on the computer. To assist in our being able to work while on the road, we installed a wifi booster and a cellular booster. The electrical system was upgraded to include a new battery charger/DC distribution system and an AC power surge protection system.

We are finding that our idea of travel is changing and it's time to let someone else enjoy Lucille's company and companionship. We are asking $17,500.