Teknoviking

The damage to the hull beneath the seat was pretty minor, just starting to cut into the fiber strands under the finish coat. So, because it was so minor, I roughed up the surrounding area just a bit and after cleaning any grease off , applied a coat of epoxy.

Its laid up in the garage and since its pretty cool out I have a workshop light keeping the area warm so it will cure properly. I should know tomorrow how she is looking.

As you can see, I got the factory seat out and now have finished cleaning up the inside of the hull where the seat pan meets the boat. The pan, which is made of a nice this piece of molded plastic (Kydex?), was originally stuck to the bottom of the cockpit with what looks to be a really strong silicone cement.

The glue fastened really well to the Kevlar but did not seem to adhere at all to the pan so over time the pan broke loose from the glue and managed to rub the topcoat of epoxy away from the fibers. I am going to re-seal that entire area now that I have it cleaned up and install a thin piece of minicell between the pan and the hull hoping that will keep it from rubbing.

The factory seat in my kayak fits me, but is not the most comfortable so this is where I will be starting my customization. The backband is one of the smaller IR ( Possibly and old “Reggie”) and I have ordered a new IR “LoungeBand Backband“. Its a little wider, and a little taller. That should help my lower back support immensely.  In addition, I removed the factory seat which consisted of a molded Kydex bucket and a rather firm spandex covered pad.

When installed the seat tips upward at the front by means of a minicell block glued to the floor and seat. The side of the bucket is pop-riveted in-place but two of the rivets were missing and so the seat came off as a bit shaky.   I have posted some pics of the disassembled parts  here.

This winter I am working on fitting out my Current Design Isle sea kayak to be more custom fitted.  I will be using this blog as a diary of the work and will be posting pictures as well as my write ups and research.

Haven’t been here in three months… I really need to change that. I’ve changed my work schedule to 4/10 so I can get out on some adventures on Fridays, hopefully that will lead to more kayaking but so far it has mostly been spent doing chores like getting the truck serviced and helping folks move.   I think that’s done for a while and am heading to the Coast this weekend. I’ll be taking the kayak and if the weather proves amicable will hit a couple large ocean bays.  I’ll try to take some pictures and post them here next week.

I came home Monday to find that my lovely wife had picked up a new sea kayak for me for my birthday.

It’s a beautiful Current Designs “Isle”, an 18 foot Greenland style touring boat. It a Kevlar layup and is light as a feather.

I’ve got a new sprayskirt on order and it should be here Monday.

I can’t wait to get out on the water!

I think the trip to the coast broke my brain a bit. I seem to be daydreaming about sea kayaks again. I miss my boat which I sold when we moved to New England about 5 years ago. It was a Necky Pinta, my first kayak and a boat I really loved despite it’s tendency to turn like a barge in the winds.

Picked up a copy of Sea Kayak Magazine with lunch on Monday and was dreamy eyed for the rest of the day. This was proceeded by a weekend viewing of “This is the Sea # 3″ which is a wonderful documentary about the sport.

So, I have been researching possible new boats. My options are a bit limited as my size makes finding a boat rather challenging.

Right now I am looking at:

• Tiderace Xplore X
• Current Designs Solstice Titan
• Wilderness Systems Tempest 180

All are beautiful boats, but i am leaning toward the Tiderace as a starting place. The reviews are excellent and they have one at Alder Creek Kayaks here in Portland. Maybe I’ll schedule a test paddle!

We rented a house right on the beach and took a four day weekend to celebrate my youngest’s sixteenth birthday. The weather is typical winter Oregon, but that’s my favorite environment for PNW beaches. Almost no tourists at all and the long stretch of beach out our living room windows is people free for hours at a time.  There a a couple multi-day beach hikes up in Washington on the Olympic that seem to be calling to me now.

Well, it  has been a while!

Needless to say I made it to Oregon and back in November the girls joined me. We have a little rental in Gresham and the job is amazingly wonderful. We are very happy to be back in the PNW seeing favorite places and lots of old friends.

The New Year has brought us typical NW weather with ample rain and a few cold snaps just to keep us on our toes.

I am reading a lot about backpacking and am working on getting my legs under me so when the weather lifts a bit, I can hit the trail, maybe even with my favorite four legged buddy. Lots of good places to go and things to see. I plan on recording a lot of my adventures  here.

More updates, and photos and such as the adventure picks up again!

An overdue update;  I am heading North to Oregon Wednesday where I will be taking on the job of Technology Director for the City of Gresham. I did several interviews with them and was so very impressed by the commitment and professionalism at every level. The IT crew seems like a really good group of folks and I am really looking forward to getting my feet on the ground there and working with them.

I will be sad to leave the County behind. Its been a very good run. I have managed to make a difference here and make some friends too… the only thing constant in life is change I suppose…

Our house went on the market today. We have been working on it almost constantly for the last month to get it prepped. The girls will be staying her for a bit to show it and will hopefully be joining me in the next 30 days or so.

In the meantime, I have tuned up the Xterra and prepped it for a nice long road-trip. Since its just me I’ll be driving up through Northern Arizona, Utah’s canyon lands, and across Idaho and Eastern Oregon, down the Columbia to Portland.

I am excited about the trip and am making it into a nice three day excursion through the West. I’ll try to blog about the adventure along my own personal Oregon Trail.