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Always Free						Inside:Getting Butt Time
American White Pelicans
Big Sur Learnings
Rachael Krugman
Petaluma to Napa
Build Your Own Kayak

Spring 20128

2www.calkayakermag.com

Spring 2012

Spring 2012

Issue 8Contents

Editor/PublisherPeter Donohue
Production Assistance
Eric Bloom, Karen Lapinski, Elizabeth
Rowell, and Sylvia Wu
Design & Layout
Laura Ramos
www.portalcm.com
Contributing Writers
Nicholas Goulden, Chuck Graham,
Dave Jarrrel, Rachael Krugman, Marna
Powell, and California Kayaker Magazine
Contributing Photographers
Rob Avery, Chris Bensch, Glenn Box,
Greta Goulden, Chuck Graham, Dave
Jarrell, Liz Reichenstein, and California
Kayaker Magazine
Legal Support
Karen A. Lapinski, Attorney
www.LapinskiLaw.com
Find Us
P.O. Box 282004
San Francisco, CA 94128
Phone: 650-868-8653
Fax: 650-560-2783
Email: editor@calkayakermag.com
www.calkayakermag.com
www.facebook.com/CalKayakerMag
Copyright © 2012 by California Kayaker
Magazine. All rights reserved. Duplicationor copying of any portion of this magazine
in any form is strictly prohibited. Letters to
the editor should be sent to the editor at theaddress listed above. The opinions found in
California Kayaker Magazine are those of
its writers and do not necessarily reflect theopinion of management or advertisers.
California Kayaker Magazine is an independent magazine available for free at paddlingshops, sports retailers, outdoor stores, fitness
clubs, marinas, and events, available free on
the web, or individual copies can be mailed
for a nominal charge to cover postage andhandling.
Kayaking can be a dangerous sport. Dressappropriately, always wear your PFD, andpaddle within your skill level.

8

			

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18

Features

In Every Issue

6 Getting Started Butt Time

4 Editor’s Note

8 Skills: Big Sur
Learnings

5 News
5 Calendar of Events

12 Critters from Kayaks:
White Pelicans

16 Center Hatch

18 Interview: Rachael
Krugman

30 Intellectual Section:
Wet Exit

21 Places: Petaluma to
Napa

30 List of Advertisers

24 Gear: Building YourOwn Kayak
29 Review: Gordon
Brown DVD - Volume 2
Cover Photo - boats laid out on thebeach at the 2011 Bay Area Paddlefest.
See the Calendar on page 4 for information about upcoming demo days.
Photo by California Kayaker
Camera: Nikon D5000
California Kayaker Magazine

3

Editor’s Note
I am sure many readers noticed that December came andwent without a Winter issue showing up at your local kayak
shop. Sorry about that. This definitely was not what I wanted.
Last Summer, the magazine finally got to the point where it
was more than covering its variable costs (printing, distribution, and paying for stories/photos). But the Fall issue slippedback into being a loss. And the Winter issue would have been
also. Unfortunately, I am unable to continue covering these losses.
So a last minute change to drop the Winter issue and only have 2 issues (Spring and Summer)
in 2012 was made. The magazine is supported by advertisers, and there are some who only
want to advertise in the “kayak season”. I paddle year round, so don’t fully agree that there isa kayak season, but am not about to argue this point with advertisers. So a tactical retreat wasin order.
A few minor changes came about due to this. With most races taking place after our issues are
published, we felt we wouldn’t be providing timely results information, so dropped the Results
section. We used this freed up space to expand our Calendar listings by adding single-shop
events, such as the larger demo days.
California Kayaker Magazine continues to be a work in progress. Hopefully these changes allow us to continue to be “California’s source for kayak information.”
Happy Paddling!
Peter Donohue
Editoreditor@calkayakermag.com

4

www.calkayakermag.com

Spring 2012w

w
Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Paddlefest
Santa Cruz, CA
March 16-18, 2012www.asudoit.com/paddle_fest

California Canoe & Kayak Paddlefest
Rancho Cordova, CA
June 16-17, 2012www.calkayak.com

South West Kayak Symposium
San Diego, CA
March 23-25, 2012www.aqua-adventures.com

South Sound Traditional Inuit
Kayak Symposium
Union, WA
June 15-17, 2012
www.qajaqpnw.org

Bay Area Paddlefest
Fremont, CA
April 21-22, 2012www.thebayareapaddlefest.org
See ad on page 7
Kern River Festival
Kernville, CA
April 21-22, 2012www.kvrc.org/festival.htm
Explore North Coast Kayak Social
Trinidad, CA
May 3-6, 2012www.explorenorthcoast.net
Great Russian River Race
Healdsburg, CA
May 12, 2012www.greatrussianriverrace.com
Sunrise Mountain Sports Kayak Festival
Livermore, CA
May 19-20, 2012www.sunrisemountainsports.com
29th Upper Clackamas WhitewaterFestival
Estacada, OR
May 19-20, 2012www.upperclackamasfestival.org
Reno River Festival
Reno, CA
June 15-17, 2012www.renoriverfestival.com

AquanFestSan Mateo, CA
June 23-24, 2012www.aquansports.com
See ad on page 31
Big Bear Paddlefest
Big Bear Lake, CA
July 7-8, 2012www.bigbearpaddlefest.com
Scheels Paddle Sport Demo
Sparks, NV
July 14, 2012www.scheels.com/events
Eppies Great Race 39
Sacramento, CA
July 21, 2012www.eppiesgreatrace.org
See ad on page 32
Wavechaser Paddle Series
Various NorCal locations
Various dates
www.wavechaser.com

Sea Bird Breeding Season
Spring is the time for the birds andthe bees. And this is no exception forsea birds. They are flocking to ourcoasts, preparing to breed and raisechicks on offshore rocks, islands andcoastal cliffs. Over 600,000 seabirds
return to central California each year
to feed in the rich waters of California’s national marine sanctuaries andbeyond. While these amazing birds
are fascinating, keep in mind that theyand other marine wildlife need space
to feed, rest, and care for their young.
Seabirds are especially sensitive
to kayaks coming too close to theirbreeding colonies. You don’t wantto spook the birds off their nests—to
avoid this, Seabird Protection Network recommends staying 1,000
feet from rocks and islands to avoid
disturbing their natural behavior, or
causing harm to their chicks. Multiple
small disturbances or a single large
one, could cause colony abandonment.
Also, California now has Special
Closures, marine protected areas
surrounding six sensitive breedingcolonies in the San Francisco Bay
Area. Find out more at www.dfg.
ca.gov/mlpa or request a free waterproof guide on Special Closures from
Bodega Head to Año Nuevo from the
Seabird Protection Network: 415-9705244; or email: California.Seabirds@
noaa.gov
And for more information on Common
Murres, one of the sea birds found on
our coastline, you can read the Critters from Kayaks article in the Spring2011 issue (available online at www.
calkayakermag.com, if you didn’t
save a printed copy).
2012 Tahoe Keeper Certification
and Costs

To submit news or an event forconsideration to California Kayaker
Magazine, please send basic
information to
editor@calkayakermag.com.

Tahoe Keepers is the organization
tasked with stopping the spread ofaquatic invasive species (AIS) in theLake Tahoe watershed. This pristine
Continued on Page 15
California Kayaker Magazine

5Getting Butt Time

People trying boats at last year’s AquanFest

I

have heard quite often questions like “I am
new to kayaking. Would such and such boat
be good for me?” I cringe when I hear this, as
more often than not, the person asking thequestion is getting way ahead of themselves.

ting in different boats on the dealer’s floor, but you should
get out paddling in different boats for extended durations
and in conditions matching how you plan to paddle. Afterall, you would not buy a car without a thorough test drive.

Without a doubt, getting into kayaking is great. There areso many experiences you can only have in a kayak. And
trying to figure out what boat is right for you is also good.
But settling down on any one model early in the process
can be a frustrating and expensive mistake.

• Take a basic kayaking class. These classes teach a lotof the basics of kayaking which will make a good foundation for any kayaking you do—knowing how to do thestrokes properly to move your boat, how to be safe inyour boat, etc. Generally a day long class costs about$100, and includes use of the gear you need.

This person often heard about a boat that was reviewed
favorably in a magazine or that a friend raved about. Do
you want to do the same type of kayaking as they do?
Are you a similar size and shape and flexibility as them?
Even if you answered yes to all of this, the sad truth isthat the boat that works for them could still be a living hell
for you.
Buying a new boat is like buying a car—once you take itfrom the dealer, the value depreciates significantly. Whensomeone makes the wrong choice (which is unfortunately
all too common), they don’t enjoy paddling as much as
they could. And they lose a lot of money when they resell
it. You don’t want to be the person taking this financialbath.
The way to figure out what boat works for you is to getbutt time in various boats. I am not talking about just sit6

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So how do you get butt time? Here are a few suggestions:• Rent boats. The money you would pay for rentals ismuch less than you risk losing if you bought the wrong
boat. Many shops even have rent-to-own deals—they
apply your rental fees towards the purchase of a new
boat. So if you do buy a new boat from them, the rentals will be free.
• Some shops even have an “all you can paddle” deal—
you pay a set amount to be able to take as manyboats out as you want during a set number of weeks ormonths. Excellent way to try many different boats.
• Take advantage of demo days and demo events. These
are free or low cost ways to get out in many different
types of boats. Check the calendar listing on page 5 ofthis magazine for upcoming events, like Bay Area PadSpring 2012

dlefest in April, Sunrise MountainSports Kayak Festival in May, andAquanFest in June.
• Join a club/make friends with current kayakers. People often havemultiple boats, and are often looking for paddling partners, so you
may be able to borrow their boat to
paddle with them. Or if you are ona group paddle (whether in a rental
or borrowed boat), people are often
willing to do short term swaps to let
you try out their boat.
• Benefit from someone else’s
mistake. Unlike cars, boats don’t
deprecate quickly after the initialdepreciation. If you can buy aused boat in decent shape for adecent price, you can then use it
as a long-term demo. If it works foryou and you keep it, great. But if
it doesn’t work for you, you shouldbe able to resell it for close to what
you paid for it. But it does take a little knowledge to know what a usedboat is worth, and you might bebetter of sticking to boats no morethan 5-10 years old (as some ofthe designs that make boats safer,
like integrated bulkheads/flotationand deck lines, will be built in).

California’s largest PaddlesPorts exPo
• Take classes• Demo hundreds of boats
from all the major
manufacturers• Check out the latest
gear• Meet clubs & non-profits

SUP + Kayaking + Canoeing
April 21-22, 2012

These are some of the options, but
the important thing is to do whatever
it takes to get time in different boats
so you can make a decision basedon what feels good to you.
If your path to butt time doesn’t involve renting and classes, you shouldstill get to know your local kayak
shop well. The boat is just one pieceof gear you would need to start paddling. Even though you may be able
to find used boats to save money,
it is often not worth trying to savemoney on paddles, PFDs, and othergear. A decent paddle makes a huge
difference in your paddling experience. And a PFD that is comfortableand fits well will be worn, which may
save your life. v
Words and photo by California Kayaker

Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area, 2100 Isherwood Way, Fremont, CA

TheBayareaPaddlefesT.org

If you are reading this...
So are your customers!
California Kayaker Magazine:• provides the best way to reach kayakers in California• distributes over 10,000 copies through over 200 locations• has competitive pricing
See www.calkayakermag.com/advertise.html for details orcontact us at 650-868-8653 or peter@calkayakermag.com
California Kayaker Magazine

7

Expedition Learnings from a Big Sur Trip
By Peter Donohue

Bixby Bridge is not often seen from the waterY

es “Sur”, it was Big. Not my tent, mind you—that was too small. But the scenery washuge. As were the experiences (and experiences have this way of bringing about
equally large learning opportunities).

The plan was for a group of 8 (Bryan, Dick, Doug,
Patrick, Rick, Roger, Sandy, and I) to paddle for 7 days
along Big Sur in October. Sur is Spanish for “South”,
and Big Sur is a vast, unexplored, and impenetrable
land south of the Spanish mission in Monterey. Big Sur
became more accessible with the completion of Highway
1 in 1937, yet even now the vast majority of visitors to thearea never venture far from the highway. Our plan was tosee it from a much different perspective—from the water.
The group was mostly experienced coastal paddlers, butthey wanted the added safety of a guide with knowledgeof the area, so hired Roger Schumann of Eskape Sea
Kayaking. I was a late addition to the trip, so got involved
after much of the route planning and campsite selections
were made.
This stretch of coast is rarely paddled, and Roger—with
about a half dozen trips through the area under his belt—
is probably one of the more experienced paddlers of
the area. And Roger doesn’t just guide, he can’t turn off
instructor mode, so we were looking forward to a weeklong class to further hone our skills.
The group also had a large contingent of people who
enjoyed rock gardening—the act of weaving your boat
through the rocks with the swells. The skill set one gains
when rock gardening is also important for surf launches/8

www.calkayakermag.com

landings, so was a good skill set to have on this trip, as
we would have many surf zones to deal with during thetrip.
It was an excellent trip, even though we had to shorten it.
Rather than write up a normal trip report type article, I’ll
instead focus on some of the learnings I gained from thetrip.
Lesson 1: A Loaded Boat Doesn’t Perform the Same
as an Unloaded Boat
On trips like this, I like to start slow. We’d have a weekof paddling and playing, so I sure didn’t want to burn myenergy up on the start. We started at Monastery Beachin Carmel and headed around Point Lobos. Patrick andRoger decided to see if they could go through a channel
in the rocks, while the rest of us stayed outside. A few
minutes later, I see Roger waving his paddle in the air.
That wasn’t a signal we went over at the start, so I asked
Bryan (who did not see the signal) what it meant. He said
that is the signal for an emergency, but never in his yearsof paddling with Roger has he seen it used. Uh oh.
In Patrick’s report, he described the conditions as “whenthe swells hit Point Lobos they become huge, and although they’re broken somewhat by some outlying rocks,
Pinnacle Cove can be very sloshy and bumpy.” I don’tknow exactly what happened, but it was in part related
to the fact that a loaded boat performs differently than an
empty boat. The end result was Patrick and his boat separated in the slot. Roger was signaling he wanted somehelp getting the two back together. He had put Patrick on
his back deck, so Bryan went in, grabbed and drained
Spring 2012

Tail end of the rescue at Point Lobos.
Roger and Bryan had pulled Patrickand his boat out and where in theprocess of helping him back in.

Patrick’s boat, and they finished therecovery. I think we saw a little moreconservative paddling out of Patrick
for at least a few hours after that.
Lesson 2: Rogue Waves Happen
At lunch on the first day, we hadpulled our boats up well above where
the highest waves were reaching ona beach just south of Point Lobos.
As usual, hatches were opened,
food comes out, various gear strewn
around to dry, and we relax andshoot the bull. It was a nice, sunny
day and we weren’t in a rush to getback going. All was well, until a verylarge wave came in and washed up
past our boats. Thankfully, we wereable to grab the boats as they werestill being pushed inland before thewave tried to suck them into theocean. Once that wave receded, we
rushed around to pull boats further
up, find the gear the waves grabbed,
and lay out even more stuff to dry.

We thought Dick might have losta pair of gloves and I had a scarethat my un-tethered day hatch covermight have floated off. In the end all
was found.
Lesson 3: Never Pass Up a Good
Lunch Beach
As could be expected for an areawith as many cliffs as Big Sur has,
there aren’t always a lot of landing
options. On the second day, Roger
spotted a place we could stop for abreak and lunch, but it looked a little
rocky and was still a little early, so we

decided to continue on. A few miles
later, our desires to add or remove
food from our bodies finally hit ahigh enough level that we wanted
a break (badly, in some cases). Butthat decent, but rocky beach was too
far back, leaving a dumpy and rocky
beach as our only choice. Rick andDick decided to stay on the water,while the rest of us landed for aquick stop (at least we thought it wasquick—those waiting out in the swellprobably wished we were faster). It
definitely was a beach where assisted launches and landings were

Assisted launch from our lunch
beach. Wait for a wave to wash up,
and throw the kayaker onto it so hecan ride it out. Problem is that there
isn’t anyone to help the last person
off the beach...
California Kayaker Magazine

9That blue bag between the twoboats is my bivy sack. With the rain,
I was wishing I had brought a tent.
appreciated—probably would havebeen some serious carnage if we alltried to solo it.
Lesson 4: Bring a Larger Tent
On expeditions, there is always alot of thought that goes into what tobring, and what to leave behind, toensure that you can pack everything
into a boat. I was paddling a Valley
Aquanaut, which is relatively roomy,
so space wasn’t that much of a consideration. But I still chose to bring
my Outdoor Research Bivy sack,which packs into a space about thesize of a 1 liter water bottle, insteadof a real tent. October in California is
not a time we normally get rain, so I
thought this would work just fine.
But the reason it packs small is thatit IS small—the bivy is only slightly
larger than a sleeping bag, with asingle pole to give you a few inchesof air space around your head. It is
made of GoreTex, so quite warm anddry when I am inside, but doesn’t
provide any space to do anythingother than lying there.
As we were finishing our 3rd day, it
started to drizzle some. After landing,I set up a tarp around the openingof my bivy so I could hopefully havesome space to keep my gear dry andto have room to change/cook. The
drizzle became a bit harder, moving
on to being real rain. I had limited
amounts of dry clothes, and didn’t
want to get what I was wearing wet,

so I jumped into the bivy to wait out
this passing shower. It was around 4
pm. It turned out my tarp didn’t giveme enough extra space to do much,
besides crawl in and out of the bivy,
but it was better than nothing. There
wasn’t enough space to cook, but it
did allow me to grab some unheatedtoaster pastries (not the dinner I had
planned). And about 9:30 pm, there
was finally a break in the rain, so I
was able to get out for a quick chatwith the others who emerged, had asip or two (or four) of port, and thenheaded back to bed.
A larger tent would have been nice,allowing me space to move about,cook a proper meal, or read a book
(if I had brought one—guess that is
another lesson).

Expedition Training in Currents,
Tide Races, and Open Coast of the
dynamic Pacific Northwest
and beyond

206-321-0011
www.RoguewaveadventuRes.com
10

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Lesson 5: On Expeditions, Having
Just a Plan B is not Enough
Overnight, the rains were off andon. During the night, we would also
sometimes hear some funny clanking sound. Kind of like a metal on
ceramic sound. It was loud enoughto catch our attention, but not sothreatening sounding to make any of
us leave the warmth of our sleeping
bags to investigate.
We woke in the morning to find therains gone, but still cloudy. And alarge surf. The beach that was very
protected when we landed was now
being battered by head high waves
coming in at a rapid 4 second period.
And the sound—that was bowlingball-sized rocks hitting each other as
they were being washed up and backin the surf.
We had a plan B—we had placed a
car at about the half-way point, withgear for a resupply and as a potential
bail out point. The problem was that
we weren’t going to make it off thebeach to paddle the 8 miles or so to
the car (and we weren’t sure what
the conditions would be like at thelanding beach). And the last swell
report and marine weather report weheard said that this high surf condition might exist for a few more days,
so waiting it out wasn’t really an
option.
Spring 2012

Time to start formulating back up plans to the back up
plan. In the end, one of the few residents of Big Sur(there are only about a thousand of them) was niceenough to allow us to use his private road, and evendrove one of us to get a car so we could start the shuttle
process. This allowed us to ONLY have to carry the boats
a half mile up a neighborhood trail to the private road(which I have to thank my paddling partners for, as they
carried mine for me as I spent my time driving the lengthof Big Sur to reunite drivers with cars).
Overall, a great trip that provided a lot of lessons for allof us. Lessons I will take into consideration when I paddle
the section of Big Sur I missed out on.v
Peter Donohue is the founder and editor of California Kayaker
Magazine.
Photos by Peter Donohue.

Example of how conditions can change. The picture on the right is the day after the picture on the left. Hard to tell the
wave height in the photos, but those breaking waves on the right are head high, and coming in way too often for us.

California Kayaker Magazine

11

American White Pelicans
By Chuck Graham

American White Pelicans on Elkhorn
Slough are used to seeing kayakers

The small island of pickleweed inside theMorro Bay Estuary along the Central California coast was crowded. A flock of American
white pelicans (scientific name: Pelecanus
erythrorhynchos) roosted on every inch of the soggy
islet, a full tide forcing them to gather tightly while
they furiously preened their creamy white feathers in
the morning chill driven by stiff offshore winds.

From my kayak I gradually stroked out of the depths ofa narrow channel which serpentines out of the back bayof the estuary. I gave the island of white pelicans a wide
berth, and photographed them off my bow with a 300mm
lens. The ever-present Morro Rock was a daunting
backdrop as the creamy colored pelicans postured with
their bright orange beaks, while stretching their impressive wings marked with their distinct black trailing edge.
I could hear a chorus of croaks amongst the pelicans
as they preened, as light gusts of offshore winds carried
their loose, free-flying feathers westward.
Then one by one the flock of American white pelicans
took flight. I counted 27 of them, a squadron of pelicans,one of North America’s largest birds gracefully flying ina straight line, then eventually coming together into a V
formation, while displaying their magnificent 9-foot-wide
wingspans.
12

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Distribution and FeedingThough most of their nesting colonies are found in
Canada, then descending through the Great Plains andmountain west, their southernmost nesting colonies arelocated in the corner of northeastern California. As manyas 5,000 breeding pairs occupy each site throughout
North America. By December, these 30-pound boreal
birds have migrated for the winter to the Pacific andGulf of Mexico coasts, enjoying sandbars, coastal bays,
estuaries and inlets, but they avoid the open ocean altogether.
This is because unlike their coastal cousin the California
brown pelican, American white pelicans do not dive for
their food. They require shallower waters where they cancongregate in flocks and corral prey. As they swim they
dip their heads underwater scooping and stabbing attheir food, putting away more than four pounds of foodper day. They’ll even chase prey to one another and are
known for stealing food from competitors like gulls.
Their bills can hold 3 gallons of water, and after the fish
have been caught the bill is pointed downward allowing
the water to drain, and then they raise their bills to swallow.
Favorite fish species include Common Carp, Tui Chub,
Sacramento and Yellow perch, Rainbow Trout, crayfish,
Spring 2012

American White Pelicans congregating on the Salton Sea.
80 to 90 percent of the entire population winters there
and amphibians. If American white
pelicans are nesting on a saline lake
where food is scarce, they will travel
far and wide in search of food.
Conservation Status
At one time, American white pelicans
were a popular sport and trophy
shooting object, and were also persecuted misguidedly as a competitor
for valuable fish. In the past hydroelectric projects flooded many nesting sites, and droughts made white
pelicans vulnerable to predation.
Like many other birds during the1940s through the 1970s, DDT
pesticides invaded the food web andwreaked havoc on avian species andecosystems alike. Much like the California brown pelican, bald eagles andperegrine falcons, DDTs forced theAmerican white pelican to lay thinshelled eggs. Since stricter environmental laws were implemented, thenumbers of American white pelicans
have stabilized and even increasedslightly over the years throughout
North America following the ban of
DDTs.

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918,
as well as California Fish and Gameprotective status under the California
Bird Species of Special Concern criteria, which is a ranked assessmentof species, subspecies and distinct
populations of birds of immediate
conservation concern in California.
However, like many animal species,
American white pelicans still sufferfrom loss of foraging and breeding
habitat. Given the water and recreational demands in California and its
ever expanding human population,it’s unlikely that restoration efforts
will enable white pelicans to establish many new colonies or reoccupy
much of their historic breeding range.
Paddling with White Pelicans
Because California has lost 90
percent of its coastal wetlands, theremaining 10 percent is vital for species like the American white pelican

to survive. You can see American
white pelicans from the seat of yourkayak in sloughs, bays, and lakes.
I commonly see them at Elkhorn
Slough in Monterey Bay, the Morro
Bay Estuary in San Luis Obispo
County, and Cachuma Lake in Santa
Barbara County. All three locales
have easy put-ins.
However, the best place to see vast
numbers of these plump pelicans is
the Salton Sea, east of San Diego.
It’s estimated that over 80 percentof the entire American white pelican
population overwinters in California’s
largest lake. Although white pelicans
are seen soaring over the deepest portions of the Salton Sea, theymainly hug the shoreline of this manmade lake. The pelicans enjoy roosting along the briny shoreline, andfeeding in vast numbers in the shallow, salty waters, making it extremely
easy to spot them and observe.

American White Pelicans have the second
largest wingspans of any bird in California

By the 1980s, American white pelican
populations had risen to 100,000. As
a species, they are protected by the

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California Kayaker Magazine

13

A flock of American White Pelicans gather to preen on an
island of pickleweed inside the Morro Bay Estuary

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Spring 2012

Conclusion
On a gloomy day in early June, fog
engulfed the winding channels inside
Elkhorn Slough. I was paddling with mywife Lori six miles from the coast at therear of the longest channel, hoping forthe overcast to burn off. All the various birds were hunkered down waitingout the soggy conditions. The ones
we could see had their beaks neatly
tucked inside closed wings, dew drops
clinging to their feathers.
However, by late morning the fog
began to lift, warm rays of sun filtering through the mist. At the rear of
the slough a flock of American white
pelicans swam in the shallows, previously hidden by poor visibility. There
were more on the slough’s muddy
banks, their orange webbed feet leaving detailed prints in the muddy banks.
When the slough was free of overcast,
the pelicans took off flying across theslough and its surrounding trails, occasionally blotting out the sun with theirbroad wingspans. v
Chuck Graham is a freelance writer andphotographer living in Carpinteria, CA. He
leads guided kayaking trips at the Channel Islands National Park, and has beena beach lifeguard for 18 years. His stories
and photos have appeared in Backpacker,
Canoe & Kayak, Paddler, Wavelength, Trail
Runner, Shutterbug and The Surfer’s Journal. He’s also the editor of DEEP Magazine.
Photos by Chuck Graham.

News - continued from page 5

area is currently threatened byseveral aquatic invaders. Spreading these invasive species violates
local, state, and federal laws. So
inspections and decontaminationis required of all boats, including
kayaks, canoes, and SUPs. Thereis no charge for inspections ordecontamination of paddle craft in2012.
You can also become a Tahoe
Keeper—someone who has been
trained to inspect and decontaminate their boat. This would save
you from having to stop at theofficial inspection stations. The
free training is online and involves
watching a video and then completing a short quiz about what
you learned. To become a Tahoe
Keeper, go to
www.tahoekeepers.org.
Note—the process you do to keep
your boat from transporting AISs isthe same for all water bodies, so
we recommend watching the video
even if you aren’t going to paddleon Lake Tahoe. The information
you learn about preventing AIS
transport will help you throughout
your paddling career and help protect any waters you paddle in.
Passing of a Wave Warrior
Sad news to share—Eric Soares,
one of the founders of the Tsunami
Rangers, passed away on February
1, 2012, of a sudden cardiac eventat Stanford Hospital while awaiting
surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. Along with writing the skills
article “swimming for kayaking” in
the Summer 2011 issue of California Kayaker Magazine, he createdmany books and videos and has
been seen on National Geographic
and in other magazines. He wasalso an instructor at the Golden
Gate Sea Kayak Symposium. Manyof his thoughts on kayaking can befound at the Tsunami Rangers web
site www.tsunamirangers.com.
Eric—you made a strong impact onkayaking and will be missed.
California Kayaker Magazine

15

Have a photo that shows the beauty of kayaking or otherwise makes people think?
We’d love to see it. Send submissions to editor@calkayakermag.com.
Include the background story and what camera was used.
16

www.calkayakermag.com

Spring 2012

Paddle Faster!
“The Wedge” in Newport Beach was producing some large waves on September 1, 2011. Rich Sprout was on
his surf ski playing with the rebound waves near the jetty when a BIG set came in. He had to paddle in front of
the breaking wave to get around it.
Looks scary, but he made it safe and sound. Don’t believe us? You can see a video of Rich padding in front of
the wave at www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWwW5_3jbJ8.
Photo by Liz Reichenstein
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
California Kayaker Magazine

17Surf Kayaker

An interview with Rachael Krugman

Competing in North Carolina
Photo by Chris Bensch

Photo by Rob Avery

R

achael Krugman was
pointed out to me at the2011 Santa Cruz Paddlefest as someone towatch. And even with the pretty
bad conditions they unfortunately
had that year, she made her boat
move well enough to win her
category. When she also placedin the top 3 at the Surf Kayaking
World Championships later thatyear, I knew she would be onethat I wanted to interview for California Kayaker Magazine.
CKM: How did you first get into
kayaking?
RK: During a rafting trip in highschool, I had the opportunity to paddle an inflatable kayak. While thiswas considerably more entertaining
than being a passenger on a raft, theclosed-deck kayakers that passed by,freely surfing standing waves, looked
like they were having an infinitely
more exciting time. Shortly after, mymother and I took a kayak class fromAnn Dwyer, former owner of Dragonfly Designs, California Rivers, andKiwi Kayak Co. As a college freshman, I learned whitewater river kayakskills from Dick Wold at Humboldt
State University. Upon relocating
to Colorado in 2001, I became an
ACA certified kayaking instructor andtaught for three years. I returned to18

www.calkayakermag.com

California and taught ocean kayaking
in the Monterey Bay.
CKM: How long have you been
kayaking?
RK: I have been kayaking approximately 15 years. After moving toColorado in 2001, I paddled moreconsistently.
CKM: What type of kayaking do
you like most?
RK: The type of kayaking I like mostis a toss-up between river kayaking
and surf kayaking.
CKM: What got you into surf kayaking?
RK: I enjoyed playing in the surf withmy river boat and got hooked on surf
kayaking while competing with the
Cal State Monterey Bay Surf Kayak
Team at the Santa Cruz Surf Kayak
Festival in the spring of 2009. Afterthe contest, I was asked to join the
US West Surf Kayak Team. In fourmonths, with the coaching of WorldChampion surf kayaker Buck Johnson, and the support of Valley Surf
Kayaks, I competed in Portugal formy first World Championship event.

memorable moments was, of course,
my first combat roll. This was especially momentous since I had beensafety kayaking for inflatable kayakers on a rafting trip. I remember
being upside-down wondering how it
would look if the safety kayaker had
to swim. Luckily, I succeeded on myroll.
CKM: Favorite place to kayak?
RK: My favorite local surf kayaking
spots are Moss Landing and Davenport. My favorite local rivers are
the Feather, Merced, and American.
The White Salmon in Washington,
the Rogue in Oregon, the Selway inIdaho, and a dozen rivers in Colorado rank among the most beautiful
rivers I have paddled.
CKM: What do you do outside of
kayaking?

CKM: Most memorable momentkayaking?

RK: I have been in graduate schoolat San Jose State University for thelast couple of years, studying occupational therapy. Over last summer, I
completed a three-month internshipat Santa Clara Valley Medical Centerin acute care rehabilitation. I completed my final internship at Idylwood
Care Center, a skilled nursing facility,
at the end of December.

RK: That is a difficult question,
because there have been many
memorable moments. One of my first

I love to be active and travel when
I can. I enjoy biking, backpacking,snowboarding, tennis, gardening,
Spring 2012

CAK-1-4-page-20120222.ai 1 2/22/2012 7:57:30 PM

cooking, and playing with our cat, Renge.
CKM: What were your results at last year’s Santa
Cruz Paddlefest?
RK: Last year, I got first place in women’s International
Class (IC) and third in women’s High Performance (HP)class. [Editor Note – IC surf kayaks are between 3 and4 meters long, and HP boats are sit inside surf kayaks
under 9 feet in length.]
CKM: What were your results at the world championships you have competed in (Portugal in 2009 andNorth Carolina in 2011)?
RK: Portugal was my first world championships. I had
been surf kayaking for 4 months prior to that competition. I didn’t place in the individual contest, but I learned
a lot which helped me place 1st and 2nd in the teamheats. Our team took 8th place overall in Portugal. Thingschanged in North Carolina. I took 2nd place overall in
women’s HP and our team took 3rd overall.
CKM: How is surf kayaking different than white water
kayaking?
RK: When I began surf kayaking, I thought it would bevery similar to whitewater kayaking. Actually, I found surf
kayaking to be more similar to snowboarding than it is towhitewater kayaking. Like snowboarding, surf kayaking
uses precise edging and dynamic pressure control on aslope. If I edge a surf kayak too much, I end up burying
the edge and losing too much speed. Conversely, inadequate edging will make me drop to the bottom of the

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Competing in North Carolina
Photo by Chris Bensch
California Kayaker Magazine19

so many factors that dictate what
the waves will be, including swell,wind, and tide height. Even knowing
those factors, it is hard to know when
you’re out there. For example, if thatnext wave will be the one that is going to break outside of where you’relining up. In general, surfing in theocean has made me a more confident river paddler.
CKM: Kayaking goals for the
future?
RK: My first goal is to continue tovolunteer for organizations such as
Ride a Wave and Shared Adventuresin order to enable people with disabilities the opportunity to experienceand enjoy kayaking and the beauty ofthe ocean and river waters.

Competing in North Carolina
Photo by Rob Avery
wave and lose the wave face. Bothscenarios will ultimately result in lossof speed and control. River kayaks
have a much more forgiving edge.
The steepness and height of the
waves I’ve surfed in the ocean aremuch larger than I see in the river.
This becomes a huge factor in not

only surfing the waves, but also trying to paddle out against the waves.
Furthermore, waves in the river are
much more predictable than in thesurf. You can see what flow the riveris running at to get an idea of whata section will look like with decent
accuracy. On the ocean, there are

It was inspiring to watch the worldclass surf kayaking at the Outer
Banks this year. My second goal isto add more maneuvers to my surf
kayaking repertoire such as aerials
and barrel rolls which leads to mythird goal of taking home the gold at
the 2013 World Championships.v

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20

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831-476-5385

Spring 2012

Petaluma to Napa - The View From the Back Seatby Nicholas Goulden

And they are off! Leaving Petaluma in the morningT

he plan was to link the north bay towns ofPetaluma and Napa by surf ski. We would
travel down the Petaluma River (which an
act of Congress renamed from being aslough so that it would be eligible to be dredged withfederal funding) and up the Napa River. By sneaking
through the network of sloughs at the top of the Bay,
our exposure to extreme wave and weather would
be limited.
I have long been intrigued by the possibilities of this routeand have been mentioning it to various groups of people
for years. The most enthusiasm I had managed to raise
for this 40ish mile paddle was a “we could do it as astunt!” Fortunately Carter Johnson—surf ski ultra-marathoner extraordinaire—had been thinking along the samelines. Although I had always intended to scout the middle
section from Skaggs Island by launching into Hudemanslough, with Carter involved it was full-speed ahead.
Our group of four paddlers met at 6 a.m. on a February
morning to set up the shuttle—I am not much at getting
up early and I loath setting up shuttles. But getting up
was easier than I expected it to be. I had been awake
since 3 a.m.—either excited or worried? Probably the later. The shuttle was ably assisted by Leif (many thanks!),
who got up just to help us with this AND he knew theeasiest way to get to the 3rd street bridge in Napa. We
scored big time by getting some parking spaces very
close to the bridge. After dropping off two vehicles, weall piled into Leif’s vehicle for the return to Petaluma,
detouring to pick up Carter at a backwater slough. The
dense ground fog only added to the sense of being in

the middle of nowhere—this was our mid-point, the ramp
and dock at Hudeman slough. After examining the slough
and observing large bundles of reeds moving surprisingly
fast, we left Carter’s car there with our lunches in it and aspare boat on top of it—in case someone from the double
needed a bail out option
Finally back in Petaluma we prepped the boats. Daveand Carter each in a new Huki Z, a narrow flat water
surfski, and John and I paddling together in an older flatwater K-2 double. One of the pluses for the K-2 is that
it is easy to put extra “stuff “ in (toilet paper, dry clothes,spare paddle) and, with sprayskirts, is drier and warmer
to paddle. I don’t remember if Carter had extra clothingwith him—he does travel with a thousand calories of food
down by his toes though. As for Dave—well you would
think a guy who starts worrying about getting cold 30 seconds BEFORE he stops paddling would carry something
warm to put on, but no—his backup clothing is a nylon
wind breaker that fits in a zip lock bag. A small zip lockbag at that.
We left the dock in Petaluma a little later than intended,
which meant that we caught some ebb and made goodtime (8 to 9 mph ) in thick river fog down to the bridge at
Hwy 37. We took a pit stop break at the Blackpoint ramp,
where Dave ran laps around the parking lot to stay warm.
Launching on the up current side, the strong ebb had
pushed him into the dock and rolled him over. Investigating the under side of the dock wasn’t going to keep him
warm.
The fog started clearing in perfect time for us to see thechannel markers out into San Pablo Bay. A good thing as
California Kayaker Magazine

21

Paddling in Hudemon Slough

Carter had accidentally cleared all
the waypoints from his GPS shortly
after the start and Dave had lost his
maps while doing his underwater
survey of the dock. We mud surfedalong the very shallow shore, eventhough I wanted to go farther out.
Dave’s fabulous mud surfing technique proved its worth here as hemoved out in front.
Even though we could see the next
bridge on Hwy 37, it looked as if wemight have somehow missed theentrance to Sonoma Creek, but there
was really no way to do that. The
channel just angles away to the east
(away from us) a little. There wasmore ebb current against us in thesloughs than I expected—our speed
now around 6 to 7 mph.

We had a sunny paddle throughwinding channels of tall tule reedson the way to lunch at 26.5 miles.
By then I was definitely ready to takeweight off my butt. Entertainment
was provided by the neighboringmodel aircraft runway that had thelargest radio controlled model aircraft
I had ever seen. After lunch, John
decided that discretion was the better
part of valor and withdrew due to some
hip pain (and an evening swim meet).
So Dave moved into the front of theK-2, giving me pause for thought—
there could be no bailing out fromhere. It took us a while to work out
the rhythm. Every time Dave seesa mud bank he rushes it and surfs
his own wake and the GPS speed
jumps. He also has a very pro-P A D D L E S P O R T SClasses • Tours
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WWW.CLAVEY.COM

409 Petaluma Blvd. S
Petaluma, CA 94952
707-766-8070“on your way to Tomales Bay”
22

www.calkayakermag.com

nounced power phase to his stroke.
So I had to really pay attention andhe was not as tolerant as John when
we were not in sync, often yelling out“TIMING”. Soon after lunch we madethe connecting cut through to thenext slough and then, after tangling
with some fishermen at their self declared “Nevada Line” shack, we weresuddenly going with the ebb towards
the Napa River—nice while it lasted.
Once in the Napa River we headed
North and into the last of the ebb.
We were not sure if we were in theright channel as the railway bridge
looked as if it were off to the east
quite a bit and the river seemed too
narrow. After Carter had spent sometime gazing into his GPS, he asked afisherman how to get to Napa. After
giving us a double take they replied“just keep going”. The 10 miles todowntown Napa went by quickly, ebb
not withstanding (mid 6’s mph) as
there was lots to look at and Davekept finding mud banks to rush atand I had to pay attention. I’m pretty
sure he started deliberately changing
his pace to make me pay attention,
too. Somewhere in the last section,
Carter told a story of doing a longrace with someone who’s presence“made no difference to the boat’s
speed.” Thanks Carter. I bet that’s
exactly how Dave was feeling rightSpring 2012

GPS track
then. We all stayed together, something that would not have been true if
I had been in a single. When we got
to Napa I had to break into Dave andCarter’s racing conversation (theseguys have a racing history that must
be close to encyclopedic) and say“hey guys, this is it”. I should havejust let them keep going, if that didn’tmean me going along for the ride also!
Even though Napa has spent millions
developing the center of town at the
3rd street bridge, there is NO boat
access; so it was a case of steppingand sliding through 25 feet of low
water slimy mud, climbing up theriver bank, passing the boats overthe bridge railing (to avoid the chain
link fence) and waiting for the lights
to change at the cross walk. Home
free.
Dave said our average speed was
7.2 mph. A perfect day for it. The
paddle was surprisingly painless.
Well, at least not as painful as I
expected. Long term the K-2 is more
comfortable for me—no pressure on
the head of the femur. The biggest
pain turned out to be my worries
about letting the group down.

be fun to cruise it with a larger groupand the right tides. Along with being
relatively protected, there are multiple bail out points. The course also
begs to be a long distance race witha relay option and refueling provided
at the same bail out points. Anyone
interested? v
Nicholas Goulden is a custom woodworker in Petaluma where he paddles a
K-1 on the Petaluma River several times
a week. As a route to more challenging
waters, he frequently paddles in Wavechaser events where he finds himself
chasing the person who was his first sea
kayaking instructor—from over 25 years
ago! Since the Petaluma to Napa paddle,
he has achieved another long time goal,
Petaluma to Golden Gate and back, using public transport back to Petaluma forthe layover days in between the two legs.
Photos by Greta Goulden.

The author in the back seat of theK-2 at the start of the trip

The tides were against us but weknew that. Carter’s attitude was “I’mgoing to do this if I have to do it bymyself and hitchhike back”. It would
be easier to start on a late ebbing tide on the Petaluma River andhave a flood all through the sloughs
and up the Napa River. The route issurprisingly attractive and it would
California Kayaker Magazine

23

Building Your Own Kayak - A Primer
By Dave Jarrell

First launch of the Author’s finished stitch & glue kayakT

he first time that I went
kayak shopping, my only
goal was to find something that would allow me
a little relaxation on the water.
I left the kayak store with an
inexpensive recreational styleboat, but burned into my imagination were the long, sleek shiny
composite sea kayaks that had
been center stage on the showroom floor. Although I spent thesummer enjoying my little boat,
I couldn’t get the sea kayaks

off my mind. One day at work acolleague mentioned that he hadjust built a kayak out of plywood.
I questioned him about it, and before long the plans and instruction
book for a 16’ sea kayak werelying on my desk. In the ten years
since that time, I completed thatboat and two others, did an extensive remodel of that first one,and have carved a few paddles toboot. One lesson learned is thatbuilding boats can be an engrossing activity all its own.

I’ve learned that boat design criteria
can make my head spin, and that
Newton’s observation that “for every
action there is an opposite and equal
reaction” is dead on. Want a boatthat surfs well? More volume in the
bow will help that. Want a boat that
does well in the rough stuff? Less
volume in the bow will help that. The
fact is, just about anything that you
design into a boat will make it do one
thing better and something else notas well. To top it off, for any “rule ofthumb” that you find in your research,
you just might run into anothersource to refute the first. Fortunately,
we don’t have to be expert designers to end up with a good all aroundboat, as there is tried and true information out there, and folks who are
happy to share it. The important thingis to identify what you want your boat
to do, what conditions you’ll usually
be paddling in, and find a design thatmeets those needs.
Once you’ve decided what you wantyour boat to do, the type of construc-24

www.calkayakermag.com

Spring 2012

Skin boats, on the other hand, arevery much back to basics. These
kayaks are usually very low volume,
and are not necessarily the most
comfortable boats that you can find.
They should be outfitted with inflatable vinyl bags (float bags) in eachend to provide this flotation, which
greatly reduces their cargo capacity. It also needs to be noted thatthe technique used for the common
T-rescue varies somewhat for boats

with flotation bags, and so paddlingpartners need to be aware of this.
The flip side of this is that skin-onframes are very light weight. The
second consideration is cost, with thematerials for wood boats easily running over twice as much than thosefor skin boats.
Regardless of the boat you choose
to build, you will not need a fullwoodworking shop to build it. Manyboats come in kit form, and for thesenot much may be needed beyond
pliers, a drill, and a saw. To build aboat from scratch just using plans orother instruction, you can get by withjust a circular saw, jig saw, drill, blockplane, and a few other common handtools. Of course, for a lot of boat
builders, a new project is a great
excuse for picking up new tools.
Like anything else, the time to build
a kayak shortens with experience,and varies with the type of boat.
My first one took about 6 months of
only working weekends. Common
estimates of 80–100 hours seem fairenough, but this does not include
time spent searching through thelumberyard, mulling over tools at the
hardware store, correcting beginner
mistakes, or standing in the garage
staring with pride at your work.
Wood Boats
Perhaps the best method of kayakbuilding for the beginner is by thestitch & glue method, and the simplest way to do that is to buy a kit
from one of the several kit manufacturers. These kits contain precut
marine plywood panels that are tied
together with little pieces of wire—thestitching—and then permanently held
together with the supplied fiberglassand epoxy resin—the gluing.
I asked Lisa Ouellette, former
president of Bay Area Sea Kayakers,
about her experiences with building
one of Pygmy Kayak’s kits. “Other
women are always amazed that I
built my own boat,” she told me. “I
The “threads” you can see on eachchine are the stitching holding theboat together until they are glued withthe fiberglass and epoxy.

Hardware & Repair

Kayak Fishing
Deck Plates & Hatches

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Your Paddlesports Hardware & Repair Solution

tion is the next thing to determine.
The most common types of boats
built by hobbyists can fall into two
broad categories: wood boats andskin-on-frames, and there are two
primary things to consider when
making this decision. The first is thatwood boats are much easier to fit
with bulkheads and hatch covers,
which provide not only dry storage
but flotation at either end in the eventof a capsize. Wood boats can also
be outfitted with more comfortableseats. In short, once completed, yourwooden kayak will be very similar
to a production composite boat, at
about a third of the cost.

sealectdesigns.com
California Kayaker Magazine

25

Boat Type

Pros

Cons

WeightCost

Resources

Stitch & Glue Simple to build;comfortable; drystorage areas

Heavier and more
expensive thanskin-on-frame;
limited to hard or
multi-chine bottom

45-60 lbs $900-1400

Chesapeake Light Craft(clcboats.com);
Pygmy Boats (pygmyboats.com)

Wood Strip

Beautiful patterns
possible; boat cantake many shapes

Most expensivealternative< 40 lbs$1200-1800

Chesapeake Light Craft(clcboats.com)

Fuselage/
Yost

Quick to assemble; very lightweightBulkheads not< 30 lbs
easily installed; notalways comfortable$350-400

Yostwerks (yostwerks.com);
Kudzu Craft (kudzucraft.com)

Traditional
Skin-onFrame

Very rugged; lightweightBulkheads not< 40 lbs
easily installed; notalways comfortable$350-400
Class: $1200“Building the Greenland Kayak”
by Christopher Cunningham;
Wolfgang Brink Small Boats(wolfgangbrink.com);Cape Falcon Kayak(capefalconkayak.com)

Right: You can see the individual wood strips and the
wood’s grain in this wood strip kayak. Also note that thehull is round—it doesn’t have the hard chines that would
be required of stitch & glue wooden boats.
Photo by Glenn Box

26www.calkayakermag.com

Spring 2012

ask them if they can quilt, and when they answer ‘Yes’, I
tell them, ‘It’s exactly the same.’ All it takes is attention todetail.”
One limiting factor with stitch & glue construction is thatwith the plywood panels, the builder is constrained toa boat with sharp or multiple angles (or chines) on thebottom. While many paddlers do prefer these configurations, those who prefer a boat with soft or rounded chines
would do well to look elsewhere, which brings us to thewood strip boat.
Wood strip boats are made by attaching long thin wood
strips, typically cedar, to a frame and then covering theboat with fiberglass. These may be the most striking
boats that you can build, as intricate patterns can beinlaid using wood strips of varying shades. Additionally,
these boats can be built in a wide variety of styles, andit seems that most are very rounded and graceful in appearance.
Plans, which are included in kits, can be purchased on
their own. For the builder with more woodworking skills,
this is a good way to realize some savings on the cost of
the materials
Skin-on-Frame
Skin-on-Frame kayaks hark back to the Inuit people
who invented these craft in the first place. As the namestates, they are made by sewing a fabric skin over awooden frame. These boats are lightweight, rugged, andinexpensive to build. The ancient Inuit used sealskins
to cover their frames, but modern builders have other,more PETA-correct choices. Nylon, polyester, and canvas(among others) are all commonly used, and each needs
to be coated with a waterproofing material. Not many
coatings will stick to nylon, so it is almost always coatedwith polyurethane. And while nylon and polyurethane provides a more durable skin, polyester and canvas can takea wider variety of coatings, and polyester in particular
seems to be becoming more popular. Polyester or canvas

More Resources
Two resources that I have found invaluable are the chatforums at qajaqusa.org and kayakforum.com. Searches
through their archives will provide answers to most of
your questions and have a wealth of information.
A lot of other good resources are available. The companies mentioned here are but a few, and are meant only
as suggestions based on my experiences and conversations with others. A web search will lead you to their sites
and many more. In addition to the commercially available
kits and plans, there are many free designs out there,
including some from commercial vendors. A number ofthe web sites also have good instructional videos.
“The New Kayak Shop” by Chris Kulczycki, founder of
Chesapeake Light Craft, is an excellent “how to” book on
stitch & glue construction that includes plans for three of
their boats, and has perhaps the best overview of boat
design/performance characteristics that I have encountered to date.
Also, there are manufacturers, such as SEA-LECT
Designs, that make small parts (foot pegs, rudders, deck
rigging hardware, hatches, etc.) that can make finishingyour project easier. Many specialty kayak retailers carrythese small parts.

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California Kayaker Magazine27

coated with an oil based paint, such as Rustoleum, canbe given a finished look that incorporates multiple colors
and graphics, and still be tough enough for most paddlingconditions.
There are two general frame types. The quicker of theseto construct are fuselage frames, sometimes referred to
as Yost Boats, after Tom Yost who has championed thisform of frame and has free designs and instructions on
his website, yostwerks.com. These frames are made withplywood stations, or hollowed bulkheads, that are connected by long stringers running from end to end. These
stringers can be made from a number of materials, andwhile wood may be the most common, aluminum tubing
and even PVC piping have been used. While the frame
itself may not hold much beauty in the eye of the traditionalists, it goes together relatively quickly and simply,
and is typically very lightweight—often coming in at under
30 lbs.

The skins on skin-on-frame kayaks areoften translucent, revealing the frame

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Bay Area Paddlesports Retailer & Outfitter

Larkspur(415) 461-2222
14 E. Sir Francis Drake Kayak Sales
 Paddleboards
 Instruction
 Tours
 Rentals

On-site rentals available
at Stevens Creek Reservoir
and Corte Madera Creek

Fremont(510) 440-8888
43905 Hugo Terrace

www.outbackadventures.com

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For the traditionalist, the intricate frame construction
based on the practices perfected by the inhabitants of the
Arctic regions stretching from Siberia to Greenland holds
the most allure. These frames are notable for the steam
bent ribs that make up the body of the kayak, and can bemade to have a very rounded bottom, as is common to
Alaskan boats (known as “baidarkas”), or flat and angularlike the popular Greenland style.
Most builders of traditional skin-on-frames, including thiswriter, have used one of the several instruction books
that are available. I used “Building the Greenland Kayak”
by Christopher Cunningham in concert with “Building
Skin-On-Frame Boats” by Robert Morris (now out of
print). Suitable wood is often found at the local big box
store, and my two skin boats averaged about $350 each,
including the skin systems. Classes are also offered by anumber of small schools where, in about a week’s time,
you can take your boat home for about $1200.
John Gerlach is a Sacramento paddler who built a boat
from Cunningham’s book and later another at the Cape
Falcon school on the Oregon coast. At the time of thiswriting, John was in the midst of remodeling the first boat
to correct some design issues that didn’t please him.
John told me that while putting together a surf kayak under the eye of a highly regarded designer and builder wasa valuable experience and that he learned a lot, “There’s
something about developing my own skills through trial
and error that I find very gratifying”. Spoken like a trueboat builder! v
Dave Jarrell lives in El Dorado Hills and works at California
Canoe & Kayak. He frequently paddles on the local lakes,
although he goes to the coast whenever possible. He has built
a stitch and glue wooden kayak and two skin-on-frames, and“went over” to the Greenland paddle a couple of years ago andhas no plans to switch back.
Photos not otherwise attributed are by Dave Jarrell
Spring 2012

Sea Kayaking with Gordon Brown Volume 2

Gordon Brown is oneof Scotland’s premier
instructors. He has
the highest instructor
certification by the British Canoe
Union, and is the only American
Canoe Association certified coachin Scotland. He has also been aguest instructor at the last 2 Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposiums.
Gordon owns and operates SkyakAdventures on the Isle of Skye.

California Kayaker’s reviewers cameto the same conclusion that you will
want to rewatch these segments multiple times and to focus on one segment at a time. There is a lot of content
in this, too much to absorb on your first(or possibly even fifth) viewing.
The video shows an excellent set of
activities to practice balance that are
well worth trying. But be prepared toswim, as you will likely have a few

flips (but that gives you an opportunity to practice some of the rescues
talked about in other segments).
Learning these balance skills will
reduce the amount of swims you will
make in the future.
As with all skills in kayaking, different
coaches believe different things. It isbest to learn many different ways of doing something, so you can pick the rightskill to use for the conditions you find.

Sea Kayaking with Gordon Brown
Volume 2 is his second video in aseries that is planned to be 3 videos.
Sea Kayaking with Gordon Brown
Volume 1 video covers the foundations of sea kayaking—paddling,turning, steering, edging, etc. andfeatures paddling scenes from theBeautiful Isle of Skye, off of Scotland.
California Kayaker reviewed the firstvideo on our blog at calkayakermag.
blogspot.com/2012/02/sea-kayakingwith-gordon-brown-volume-1.html.
But you do not need to watch Volume
1 prior to watching Volume 2, as the
skill sets covered are different.
Volume 2 uses the same format asVolume 1—it has 8 coaching segments intermixed with a trip to abeautiful area. You have the choice
to watch the entire DVD, individual
chapters, just the lessons, or justthe tour. The trip this time is to Saint
Kilda, a remote set of sea stacks
about 50 miles off the west coast of
Scotland. The educational portion of
the video covers assisted and self
rescues, tows, technical landings andlaunches, and anticipating/avoiding
troubles. The educational scenes
show each skill on both flat waterand in more challenging conditions.
The video is over 130 minutes long,with almost 80 minutes of that being
coaching segments. The video’s
trailer can been seen at www.vimeo.
com/27091840.
The producer suggests watching theentire video once straight throughbefore rewatching segments. Both ofCalifornia Kayaker Magazine29

G o o d ! !!

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u n isore

Guided Tours
Lagoon Rentals
Family Fun!

in Humboldt County

www.kayakzak.com
Even in a video with as much information as this, it can’t cover everything. One example we found was
the straddle/cowboy self-rescue segment. In the Fall 2011 issue of California Kayaker Magazine, we ran anarticle by Roger Schumann on this,allowing us to compare the two. Bothcovered much the same content, with
Gordon covering a lot more balance
practice skills, and Roger’s article
went into a little more detail on the
rescue itself. In the rescue sequence,
Gordon doesn’t talk about using abrace to help maintain balance, but inthe rough water sequence you may noticethat he does use one. Roger’s article doestalk about using a brace for support.
One instruction segment that we
found to be contrary to what is being
generally taught here was the paddle
float rescue. Gordon advised righting
your boat first, inflating your paddle
float, and then placing it on a paddle. In general, keeping your boat

707 498-1130

upside down seems to be the more
often taught version in California, as
this lets you keep a leg in the cockpit to prevent the boat from floating
away, while keeping your hands free
to work the paddle float and hold on
to your paddle. And we usually aretaught to put the paddle float on thepaddle before inflating for similar reasons—if an inflated paddle float getsaway in the wind, it will blow away
faster than you can swim. You may
want to give both methods a try andsee which works better for you.
Gordon talks about using a heel
hook for getting back into a boat after
most assisted rescues and paddle float rescues. These have only
recently been taught by many kayak
shops in California. If you learned
your rescues more than a few years
ago, it would be worth paying special
attention to these segments, as theheel hook requires a lot less upper
body strength.

The DVD appears to be directed
toward intermediate paddlers. Still,
it progresses from less advanced tomore advanced material. One of Gordon’s later demonstrations is a swim
landing and launch in rough water ona rocky coast. His discussion afterward may have been the most valuable part of that lesson. Gordon talks
about how exhausting the exercise
was, how long it took him to recover,
and what a difficult position he would
have been in if he had been leadinga group and, after the swim landing and launch, he needed to assist
another paddler.
Overall, the video would make an excellent addition to any sea kayaker’s library.
The video has a suggested retailprice of $29.95 and is available foryour local kayak shop or online fromwww.seakayakwithgordonbrown.com. v

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Spring 2012

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