Last week I picked up a late 1980's Old Town Camper 16 in Royalex layup. My mother had bought it new for my father way back. He'd used it 2 or 3 times and left it in the garage.
So I took the wife & kids out for a recreational paddle today. Wife & I were in the OT Camper with my puppy, Otto, the Miniature Schnauzer. My oldest kid got the Old Town Next (and she digs it) with her Miniature Poodle, Teddy. My youngest wanted a kayak, and took out my Dagger Axis 12.0 (which she also liked). The location is Robertson Millpond Park, which is a lovely little (man-made) black cypress swamp just outside of Raleigh. We're only just outside of alligator range, so none to be seen here.
This boat has sat an awfully long time. So of course within 30 seconds of pushing off the shore, wifey & I both burst through the seats. We spent the remainder of the adventure sitting on the seat frames. There's my first project.
The dogs were awesome in the boats. The Poodle was easily the more seaworthy canine; if boats got close together he would go ahead and board your boat with or without permission. Otto the Schnauzer had never been that close to water before, and spent most of the day shifting his 13 pounds from one side of the boat to the other (which we could really feel) and hanging over the gunwhales.
The kids want to do this again. Kid #1 said she likes the little canoe a lot because it gives her dog lots of room compared to the kayak (which she's paddled before). Neither kid enjoys single blade paddling. Nor does my wife. Well, I rather enjoy it anyway, though I can go either way on the subject.
Wife is now warming up to the idea of investing in lighter boats after helping me to carry all those boats around.
They all want to do this more regularly now.
So I took the wife & kids out for a recreational paddle today. Wife & I were in the OT Camper with my puppy, Otto, the Miniature Schnauzer. My oldest kid got the Old Town Next (and she digs it) with her Miniature Poodle, Teddy. My youngest wanted a kayak, and took out my Dagger Axis 12.0 (which she also liked). The location is Robertson Millpond Park, which is a lovely little (man-made) black cypress swamp just outside of Raleigh. We're only just outside of alligator range, so none to be seen here.
This boat has sat an awfully long time. So of course within 30 seconds of pushing off the shore, wifey & I both burst through the seats. We spent the remainder of the adventure sitting on the seat frames. There's my first project.
The dogs were awesome in the boats. The Poodle was easily the more seaworthy canine; if boats got close together he would go ahead and board your boat with or without permission. Otto the Schnauzer had never been that close to water before, and spent most of the day shifting his 13 pounds from one side of the boat to the other (which we could really feel) and hanging over the gunwhales.
The kids want to do this again. Kid #1 said she likes the little canoe a lot because it gives her dog lots of room compared to the kayak (which she's paddled before). Neither kid enjoys single blade paddling. Nor does my wife. Well, I rather enjoy it anyway, though I can go either way on the subject.
Wife is now warming up to the idea of investing in lighter boats after helping me to carry all those boats around.
They all want to do this more regularly now.
