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Kudos on keeping that bear from being fed....and then maybe dead! ("A fed bear is a dead bear," as the saying goes. )

It's true. There are a lot of older folks getting taken by online scammers and social media disinformation. There's an advantage to being a digital native as well as to having been taught to think critically. Critical thinking abilities and speed can decline with age, too.

Come up to NY, Erica. There's a pair of mute swans that live on the pond I paddle most often. Not native but tolerated is accurate around here - most people appreciate them, though some of us grit our teeth about them. In some places in Illinois they are seen as more ecologically...

Indeed, I do like the idea of easier background research, a task I find to be a chore. I recently read 'How to Think About AI' in which the author points out that AI will only get better, so writing it off based on current capabilities is a fool's folly. I still don't like how AI products...

I admit I haven't used dedicated AI interfaces like ChatGPT, but I've noticed the AI summaries that come with web searches these days are either patently wrong or of such low quality often enough that I scroll right past them instead of bothering to read them.

Gorgeous! We had similar this morning but I couldn't get out on the water.

Pondering further, is it a rapid change in ambient temp that causes the issue, or the overall low temp, or both (a rapid change below a certain temp)? I'm not surprised high heat isn't an issue because the royalex should be more pliable the warmer it gets, up to melting temp.

Finally got around to reading the article - really good read. I find a lot of things in life seem pretty obvious after you learn them, but wouldn't have occurred to me until someone explained it. The bottom line is that there's a reason paddlecraft and sailcraft look different. The breakdown...

I don't think it'll be my last paddle of the year but it might be the pooch's.

I picked up a used Rx Penobscot with wood gunnels and what look like brass end caps this fall. Where I live it rarely dips below 0F. More often these days winter temps are usually more like 20s - 40s F. If I store it in an unheated garage over winter, do I need to loosen the gunnel screws, or...

From my understanding there's an increasing proportion of AI authored books and content out there. (And forget about social media.) One cure for this is to shop an independent bookstores and libraries, where real humans actually vet the books. There are now great digital audiobook options...

@Bob B. I've been thinking more about making a GP as long as yours out of 2 pieces with a ferrule for breakdown. There's lots of info online about sizing GPs for kayaks, but as I consider stretching the designs out to 108 inches, my instinct is to lengthen the loom and keep the blades the...

Same!

Yes, this was my real question. I'm well aware of the Polynesians' voyaging, I was curious if anyone is doing it in OC-1 type boats with modern materials. The weight on that va'a is drool-worthy compared to my OT Penobscot, which, as I remember, sails like a bathtub (though I haven't tried...

Haven't done many pre-work paddles this year, mostly due to the dog's arthritis and harmful algal blooms. Managed to get out this morning though.

Nor'easter approaches the Catskills.

Baby water snakes (Nerodia spp.) and racers have similar patterns. They all darken with age.

Agreed. Esp nowadays when professional training is devalued and big chain stores sell kayaks and SUPs with no info or training.

How bad is the wear and what's the original finish? Is it actually the wood or just the finish that's worn? If wood, is it dented or actually broken? I've just added layers of varnish to varnished paddles with wear. For dents, a rag with boiling water has swelled the grain enough to mostly...

I was in a Penobscot. I'd call the trim 'bad' because I had no ballast and if there'd been any sort of wind I would have had a lot of trouble controlling the boat from the stern seat. In other words I agree that 'good trim' is relative to the context, and if the boat is doing what you want...