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Author:
PECo
Date:
Nov 30, 2010
Subject:
Millers Pond 11/29
Message:
TurtleKiss (aka Kira) agreed to join me for the maiden voyage of my new kayak, a Wilderness Systems Ride 135 with the angler package and rudder (aka, tentatively, My New Ride). Kira pedaled The Other Woman (aka my Hobie Pro Angler): [img:4c15f70b78]http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/5805/20101129103459958correc.jpg[/img:4c15f70b78] Neither of us had ever been to Millers Pond before, but it sounded interesting because it's a carry-in pond. Quite frankly, the carry-in part is fairly easy. It's advertised as 300 yards, but certainly didn't look or feel like it. There's only a gently sloping hill down to the pond. Having the newly repaired heavy duty wheeled cart for The Other Woman certainly didn't hurt. We just threw My New Ride on top of her and wheeled both boats down the fairly smooth, well-trodden path. We were on the water from 10:30 am to 3:45 pm. The air and water temperatures were identical at 41 degrees. The skies were clear and there was little to no wind. The water was clear down to at least six feet. There were some still green weeds on the bottom, but not many. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be out on the water. In honor of metalfish (aka Ian), here's my first ever posted video: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBMC_pqotYU[/youtube] Yeah, it's not as exciting as one of Ian's, but it's a start. Here's a photo of Kira with her monster yellow perch: [img:4c15f70b78]http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/3313/2010112911291637correct.jpg[/img:4c15f70b78] And here's another one of her looking all smug about having caught it: [img:4c15f70b78]http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1525/20101129112925422correc.jpg[/img:4c15f70b78] It was just a little perch, Kira, geez! :? Other than that huge bit of excitement, it was really peaceful out there. I think that I might have even fallen asleep a couple of times after staying up late to install a Bluetooth speakerphone in my little old recently repaired Saab. I was awakened by a couple of perchy tugs on my line and landed an even tinier yellow perch that was only about six inches long. I didn't get a photo because I wasn't able to lip it, not even with my little finger. But it was very vibrantly colored, like a Lucky Craft Aurora Green Perch swimbait, and about the same size, too! :o So far, I like My New Ride. Unlike my sit inside kayaks, she confused me a little bit because of her similarity with The Other Woman (e.g., similar color, similar size, moving foot pegs). I had to constantly remind myself that I could operate the rudder with the foot pegs and also that I couldn't pedal with them. I've finally decided that between paddling and pedaling, I prefer pedaling. While I could stand up on her, she doesn't have the same rock solid lateral stability as The Other Woman. I'm going to have to get used to her. I can't wait to take her out on a warmer day, on warmer water and after having more than four hours of sleep. Sorry, ice fishing guys, but come on, Indian Summer!
Author:
DirtyDawg10
Date:
Nov 30, 2010
Message:
Nice! So where's the pics of the new ride on the water? How's she track?
Author:
PECo
Date:
Nov 30, 2010
Message:
Well, since she has a rudder, tracking is dead on. She's a little bit wide at 32 inches and I hit the side mounted carry handles with the shaft of my paddle from time to time. I found it weird to have the paddle on my lap, instead of on the coaming like it would be on a sit inside kayak. She's stable and comfortable enough that I fell asleep on her. Hopefully, Kira got some photos. At half the weight of The Other Woman, I can car top her. Unfortunately, the straps that came with my Thule J-style racks are one to two feet too short to strap her down the normal way (i.e., with a doubled strap running over the kayak). I'll have to use only a single strap over the top, and bow and stern tie-downs, until I get longer straps. She fits into my garage while on top of the car with a couple of inches to spare, as long as I wait for the garage door to open completely. :shock:
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