I’m in pieces,
bits and pieces
And that’s the way it’ll always be
- dave clark five

Happy Monday! Hope your day goes well. Over the weekend CD asked me to talk about more the value of a 3 piece kayak. He wondered about quality, shipping, travel, and such. So let’s see what I can tell you without being too “Brand” specific.

The first thing worth noting is if you want a kayak to travel with you have two choices really; Folding boats and sectionals. Which one you choose of course depends on what your goals are and the price. Both folding kayaks and sectionals of good quality are more expensive than a standard fiberglass boat. That’s a given. For today though let’s talk about sectionals.

Construction

Usually a sectional kayak starts out as a normal kayak. Then, after it’s out of the mold and pretty much together it get’s chopped. (imagine the magician with the saw. . . ) Then a bulkhead is placed at the end of each section. The upside is that they can be pretty strong given their construction. And a bit heavier as well. The Alaw Bach has these nice little seashells set into the bulkheads that come together like Legos. These assure you that you are getting everything aligned properly and keep the sections from sliding up and down under pressure.

Bolts or Clips?

Each company has their own way of connecting the sections. My Rockpool has recessed clips that are very quick to latch. It only takes a minute to put the boat together. Inside the clip is an adjustable bolt that is used to keep the connections tight. Thing is, Mike at Rockpool pointed out to me early on that these clips don’t need to be clamped down very hard. It took time for me to trust that, but it’s true. You only need them adjusted enough to hold the boat together. If you make the clips so tight that it takes some muscle to close them, you’re over tightening them. It’s not necessary and will wear on the clips. I have also seen sectionals that have bolts running through the bulkheads, where the paddler has to climb into the cockpit head first, with a wrench. Obviously these are tough, just heavier and a bit of a pain to do up. One thing I would check whatever brand you buy, is that each section lines up correctly. I’ve heard of sectionals that don’t quite come together correctly leaving a quarter inch lip. Obviously the hull should be smooth.

Airports

Ok here’s the tricky part. Most airlines will not allow Kayaks as baggage. It’s hard to figure out why exactly, but that’s their policy. In fact I’ve read that BA is talking about adding that policy now. The funny part of this is that they allow all sorts of other objects that are bigger and bulkier. Bass fiddles for instance. With my Trak there has never been an issue. They just call it a golf bag. However, it does say “Kayak” on the bag and I was questioned about that once. It took a supervisor to ok it on that instance.

With the sectional I’ve had to argue. Don’t just assume an airline will let you take your sectional kayak. Before I left on my trip I called the airline in advance. I explained the sizes, weights and such and was told it would not be an issue. Well it was. No matter what you are told, you have to be prepared to negotiate with the customer service people and possibly the security folks as well. In the end I was able to get approval for my flights.

Assuming you are allowed to fly, you need to pack properly of course. Both end sections easily fall within most airlines normal baggage requirements. I packed them with my gear up to the weight limit and basically used them as hard-shell luggage. The center section is over sized, but still fits the oversize requirements. ( I paid an additional $80 both ways for the center section. ) Again you have to manage the weight. I don’t know of anyone who makes bags for their sectionals. You have to make your own. Inside the bags it’s up to you how to protect the hull. Foam is fine, but it adds to the size and weight. It’s a good idea to tape foam around the tips and clips to protect them from damage.

In the end I think paddlers need to get together and use their associations to lobby airlines. Since our kayaks are within their standards and they allow all sorts of recreational gear (both on water gear and off), their policy seems really out of whack. The ACA and BCU should be pursuing this issue.

Convenience

Ok, to tell you the truth hauling a sectional by yourself through an airport is not really fun. It’s a real bear negotiating the hallways and escalators. You are just thankful when they finally take them off your hands.

Outside the airport a sectional is just too fantastic. I love it. I just toss the boat in the back of the jeep in sections. I can take it anywhere and set it up in a moment. Storage? Mine is sitting right here beside me in my office. How simple is that? Perfect for apartments and certainly in big cities where you may have to pay for storage. Of course if you don’t have a car AND live in an apartment then I think you’d prefer Dubside’s method with a folder. I can’t imagine taking a sectional on a bus!

On the Water

The reason you may choose a sectional over a folder is of course the solid hull. To each their own there. But some of course would argue that hull speed, strength, and the ability to perform rescues are all better with a sectional than a folding boat. Of course TRAK is addressing that in pretty good fashion. Since at the moment we are talking about sectionals, let’s just focus on that for the moment.

There are two minor things that jump out in the design worth noting. First are the front bungies. Where the boat is cut in the front will affect how your bungees are laid out. In the Alaw Bach, the cut meant I lost two front bungees. Their placement was such that they would cross over the cut in the boat. You would have to detach and re-attach them each time you put the boat together. Mike provided me with some raised attachments if I wanted to customize the front bungees. In the end though I just added a deck bag which met my needs without having to drill any new holes. The second issue is with skeg placement. Since the skeg is in the tail section, the slider is placed behind the last bulkhead. My center section has a day hatch, so you can see that the slider is back a bit. However, I could reach it easily enough. I didn’t find this to be a problem. Someone with limited flexibility may not be able to get back there. A rope skeg may be a better option for some. You could easily string it up after the boat was together.

All in all though once you are on the water, you really forget it’s a sectional boat. I spent my time in the UK & PR paddling a sectional and never once felt that it was somehow different than a solid hull. There is no reason it would.

The Decision

Well, those are the main points I can share. A sectional kayak is really nice in a variety of situations. However, don’t just expect an airline to let you travel with it. Expect to pay quite a bit more so it’s certainly not worth it just for “coolness” points. However if you have limited storage and do travel a lot it a sectional can be a real value. As far as I know sectionals are available from NDK, Rockpool & Valley kayaks. I’m sure there are more. One bit of advice I can give you if you do decide on a sectional (or really any kayak for that matter), don’t get caught up in this recent light weight fixation. Lighter kayaks are just not as strong. (In my experience obviously) The flexing hulls are much more susceptible to gel coat cracking, punctures, warping and other damage. There is a lot to be said for the old heavy warhorses if you are an active kayaker. Sectional or not, if you are an active paddler I’d always go for a thick heavy layup.

There is fiction
in the space between
The lines on your page of memories
Write it down but it doesnt mean
Youre not just telling stories
- tracy chapman

Yesterday I had an opportunity to talk to the local middle school science club about the Puerto Rico trip. Certainly when talking to teens about paddling in far off lands you can talk about climate, social politics, gear, tides, you name it. You can if you choose just weave a tale of nautical adventure. Of course it’s always fun to share stories, but you also want to figure out why you are up there telling them. What’s the point? For me it’s important to tell people and kids especially, that “adventure” is right out side your own front door if you want it to be. These days it’s all too common for people to never make it past the living room window. It’s easy to talk yourself out of making too much effort to go to places you think you’ve been over a million times since you were young. Why go outside when you have an Xbox?! So in someways talking about an island in the caribbean can just re-enforce that “adventure is somewhere I’m not” mindset. So in this case it was important to talk about all the paddling and playing right here Baraboo & around Wisconsin as well, that lead up to taking a trip to some distant land 2,300 some miles away.

You know, I can always remember when I was their age, how boring these sorts of presentations where to me. Some old geezer rabbiting on about something or some place I could care less about. I certainly carry that memory in the back of my mind every time I give a presentation to kids, or adults. In the end I think we got through it together ok. The kids had lots of questions. . . like the one who asked, “when do you take a bath”. . . my answer. . . “You don’t.” Of course that’s not quite true, but one lesson to pass along about expedition paddling is of course that although you may take a bit of technology along, you also (hopefully) leave a lot of the modern world behind.

Well, being a webguy that headline caught my attention. In the “Fridge” Section of the latest issue of Paddler was a list of “Google’s Favorite Paddlers” by search terms. What stuck me first was that none of the “sea” kayakers types we read about frequently were on the the list. In fact most of this list were play boaters. That didn’t really surprise me much since play boating is a “younger” sport and I could summize that younger people use the web more often than us old sea kayaking types. Ok. Thing is, working in this field each day I also know that how you search, when you search, and what service you use will also produce many different results. Of course when I went to use my Google API tool to cross check Paddler’s numbers I found some “variances”. Of course it all mattered how we searched. You can of course really juke the numbers if you want to. Paddler most often searched each individual as “the paddler” (lower case) + kayak. The plus means that the word kayak must be included as well. So I used the same style of search and then just plugged in as many paddlers as I could think of.

Here is a comparison when I ran a search using my API tool.

Eric Jackson will be happy to know he rules!!

If you’re into stats it can be fun to play around with these sorts of things. Here is one interesting little tool. Google Advance Search tools come in handy sometimes as well. Just remember to take these with a grain of salt. There are a million factors that come into play. Even just using caps can have a large effect on the numbers. Plus how you search for someone makes a difference. Whereas some people you may search by name others you may search by website or video or whatever, just because their name is not the first thing you think of. Here’s a good example. No one remembers my last name. LOL! So when i look at who searches for this site they inevitably will search for “kayak quixotica” or “kayak wisconsin” and throw my first name in for good measure. In fact the most popular search that brings people here is actually, “kayak+wisconsin+derrick”. according to my stats. If I run this through the same API tool, it comes in somewhere between Nikki & Tao. Go figure!

Yeah, like we have nothing better to do with our day! LOL!

Ok. That’s just silly! Yeah, the mid-section is easy to roll. . . The trick is just staying up right in the end! (yeah the offside was not part of the plan) I’ve added a clip to the Video Section under “Strange Kayak Moments” near the bottom of the videos page.

Keep your country tidy
keep rubbish off the floor
Poor old Mother Nature can’t take it anymore
Leave things as you find them. It’s not hard to do
If your country’s tidy so are you
-badfinger

As some of us northern paddlers start visiting the local pools it’s a good time to remind each other to keep our kayaks nice and squeaky clean. For many of us getting access to the local pool dependent on the owners good will. Pools after all were intended for swimming, not for paddling. Of course as the sport has grown and we’ve come up with all sorts of ways to play with our kayaks in limited spaces, the local pool has become mighty tempting. Those of us who were the first to ask about it probably faced a lot of the same concerns about space, safety and cleanliness. In a pool you have to be very aware of swimmers. Sometimes the people in charge will rope off an area for you which is great, if not you should try to pick a small area and stay there. Be aware too that people, (kids especially) are curious and may get a bit close. It’s up to you to make sure no one gets hit with a paddle. Also be sure you are not too near the sides of the pool unless of course you are working on your hip snaps. You don’t want to be smacking into the side of the pool. Not only can you damage your kayak, but just the sound of it will make the lifeguards cringe. Just a hint that you may be damaging the pool will get you tossed out. The big thing of course is making sure your boat is clean. I don’t mean, generally clean, I mean “Ultra-Mega-Super-Clean”. Wipe down the outside of the boat. Take the bulkhead covers off and make sure no dirt is lingering around the rims. Flush out the cockpit and under the cockpit rim. Remember in some boats garbage tends to hide under the seat. Sometimes you can run water under there and think it’s clean only to have sand and grit come out after you’re boat has been soaking in the pool for awhile. The best option I’ve found is to take the boat to a car wash were you can use the high pressure hose to get in and under every little nook. Remember too to be careful if you are bringing a long boat into the building. We don’t want to break glass or scratch walls on our way in or out.

Now let me brag just a little. LOL! I’m lucky. I have kayaks a bit more portable than most. My 3 piece Alaw Bach is pretty easy to haul into the pool. Our local pool commanders are happy to see me coming in with something a bit more manageable this year. (Last year I switched back and forth between my Pyranha and my now sold, Anas Acuta. ) Also the Rockpool’s unique design helps immensely with cleaning. I just take the seat and the foot brace right out. Good thing too. You should have seen the crud trying to grow under the seat! Blah!!! I’ve also found that just using the center section of the kayak makes for a fun rolling toy as well. (I’ve got some video of that to post in the near future. )

Remember too when you go home you may want to rinse off your gear as well. I sent one old skirt to an early grave by not rinsing it enough. Neoprene seems to break down pretty fast in bleach water.

It wasn’t long ago that there were only a few of us weirdos looking for time in the local pool. These days there are a lot more paddlers looking for a bit of warm water to play in. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but please keep in mind that pool time is really a privilege and we need to be as respectful as possible if we want to continue enjoying a little warm water in dead of a northern winter.