Qajaq Rolls
Published August 16, 2011 | 
Time once again to take a break from my own endless chatter and recommend another blog worth checking out. Since I’ve spent a lot of time on traditional stuff recently, now is a good time to send you over to check out Minnesota resident, Christopher Crowhurst’s Qajaq Rolls. I really like what Christopher is doing with his Roll of the Day series. I’ve always thought that one of the best things about the internet is that we can go online and learn just about anything. Of course for this to happen, other people have to go be generous enough to share what they know with little to no financial reward. Continue reading
Posted in Learn To Roll, Learning, Paddling, Traditional Paddling | 
Christopher Crowhurst, dubside, Helen Wilson, Maligaq, rolling | 
1 CommentThe Fantastical Sea Sock
Published August 12, 2011 | 
O.K. I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, it’s been said before. Some folks do call them kayak condoms and worse, but on the other hand it’s always wise to practice safe sea kayaking, right? So if you’d like to try your hand at slightly off-color sea sock jokes, please feel free.. I’ll be in the other room reading, “The City in the Sea” by Poe….
…. There open fanes and gaping graves
Yawn level with the luminous waves;
But not the riches there that lie
In each idol’s diamond eye-
Not the gaily-jewelled dead
Tempt the waters from their bed;
For no ripples curl, alas!
Along that wilderness of glass-
No swellings tell that winds may be
Upon some far-off happier sea-
No heavings hint that winds have been
On seas less hideously serene….
Done yet?
Now, where was I? Oh, that’s right, Sea socks… Continue reading
From The Peter Strand Collection
Published August 11, 2011 | 
Saw an ad in the newspaper that caught my eye
I said to my baby this sounds like the ticket for you and I
It said volunteers wanted for a very special trip
To commune with Mother Nature on a big wooden ship
If you’re like me and you couldn’t put two boards together to save your life.. (Well, I did build a porch once. . but.. oh, nevermind!) and kit boats and classes just won’t save you from your own lack of time or talent, that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the experience of paddling your own hand-made skin-on-frame kayak. The trick of course, is finding someone to build it for you that won’t make you feel like a second class citizen for not doing it yourself. To make things even more challenging, if you try googling (a verb??) something like, “skin-on-frame kayak (or qajaq) builders”, you’ll get lots of links to information on building your own, but almost nothing about buying a pre-made or custom boat. If there are a bunch of commercial SOF builders out there other than Cape Falcon Kayaks, there’s some serious search engine optimization to be done. Well, one builder that I can recommend is Peter Strand. In fact, I had one of his kayaks come visit me yesterday. Continue reading
Posted in Kayaks, Paddling, People, Traditional Paddling | Peter Strand, skin-on-frame, SOF, Traditional Paddling | 3 CommentsSeaBird Kayaks On The Way
Published August 8, 2011 | Rapid Media TV did an interview with Aljona Jurgens of SeaBird Kayaks while at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City last week. Although SeaBird makes all sorts of kayaks, here at Quix I’m most excited about the Greenland designs by legendary designer Björn Thomasson. Can’t wait for their arrival here in the Great Lakes Region! Stay Tuned! Without further ado, here’s the video from Rapid Media….
Posted in Kayaks, Paddling, Traditional Paddling | Björn Thomasson, Black Pearl, SeaBird Designs | 1 CommentSomething New From Superior Kayaks
Published July 22, 2011 | 
Another hot, low slung Greenland boat is entering the fray. This sharp vessel was presented at the Great Lakes Sea Kayaking Symposium in Grand Marais, MI., last weekend by Mark Rodgers of Superior Kayaks. His new East Greenland design is available as a kit or I’m sure he’d build you one as well. Kits includes a building manual, cut plywood panels, tooling, flush mounting wood hatch assemblies or Beckson hatches (your choice), decklines, shock cords, padeyes, molded fiberglass seat, backstrap, knee & hip padding, stainless steel hardware and footbraces and are listed at $799 regardless of model. The new East Greenland boat is mentioned on the website, but not yet included in the list of kits, so the price could vary. Continue reading
Madness & Method
Published July 15, 2011 | 
Everyone teaches rolling in their own personal way. Over the years I’ve learned that as instructors we need to be flexible. While we all may begin with a mental outline that serves us well most of the time, we quickly adjust that outline to fit each individuals needs. Take Helen Wilson for example.. With this student she thought it would help if she dressed up like a big yellow and blue bunny rabbit… Continue reading
Posted in Events & Symposia, Learn To Roll, Paddling, People, Traditional Paddling | Diane Carr, Helen Wi, rolling, Roy Martin | 6 CommentsKayak (Not) For Sale
Published June 19, 2011 | 
As you may know, I’ve been working on this skin-on-frame kayak for some time. When I bought it, I felt like I had made a mistake. It’s not a great rolling boat.. not for me anyway.. To lay back on it you’d need a much longer torso than mine. It is a great cruiser though. Over the last year I’ve offered it up for sale and in the meantime I’ve been fiddling with it. I’ve cleaned it up, painted it, replaced the deck lines, put some fun new accents on it and so on. Over time, it’s become a pretty darned fancy boat. So much so that yesterday no less than 5 different people had to take time to tell me what a beautiful kayak I had. I talked to hikers on trails along the water, other paddlers who passed me by, and even a diver who waved me over to get a better look.. Yeah, I’ve put a bit of time into it.. and I’ve certainly got too many boats now… but if I think about it, I mean, really think about it.. I can’t think of any reason to sell it. So I wont. 
Posted in Kayaks, My Paddling, Paddling, Traditional Paddling | SOF, Traditional Paddling | 4 Comments
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