There were a couple interesting articles in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune this week about the spill this past March that released millions of plastic waste water filtration disks into the Merrimack River. The first article is about the steps they are taking in Hooksett to prevent something from happening again.
Taking steps to prevent another disk incident in the Merrimack
The second article is about a gut from Merrimack MA who has picked up 12,000 of the disks on a short stretch of the river.
The 12,000 Disk Man
Sadly, despite the new measures put in place and the cleanup efforts of many I fear we will be finding these disks in and along the Merrimack for years to come.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Seals Sneak Spray Skirt Review
When I purchased my new kayak earlier this month with plans for taking it into the ocean I knew I would be needing a spray skirt. I went back and forth regarding getting a neoprene or nylon model but finally settled on nylon as every time I see someone trying to attach a neoprene skirt they always seem to be struggling or asking for help. Since I spend a fair amount of time paddling solo I needed something easy to get on.
After a bit of research I settled on the Seals Sneak Spray Skirt. This skirt is advertised as a recreational skirt for light to moderate conditions. It has a lot of great features but at the top of the list is that it can be purchased for under $90.
Some of the features of this skirt are:
- Detachable Suspenders
- Tensioned deck stay
- Zippered Front
- Mesh Pockets
- Comfortable Neoprene Waistband
I had a chance to use this skirt a few weeks ago in some pretty windy conditions in Boston Harbor. The waves were between 2 and 3 feet. A few waves washed completely over my bow and to the skirt's credit I stayed dry. This is a very comfortable skirt, I have used other skirts without suspenders and they never seem to stay in place. The zippered front of this skirt is really nice feature. This allows to to get at the contents of your cockpit and you can just unzip it and step put of your kayak without needing to reattach. Another nice feature is the pockets allowing you to keep waterproof items close at hand.
Overall a great spray skirt for short money. Probably will need to upgrade in a couple years if I ever plan on open ocean kayaking but I think this will server me just fine for years to come.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Boston Harbor Kayak Trip - Thompson and Spectacle Islands
View Boston Harbor Islands in a larger map
One of my goals for this season was to put my kayak in the ocean. One of my co-workers kayaks pretty frequently in Boston Harbor and we have been trying to schedule a trip all season. Finally this weekend our schedules meshed and we were able to get out there. Our plan was to put in in South Boston and paddle to Thompson Island and then on to Spectacle Island. I have been checking the weather forecast all week as it was supposed to cool off a bit. I was not concerned about the temperatures as much as the wind. Up until Saturday night the forecast was saying 5 - 10 mph winds. When I woke up Sunday morning the forecast changed to 15 - 20 mpg winds. Supposedly my new kayak is built for this kind of weather so I headed out in spite of my better judgement.
We arrived at Pleasure Bay Park at 9am. Pleasure Bay Park is located on the South West corner of Pleasure Bay on William J Day Boulevard. There is a good sized parking lot at the park and a short walk down the beach to the water.
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| Beach at Pleasure Bay Park looking toward Thompson Island |
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| Thompson Island looking toward Boston |
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| North East side of Thompson Island looking toward Spectacle |
After hiking around the island for a half hour or so we headed over to Spectacle Island. We paddled around the northern tip of Thompson Island straight across to Spectacle. The trip across was just under a mile and a half and we were again going into the wind. We also needed to cross a shipping channel. This late in the season the boat traffic was pretty light but we did need to wait for a ferry and a large pleasure boat to pass before we made our way across the channel.
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| Top of North drumlin looking toward Deer Island |
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| North drumlin looking at visitor center and Long Island |
We landed on Spectacle Island just to the left of the pier. Spectacle Island has an interesting history. In the mid 1800s it houses a couple hotels that were closed due to illicit activities. It then became a horse rendering facility and a city dump which was active until almost 1960. In the 1990s the excavated dirt from the Big Dig Central Artery Project was used to cap and resurface the island. The island opened to visitors in 2006 as a recreational park. There is a ferry that runs to the island is Spring, Summer and Fall. The island also has a visitor center with a seasonal restaurant / snack bar. There island consists of two large hills or "drumlins". We hiked to the top of the north drumlin and the 360 degree views were great. The city skyline on one side and the outer harbor islands on the other.
After hiking back down we headed back to South Boston with the wind at out backs which made the paddle much much more enjoyable. I was really able to test my new kayak on this trip in conditions that it was made for. My paddling partner who kayaks in the harbor almost exclusively has a kayak a bit shorter and higher volume than my Avatar and I found myself having to stop and wait for him. This was in no way due to my superior paddling ability but exclusively the speed of my kayak. I am very impressed with how fast it is especially in rough conditions.
Total distance of this paddle was about four and a half miles. We were out in the harbor for about 3 and a half hours. We probably spent less than 2 hours actually paddling the rest of the time was spent exploring the islands. It was great to finally get into the ocean and experience some real waves and rough conditions. There are about a dozen more islands out in the harbor to explore. I just wish the season wasn't coming to an end. Looking forward to getting out there at least once more this year and will have something to look forward to in the spring.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Perception Avatar 15.5
When I started kayaking last year I never would have anticipated being the owner of three kayaks in just a year, but here I am just having purchased a third kayak. Over the past couple months I have found that I seem to be outgrowing my 11 foot Necky. I still love my Necky and it is perfect for small winding rivers and trips under 10 miles. But for trips over 10 miles I find that I am reaching the limit of my little boat. I also have been really wanting to get into the ocean and my Necky is just not the right boat for that type of trip.
So over the past couple months I have been scouring Craigslist looking for a nice, inexpensive, used sea kayak. My criteria was something around $500, over 14 feet in length, with a skeg or rudder and generally something that I could grow into. Last week there was an ad for a Perception Avatar, I looked up the specs and read the reviews of the boat and it seemed like it would be a great fit for me. It met all of my criteria and was being offered at a good price so I headed over to take a look and ended up coming home with a new boat.
From what I can tell the Avatar family of kayaks were manufactured from 2003 through 2008. They include a 16 foot composite version, a 15 foot 10 inch plastic version and a 15 foot 7 inch plastic version (which I purchased).
The specs on the boat are as follows:
Length: 15' - 7"
Width: 23 1/4"
Weight: 54 lbs
Cockpit: 34" x 19"
According to Perception, the Avatar was designed with the Greenland style in mind and reflects progressive thinking by our touring boat designers. Brent Reitz was very instrumental in the design of the Avatar. The Avatar features a multi-chine hull design that relies on its graceful sleek hull design for turning rather than a rudder system.
First Impressions:
I took the boat out for for my first trip this past Saturday. I wanted to paddle waters that I was familiar with so I headed down to the Merrimack River in Methuen for the 10 mile downstream paddle to Haverhill. My first disappointment with this kayak is that I found that my kayak cart will not fit into either the bow or stern hatch. I was able to easily fit this cart into the stern hatch of my Necky. The stern compartment is taken up by the skeg box and the bow is fairly shallow making it impossible to fit anything tall inside. I believe this is due to the Greenland style design.
Getting into the water I immediately noticed that this kayak does not have the initial stability that the rec kayaks that I usually paddle do. The boat felt pretty twitchy as I was heading out and took a couple miles to get used to. I was also paddling into a pretty stiff wind which was pushing me around more than I expected it to. The wind shortly settled down and I settled into a nice rhythm. I could tell that this was much faster than my 11 foot necky. I could get it up to speed faster and it has a really good glide to it. I had to make some seat and foot adjustments along the way to get comfortable but once I was locked in I found the boat to be very comfortable. Especially the seat which has a great Geltech seat pad.
One aspect that will take some getting used to is that I could not position my feet vertically on the foot braces as I am accustomed to. The bow is so narrow that I needed to angle my feet outward in a V to fit comfortably. When reading reviews of the Avatar one of the complaints about this boat is if you wear over a size 12 shoe your feet won't fit. Not an issue for me though as I wear a size 8.
I was hoping to try out the skeg on this trip but the mechanism is a bit sticky and needs to manually be pulled up and down. I will need to do a little maintenance on it in the off season. I was not sure if I was going to feel too confined with the much smaller cockpit in this boat, made even smaller by the thigh pads. But I quickly got used to it as I was able to lock my self in and really feel connected to the kayak. Before I knew it I was at my take out in Haverhill and I noticed it took me quite a bit less time to get there than when I took this trip just a couple weeks ago. I checked my GPS when I got home and found that the Avatar is significantly faster than my Necky Manitou.
I last paddled this route in my Necky on August 26th. It took me 2 hours and 23 minutes with and average speed of 3.9 mph. This past Saturday in my Avatar it took me 1 hour and 46 minutes with and average speed of 5.2 mph.
Overall I am very happy with my Perception Avatar 15.5. It is a very fast boat that will allow me to get out on longer trips and into the ocean. This is a boat that I will be able to grow into. I am really looking forward to longer trips and my first trip into the ocean.
So over the past couple months I have been scouring Craigslist looking for a nice, inexpensive, used sea kayak. My criteria was something around $500, over 14 feet in length, with a skeg or rudder and generally something that I could grow into. Last week there was an ad for a Perception Avatar, I looked up the specs and read the reviews of the boat and it seemed like it would be a great fit for me. It met all of my criteria and was being offered at a good price so I headed over to take a look and ended up coming home with a new boat.
From what I can tell the Avatar family of kayaks were manufactured from 2003 through 2008. They include a 16 foot composite version, a 15 foot 10 inch plastic version and a 15 foot 7 inch plastic version (which I purchased).
The specs on the boat are as follows:
Length: 15' - 7"
Width: 23 1/4"
Weight: 54 lbs
Cockpit: 34" x 19"
According to Perception, the Avatar was designed with the Greenland style in mind and reflects progressive thinking by our touring boat designers. Brent Reitz was very instrumental in the design of the Avatar. The Avatar features a multi-chine hull design that relies on its graceful sleek hull design for turning rather than a rudder system.
First Impressions:
I took the boat out for for my first trip this past Saturday. I wanted to paddle waters that I was familiar with so I headed down to the Merrimack River in Methuen for the 10 mile downstream paddle to Haverhill. My first disappointment with this kayak is that I found that my kayak cart will not fit into either the bow or stern hatch. I was able to easily fit this cart into the stern hatch of my Necky. The stern compartment is taken up by the skeg box and the bow is fairly shallow making it impossible to fit anything tall inside. I believe this is due to the Greenland style design.
Getting into the water I immediately noticed that this kayak does not have the initial stability that the rec kayaks that I usually paddle do. The boat felt pretty twitchy as I was heading out and took a couple miles to get used to. I was also paddling into a pretty stiff wind which was pushing me around more than I expected it to. The wind shortly settled down and I settled into a nice rhythm. I could tell that this was much faster than my 11 foot necky. I could get it up to speed faster and it has a really good glide to it. I had to make some seat and foot adjustments along the way to get comfortable but once I was locked in I found the boat to be very comfortable. Especially the seat which has a great Geltech seat pad.
One aspect that will take some getting used to is that I could not position my feet vertically on the foot braces as I am accustomed to. The bow is so narrow that I needed to angle my feet outward in a V to fit comfortably. When reading reviews of the Avatar one of the complaints about this boat is if you wear over a size 12 shoe your feet won't fit. Not an issue for me though as I wear a size 8.
I was hoping to try out the skeg on this trip but the mechanism is a bit sticky and needs to manually be pulled up and down. I will need to do a little maintenance on it in the off season. I was not sure if I was going to feel too confined with the much smaller cockpit in this boat, made even smaller by the thigh pads. But I quickly got used to it as I was able to lock my self in and really feel connected to the kayak. Before I knew it I was at my take out in Haverhill and I noticed it took me quite a bit less time to get there than when I took this trip just a couple weeks ago. I checked my GPS when I got home and found that the Avatar is significantly faster than my Necky Manitou.
I last paddled this route in my Necky on August 26th. It took me 2 hours and 23 minutes with and average speed of 3.9 mph. This past Saturday in my Avatar it took me 1 hour and 46 minutes with and average speed of 5.2 mph.
Overall I am very happy with my Perception Avatar 15.5. It is a very fast boat that will allow me to get out on longer trips and into the ocean. This is a boat that I will be able to grow into. I am really looking forward to longer trips and my first trip into the ocean.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Kayak 3 Rivers in 5 Miles - Merrimack, Spicket and Shawsheen
View Shawsheen and Spicket Rivers in a larger map
At the end of last season I attempted to paddle upstream on the Merrimack River to the mouths of the Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers. They are on opposite sides of the river about 2 miles upstream from where I put in at Schruender Park in Methuen. On my last attempt the water level was too low so I was only able to look from a distance at these rivers. Over the last couple weeks we have gotten quite a bit of rain which seems to have replenished the river levels quite a bit. So I decided this past Sunday to make another attempt to paddle upstream on the Shawsheen and Spicket rivers.
I strapped my kayak to my cart nice and early and hiked down the street to my put in at Schruender Park in Methuen. As expected the water levels were higher that they were a few weeks ago and after just a few minutes of paddling against the current I could feel it in my arms. But I pushed through it and continued about 2 miles upstream to the mouth of the Spicket River. I was glad to see that there was indeed enough water flowing so I would be able to paddle upstream for at least a short distance. I was pretty disturbed by the amount of trash deposited along the banks, tires, auto parts, appliances, pretty sad actually.
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| Mouth of the Spicket River |
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| Lawrence Canal discharge |
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| Upstream toward Canal Street Bridge |
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| Under the Canal Street Bridge looking downstream |
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| Tunnels at the mouth of the Shawsheen River |
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| Daylight!!!! Other side of the tunnel |
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| End of the line on the Shawsheen River |
Total mileage of this trip was about 5 miles and I was on the water for just under 2 hours. I was really hoping to be able to paddle further upstream on the Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers but I am beginning to think it may only be possible in the early Spring. Overall a nice little trip the highlight being my second trip of the year seeing a bald eagle.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Merrimack River Kayak Trip - Lawrence MA to Bradford MA
View Merrimack River - Lowell to Bradford in a larger map
I attended another trip today with the MRWC. This trip was on my home turf as it would take us right past my usual put-in in Methuen. I have paddled this section of the river many times but this was my first time using the put in and take out that we used for this trip.
We started the trip at the boat launch Pemberton Park in Lawrence. This launch is just below the Great Stone Dam. The ramp itself is very nice and is in pretty good shape. There is a small beach area at the bottom of the ramp that was great for launching kayaks. The park leading to the ramp was another story, There were numerous homeless people living in the park and what appeared to be other illicit activity going on. Nobody bothered us but I would not be really comfortable leaving my car there for an extended period of time.
After shuttling our cars to the takeout we were underway. The first mile and a half of this trip takes you through downtown Lawrence. There are large mills on both sides of the river in this section. This section is also where the Spicket River empties into the Merrimack on river left and the Shawsheen on River right, At about this one and a half mile mark we passed under route 495. Once under this bridge the banks of the river appear much more rural with mostly wooded banks for the next 6 or so miles. The river is pretty wide but the current does give you a nice little push. Currently though the river is very low. Lower than I have seen it in some time, so the current was not helping too much. The low level also reveals the rocky bottom. There are several rock gardens to navigate as most of us found as we slid over or just heard the thud of the rocks hitting out boats. There is one short section of quick water once past the island at the 6 mile point but because of the low water level it wasn't as quick as it is at other times of the year.
The highlight of this trip had to be our bald eagle sightings. I have paddled this section of the river at least a half-dozen times over the past couple years and I have never seen an eagle. I have always wanted to and I was told they are out there but they have always eluded me....until this trip. We saw four eagles and I couldn't have been more excited. The first two were pointed out to be by another paddler. They were soaring very high above us and if someone had not said something I probably would have just though they were hawks. But as I looked closer I could definitely see the telltale white tail and head. I snapped a picture but they were so high they just look like a dot unless you zoom way in on the picture. See above. I would have been satisfied with the first sighting but a few miles downstream another eagle flew over our heads at treetop height. If that weren't enough another mile downstream we watched an immature eagle fly away with a large fish. I was unable to get a picture of the second two eagles as I was just enjoying watching them. This would have been a perfect time to have my DSLR camera with me but I just can't bring myself to drag $800 worth of camera and lens near the water. Might just have to invest in some type of waterproof enclosure so I can get some pictures of these majestic birds.
After our excitement with the eagles we paddled our final couple miles through downtown Haverhill. This final leg was made a bit harder as we were working against the tide and were baking in 90 degree sun. But we all made it to our takeout at the public ramp next to the Crescent Yacht Club on Ferry Street in Bradford. As I mentioned earlier this was my first time using this boat ramp. There were a few powerboats putting in here bit there seemed to be plenty of parking. Nice to know this is an option if I don't feel like going the extra couple miles to the car top launch at Riverside park on my next trip.
Total miles of this trip was just over 10 miles and it took us about 3 hours excluding our stop for lunch. At higher water this past June I paddled this section of river in under 2 hours so we were a bit slower than normal. Another great day on the water and it was amazing to finally see some bald eagles practically in my back yard.
I attended another trip today with the MRWC. This trip was on my home turf as it would take us right past my usual put-in in Methuen. I have paddled this section of the river many times but this was my first time using the put in and take out that we used for this trip.
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| Boat Launch at Pemberton Park, Lawrence MA |
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| Merrimack River just below the Great Stone Dam Lawremce MA |
We started the trip at the boat launch Pemberton Park in Lawrence. This launch is just below the Great Stone Dam. The ramp itself is very nice and is in pretty good shape. There is a small beach area at the bottom of the ramp that was great for launching kayaks. The park leading to the ramp was another story, There were numerous homeless people living in the park and what appeared to be other illicit activity going on. Nobody bothered us but I would not be really comfortable leaving my car there for an extended period of time.
After shuttling our cars to the takeout we were underway. The first mile and a half of this trip takes you through downtown Lawrence. There are large mills on both sides of the river in this section. This section is also where the Spicket River empties into the Merrimack on river left and the Shawsheen on River right, At about this one and a half mile mark we passed under route 495. Once under this bridge the banks of the river appear much more rural with mostly wooded banks for the next 6 or so miles. The river is pretty wide but the current does give you a nice little push. Currently though the river is very low. Lower than I have seen it in some time, so the current was not helping too much. The low level also reveals the rocky bottom. There are several rock gardens to navigate as most of us found as we slid over or just heard the thud of the rocks hitting out boats. There is one short section of quick water once past the island at the 6 mile point but because of the low water level it wasn't as quick as it is at other times of the year.
The highlight of this trip had to be our bald eagle sightings. I have paddled this section of the river at least a half-dozen times over the past couple years and I have never seen an eagle. I have always wanted to and I was told they are out there but they have always eluded me....until this trip. We saw four eagles and I couldn't have been more excited. The first two were pointed out to be by another paddler. They were soaring very high above us and if someone had not said something I probably would have just though they were hawks. But as I looked closer I could definitely see the telltale white tail and head. I snapped a picture but they were so high they just look like a dot unless you zoom way in on the picture. See above. I would have been satisfied with the first sighting but a few miles downstream another eagle flew over our heads at treetop height. If that weren't enough another mile downstream we watched an immature eagle fly away with a large fish. I was unable to get a picture of the second two eagles as I was just enjoying watching them. This would have been a perfect time to have my DSLR camera with me but I just can't bring myself to drag $800 worth of camera and lens near the water. Might just have to invest in some type of waterproof enclosure so I can get some pictures of these majestic birds.
After our excitement with the eagles we paddled our final couple miles through downtown Haverhill. This final leg was made a bit harder as we were working against the tide and were baking in 90 degree sun. But we all made it to our takeout at the public ramp next to the Crescent Yacht Club on Ferry Street in Bradford. As I mentioned earlier this was my first time using this boat ramp. There were a few powerboats putting in here bit there seemed to be plenty of parking. Nice to know this is an option if I don't feel like going the extra couple miles to the car top launch at Riverside park on my next trip.
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| Publir ramp next to Crescent Yacht Club, Bradford MA |
Total miles of this trip was just over 10 miles and it took us about 3 hours excluding our stop for lunch. At higher water this past June I paddled this section of river in under 2 hours so we were a bit slower than normal. Another great day on the water and it was amazing to finally see some bald eagles practically in my back yard.
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