Wintertour in Germany

A bit late, as I have been busy working the last days , but I wanted to post a few pics from our Wintertour in the German East Friesian Islands.

Five days with nice 4-5 winds, rough waves, lots of sands and no rocks.

And with a trolley test to the hardest...but this was written already by Hans on his blog...I don't want to get into too much self promotion :-))

http://kajakwoerden.blogspot.com/2006/12/happy-kayak-pulling-kayak-trolley.html

One thing I more learnt: Check the gear of your new fellow paddlers carefully, otherwise the group has to solve the problem later... :-)) but it was still a good "sport", just for some other muscles...

This stranded buoy was inspiring me to dream a bit, thanks Hans for taking this creative pic (no trolley needed to get there...)

Free time meets work...

It was the first time I paddled my new Alaw Bach fully loaded, and I must say it is even a perfect touring kayak for rough water conditions as we experienced it that weekend! Volume enough to take all that winter gear, and it is made for waves anyway.

Nothing to complain about, just joy and fun! Especially when you have a built in skeg, well, Bernhard? Some love to work just a bit harder, maybe a skeg would have prevented your tendonitis? :-))

It's really not about "a good paddler doesn't need a skeg" - it's about comfort and fun on paddling distance with all those different wind directions, and not only playing in one tidal races spot all day, as it this kayak is built for. You see the rocker - and although the stern has this "built in fin" style, it is tracking way more straight with a skeg on following winds coming a bit from the side.

If you want to be really happy with your Alaw Bach, get yourself a skeg!

There's no shame about that wish...there is no myth about " a good paddler doesn't need a skeg..."

Ohhh, one thing to complain about though - the front toggle didn't stand our long distance wheeling, and Bernhard's and mine broke on the same spot! :-) ) But that was easy to be fixed...and I assume *nobody* would pull a kayak as long as we did...

Some more outfitting and customizing tips, and I know, different people have different wishes, but these were my ideas:

An additional pair of fittings on the front deck is fine, to have more options to fix a net or straps for holding some useful items on a trip (yes, people do take it on a long trip, too! And it is fine for that! I think I might take it on one of my next longer expeditions.)

And on my 3-pieces version it is nice to have the additional fittings, too, to have a bit more of a deck line then.

A net on the back deck is fine to hold my Sweet Strutter helmet, when not in use.

Some customized padding ON the seat is essential to have a warm butt, and some pads UNDER the seat is nice to get the whole seat a bit higher (for my needs), and to prevent it from rubbing on the hull.

I do often carry my trolley, and a set of 4 straps fixed on the bottom of the cockpit holds my trolley frame and a pump , the wheels go both behind the footrest !! (at least with my leg lengh and bulkhead position)

Some wax on the (already there) little leather pieces under the footrest prevent it from rubbing too hard on the hull with possible squeeks :-))

Overall: A kayak I can fully recommend, and it is manufactured in one of the best detail loving style you can find on the market.