Eddyline Samba in action

Eddyline Samba in Limited Edition Color Sunset Orange

Just picked up the newest kayak from Eddyline. The Samba is gorgeous. Mine weighed in at 42.44 lbs on the climbing gear scale that I use. I'm thrilled with the limited edition color--I'm calling it Sunset.

Rockpool Kayaks now available at Scappoose Bay Kayaks

Scappoose Bay Paddling Center is pleased to now offer the new Rockpool Alaw Bach TCC!

www.scappoosebaykayaking.com

They are even offering a special for the first month!

British Design merges with the best in American kayak manufacturing. The Alaw Bach Thermoformed Composite Construction (TCC) are shipping all over the world as more and more paddlers are realizing the benefits of this type of manufacturing:

• Zero Waste--all extra material is sent back to the supplier of the material. The manufacturing process is much cleaner than a fiberglass production.
• Zero Gel Fractures--the fragile gel exterior of a composite kayak is replaced with a hard acrylic outer skin.
• Automated manufacturing that takes the variability out of the kayak. Uniform thickness (Rockpool uses the thickest material on the market for rough water conditions)
• 52 Lbs
• Ease of Repair--see how easy it is to do HERE . Touch ups, fills, fractures--all much faster than a composite repair

I'll be there June 4th and 5th! Give Scappoose Bay Paddling Center a call for more information.

Western Inventory

Get what you want when you want...

We bring in full container loads to the West to help meet our dealers quick inventory needs with freight savings.

Updated 7.03.10

Bend OR Available Inventory

Emotion Comets-Yellow, Red and Blue

Emotion Spitfires- Yellow, Red and Blue

Emotion Steatlth- mixed colors

Emotion Comotion-red and blue

Grand Slam Angler- Mustard, Yellow, Green

Canoes

Esquif Avalon Green

Esquif Prospector 16 Red and Green

Esquif Presage Yellow and Red

Esquif Heron square stern Green

Esquif Canyon Red

Mistral 16 and 17.5

Burlington WA RubyCreek Boathouse

See www.rubycreekboathouse.blogspot.com

Bend Kayak Sculpture

I happened to go by this new sculpture going up next to the Bend Parks and Rec Castle (I mean office) along the Deshutes River. I had heard about the artist doing this (can't find his/her name). I think Eddyline feels honored that the artist chose their boats to use and they do look pretty cool shooting into the sky. But, I also had some mixed feelings.

The Bend Parks and Rec office in town sits on the most prime real estate in town and this statue is on a roundabout on the way into their parking lot( which is used by many paddlers). The new office was constructed during the economic collapse and it appears that no expense was spared. The park around the building is nice and the geese are going to love the fresh surface. For me, the grace of a kayak or canoe is in its ability to help me escape our cement trappings. They are quiet crafts that allow us to foray into nature and then escape sans footprints. I kind of felt sorry for all these stationary boats that will never feel the water. I guess that is the point of Art...makes you think. And when I go around a roundabout, I'm usually thinking about absolutely nothing. Perhaps most people will pause a moment and wish they were on the water in a kayak instead of in their car. Right before they are rear ended by the car behind them looking into the sky!

If you have heard any of my soap box ramblings on a demo beach then you know that sunshine is the enemy of all of our Gear (including ourselves). I've seen what kayaks look like when stored outside full time for years on end.
Get down and take a look at this while it is still shiny and new. Perhaps I'm over thinking all of this!

Here's a new one...

Alder Creek Bend becomes Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe

Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe changes its name to Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe: New name, same friendly staff serving Central Oregon for over a decade

Bend, OR – It’s official, Tumalo Creek has unveiled its new name, new image and new website in an effort to further emphasize its local ownership and Central Oregon location.

“We are not the same company as Alder Creek anymore,” said owner Geoff Frank who bought the store from the Portland company in the winter of 2008, after serving as general manager for eight years.

Frank wanted to choose a new name that had some continuity with Alder Creek, the river near Portland that flows into the Sandy River, for which the original Portland stores were named.

Tumalo Creek flows into the Deschutes on a section of the river known by local kayakers as the “Riverhouse run,” the stretch from The Riverhouse Hotel & Convention Center to Tumalo State Park.

“I have a lot of fond kayaking memories of that spot where Tumalo meets the Deschutes,” said Frank. “After coming off the Class 4, I like to stop and paddle up Tumalo into this pretty little canyon, and then there is lots of fun, poppy water down below to look forward to.”

This summer, Tumalo Creek will be offering a wide range of beginning flatwater and whitewater kayak classes, summer camps for kids, a music series/demo day the last Wednesday of every month, and a Stand Up Paddleboarding race series every Wednesday in July and August. Please see the website for more details.

About Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe:

Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe has the largest selection of whitewater kayaks, sea kayaks, recreational kayaks, paddleboards and canoes in Central Oregon. We also offer a range of tours and classes to improve your kayaking skills. Whether you want to paddle the whitewater rivers of the Cascades or canoe across placid, high mountain lakes, our super friendly staff of paddlers are here to help. Our locally owned and operated shop is located next to the Colorado Bridge off SW Industrial Way, right on the Deschutes River.

Joys of the Road

Second time in 10 years that the Siskiyou Mountains on I5 south in S. Oregon has gotten the best of me. About 7 years ago I blew a transmission. Today, at literally the exact same place, I felt the drive train come apart under me as I ascended the mtn with F350, 22' enclosed trailer, and Truck Camper all depending on it.

I had seconds to slide over to the shoulder. Then the fun started. For some reason my parking brake was also fried. This meant that I had to sit in my car with both feet on the brake and phone for help. Thanks to the State Patrol Officer that arrived to help "block" the tires. Forty minutes later the super sized tow truck was there. I love AAA RV Plus Plan!!!!

They towed me up the pass and then turned around and descended back to Medford OR to Crater Lake Ford. I was reminded by Crater Lake Ford that there are still some folks out there that truly practice the art of customer service. Totally awesome. One thing led to another and the White F350 that has been with me for 218,000 miles was traded for a slightly used F450. Bigger!!!!!

The irony of what it takes to promote human powered craft all over the west.

Pic taken from below the truck on the side of I5

Stohlquist Descent PFD and Add -a Buoy

Descent $199.95
Stohlquist's newest rescue pfd features so many new design elements from Stohlquist:

• Wrapture Foam--the ultra soft foam has been cut pre-curved to fit your body. The jacket molds right to your body even before tightening down the signature cross chest "cinch strap".
• Contoured and Reinforced Nail Cloth Shoulders: The shoulders curve away from the neck to avoid unwanted contact. Free floating with counter suspension secures the jacket against the body.
• Self-Centering 1 1/2" black oxidized stainless O-Ring
• High Capacity, self expanding front pocket will fit camera, Stohlquist Bullet Bag Throwbags or added bouyancy Add-a Buoy (see below).
  
• Ventilated lumber pad
• Gripp-Loc rubberized surface interior non-slip panel for zero ride up.
  

Stohlquist Add-A-Buoy $24.95

• Increases "face-up" tendency and adds floatation in rough conditions.
• Can also improve fit of the Descent.

Stohlquist Bullet Bags Sea Tow $54.95 WW Bullet Bag $49.95

WW Bullet Bag

Rockpool Alaw Bach

First Rockpool Alaw Bach MSRP $2999


Thermoformed Deck and Hull. Extra thickness and strength for the rough and tumble.




First US Dealer: Penguin Paddlers Redding and Rocklin CA

Why we don't paddle

Why We Don’t All Paddle. Why We Never Will.



Chances are if you are an avid paddler you have at one point evangelized the sport to everyone you know. “You just HAVE to come kayaking with us up to the lake…” If you have done enough of this you have found that it is not easy pulling a human off the couch. Who is to blame them? Couches are super comfortable. They usually have food close by and are a wonderful vista for tv watching.



It takes a lot to get to the water with a kayak or canoe. If I’m after exercise, I can be on my bike and back home before I’d even get the boat off the car at the put-in. The paddle outing is an Excursion. It is just waiting for an excuse to not be executed. Too hot, too cold, too windy, too much time, too much to do. At the checkout counter of life, paddling is not an impulse buy. You can just put it off until next time, the next season or never. It is like the garbage bags you keep forgetting to pick up at the store. Maybe next time.



Accessibility. The greater the access the more likely you will find paddlers. I was once amazed at how few kayaks sell in the Bay Area of CA. There seems to be water everywhere. However, access is sparse, roads are crowded and very few live right on the water. Way too much work to just go relax on the water. The fastest growing kayak segment in this area is kayak fishing. These enthusiasts are used to working a bit to get out on the water. For them, launching a kayak is way faster than their old motorized fishing boat. Now they are saving time and easing their access to water. Their access has improved through the kayak.


I use a few tricks to improve my chances of getting out on the water. I try to keep a boat on the car and gear in the back as much as possible. I motivate myself by knowing that it doesn’t take much to be the only one out on the water. I’ll drive further, endure a little weather and stay out later. While I’m cruising along on the water by myself I now take delight that the bicycle is easier for most and the couch is even easier.

River Retreat Sunday and Monday

The River Retreat was a blast. We had perfect weather for five straight days. I was so happy that so many people were willing to take time and travel to get together. The conversations that erupt when so many passionate people get together to share in the sports and business we love.

I understand that many shops are still busy or had other plans but what could be better than this...

I took about 60 pics of Tom Strauss from Emotion. He was smiling in every one of them. Try doing that with someone else you know. I bet Tom wins everytime.


One of the many basecamps to hang out in.

Ed Vater from Bending Branches and Aquabound Paddles showed up with Bacon Wrapped Shrimp and some great stories up northern Wisconsin Christmas BBQs. Ed made a lot of friends with these delectables.

Moon Mountain Ramblers rocked

My Dad showed these Northwesterners how to steam 50 head of corn at once over a fire. They were perfect.

Tom liked the 30 lbs of Salmon. We enjoyed fresh Salmon all week.


A highlight for me was paddling with Tom Derrer from Eddyline Kayaks. We huffed and puffed our way upstream before enjoying the lazy float downstream.

River Retreat 2009 Set Up Day

We payed our bills last year at the retreat with weather so we were rewarded with beautiful weather this year. I have been traveling so much that the riverhouse needed a year's worth of yard work packed into seven days. My dad flew out here on Tuesday and we have been running ever since.

The support crew and some of the closest friends from all over the west arrived. The Moon Mountain Ramblers made the trek over from central Oregon. They entertained an eager group
of us. Tom, Lisa and Denny brought the new Shasta down from Eddyline with a trailer full of other Eddylines.

My dad fine tuned his midwest tradition of steaming 30 head of corn in a steel drum over the fire. Steak, Chicken and Veggies off the grill!

More to come!

Outdoor Retailer Show On Water Demo

The trade show for Outdoor Retailers comes early this year so we all left our posts in the heat of the season and headed to the heat of Salt Lake City. The on water demo takes place the first day of the show. Here are some pics from the day.

The on water hydration station from Emotion Kayaks.

Andy Knapp Memorial Paddle.

A perfect day for Costa Del Mar to help people "see what's out there".

Tom Strauss of Emotion Kayaks is ready to play.

ESP Outdoors and Penguin Paddler's Demo Evening

What a blast we had a Whiskey Town Lake just west of Redding CA last Friday night. The weather could not have been more agreeable. The lucky people that call this area their home are fortunate to have nice warm water to play in. It just makes you want to get out messin' around in boats...

Owner of Penguin Paddlers/ESP Outdoors, Garth Schmeck took some time to show all the cool ways to roll his new Greenland boat. What a fun way to spend a Friday evening.

Here are some underwater vids that show the body mechanics of various front and back sculling braces and rolls. Thanks Garth...you make it all look so fun. Ain't that the point...!?

Spitfire Kayak

I had a great time showing Northern California Kayaks the 8' Spitfire Kayaks. Head Instructor, Del Davidson, is really excited to use the Spitfire as an introduction to the sport of kayaking craft. Specifically, he think that it will work great in a pool course he teaches that emphasizes the ease of re-entering a sit on top. He also hosts kid's kayaks camps and plans to use the Spitfire to be a great launching point for young new paddlers.

Del had no problem making the boat go where he needed it to go and was impressed with the capacity of the 8' Spitfire.

Bending Branches and Aquabound Rendezvous, St Croix WI

The entires sales force all flew in from our own hamlets and territories to meet at the Aquabound & Bending Branches Paddle factory this week. I know that everyone had to put a lot on hold back in the home turf but it was well worth getting together.




Everyone should have a hand made wood paddle in their quiver. They have the benefits of natural flex, comfortable on the hands, smooth in the water. In the under $200 price range I don't think there is a better choice for kayak paddles. Mother nature had it right all along.

The last time I toured the factory was in February of 09, shortly after the merger of Aquabound and Bending Branches paddles. A lot of new machinery, equipment and raw materials had just been moved from British Columbia. Everyone at the factory had already put in 2 exhausting months and yet there was still work to do. Viewing the factory this week was a wonderful "show and tell" of how much can be accomplished in such a short time. All the paddle materials were now neatly organized in large industrial shelves. The various machinery had clearly been whirling all season and the paddle craftsmen/women had proudly mastered another bag of tricks.

Bending Branches/Aquabound can now build to order the entire wood, aluminum, fiberglass and carbon paddles all the Osceola WI facility. Every day, yesterday's orders are shipped!

Put a pile of enthusiastic paddlers and industry insiders in a room together for two days and ideas begin to rain like it has been out west this spring. Everynight, we buffered the intensity of the day's meeting with good wisconsin fried cheese curds and ale.

The final day of the meeting left us with enough time to take a lazy float down the St Croix River. What a great spot to have in your backyard. We paddled and joked all afternoon. I enjoyed being on a river that has so much history with the trade, timber and native aspects of our country. Like any good Fourth of July paddle, we finished up with a grill out at one of the many parks that line this National Wild & Scenic designated river.

Eddyline Repair: Thermo Form Repair, Carbonlite Repair

Here's a fracture from this kayak being pinned against a piling with a lot of water pushing against it. No one was hurt and this kayak will be as good as new in one hour.

Here is a detailed step by step video and photo tutorial on how to repair thermo-formed kayaks. This repair was completed in less than 1 hour with materials easily available at any hardware store or even Walmart.

Here's what you will need:

1. Devcon Plastic Welder: This is the adhesive that is used to seam and bulkhead Eddylines. You can get this from Eddyline or find it at most hardware stores and even...Walmart.

2. Fiberglass Cloth: 2-3" wide Fiberglass cloth can be purchased from Eddyline or found at Marine stores. The Eddyline stuff is especially nice because the sides of the cloth are closed stitching and won't fray.

3. Carboard Working Surface

4. Piece of Rubber to Spread Adhesive.

5. Hobby Pigment: Used for coloring Devcon Plastic Welder adhesive for the exterior repair. Krylon Fusion Acrylic Spray Paint can also be used by spraying small amount on glue.

6. Rubbing Compound for final sanding. 400, 800 and 1200 Wet Sand Paper for finishing.

6. Masking Tape: Keeps it all clean and your work within the "lines"

Clean repair area of kayak with rubbing alcohol.

Apply Devcon Plastic Welder on one side of the tape and user your rubber squeege to spread evenly to entire cloth.

Pick up this strip and apply wetside down to the inside of the damaged surface.

Wait a minute and then add and spread Devcon Plastic Welder to the exposed "dry side" of the cloth.

Repeat the same process for the second patch, covering the first patch.

Move to the outside of the repair and use a dremel tool to create a "V" where along the fracture. This will receive pigmented Devcon Plastic Welder for the exterior cosmetic repair.

After filling the "V" with pigmented Devcon Plastic Welder, you can use a razor blade to take down the extra adhesive before it hardens.

Back to the Water!


For Those Who May Need More Detail:

I use the above repair materials for repairing Royalex Canoes and even Composite (Glass, Kevlar and Carbon) Kayaks and Canoes. The reason I prefer the method and materials described above is that the materials store easily in the field and mixing the adhesive is a cinch. Using conventional polyester resins and hardners like MEK (a known carcinogen) in the field is not only hard to mix correctly but also more cumbersome to carry and store after use. Devcon Plastic Welder is really an amazing adhesive that cures to full strength in 20 minutes. In the repair above we use Devcon Plastic Welder as the "resin" to laminate glass to the inside of the kayak. We also use devcon plastic welder mixed with a small amount of hobby pigment to match the color to the outside of the boat. This step is not necessary in the field.

The repair materials pictured and used above are small enough to even fit in my Life Vest as a field repair kit.

You can also just use Devcon Plastic Welder as a filler for scratches and gouges:

• First lightly sand or dremel the gouge to be filled. Then clean the area with rubbing alcohol.
• Squeeze a little Devcon Plastic Welder on to a working surface and add a little pigment to color match the color of the boat surface. Acrylic Hobby Pigment works fine but I prefer Krylon Fusion Spray Paint because it is easier to find around town and can be used for spray painting my name on bridges. I'll just give a little spray to the Devcon Plastic Welder as I'm mixing the two parts.
• This colored Devcon Plastic Welder is great for filling gouges and scratches. I have even used it to rebuild the ends of the boat if you have a very well used boat.
• Once you have filled the gouge you are working on you can use a razor blade to scrape off the excess.
• Then you can used wet/dry sand paper to smooth the surface
• If you are really a polisher, you can use a rubbing compound to give it the final shine

How Tough Is Carbonlite?

Carbonlite is harder than gel coat (composite kayaks). Carbonlite boats will not scratch or gouge as easily as a Fiberglass boat. I think that Carbonlite does even better on glancing impact than a fiberglass boat that can get spider fractures. Loaded Impact and Torsional Flex is more debatable and probably unique to the individual injury. In a rough surf zone crash you might end up doing repairs on both glass and carbonlite. Different types of repair...and in my opinion a glass boat is more difficult because spidering gel cracks are a real pain.