: Rob - you're a stud.

: I have a few questions. Now that I'm thinking of paddling her in December I'm
: wondering what kinds of clothes do you wear? If I show up in my typical
: Southern California garb, it's going to be a real short paddle.

I doubt you'll need anything like a dry suit. The river is very manageable with nothing really to worry about as far as hazzards go. The worst that will happen is that you'll get hung up on ice and have to use two awls to pull yourself off. Depending on what condition the river is in, it could and probably will be a short paddle. The main thing is to be able to say we did it: rode the yakboggan into the river. I'll even have my wife come along and video it so we can post it for everyone's viewing pleasure. Uhm, one unfortunate occurance has been that it has got really cold here. As I sit the outside temp is -17 C and I saw that the river has already begun its freeze. I am shocked at how early it is happening but not surprised since I sensed that it might freeze up early this year. Here's hoping we have something liquid to paddle in.

: In another vein, Mike has me rethinking the use of graphite on the bottom of
: the Solace I'm building for my wife. I notice it didn't do you much good
: going over the falls last year. Do you have any thoughts one way or the
: other as to how well it actually protects the hull from scrapes and
: scratches? Did you put new graphite on the bottom of the Phoenix? I
: couln't tell from the pics.

The graphite helps to prevent scrapes from penetrating the hull. It acts as a lubricant to help them bounce off the hull with no or reduced damage. I feel it has helped me greatly since I am always putting in/out in gravel. It works! End of statement.

The graphite was never meant to prevent the kayak from breaking up. I don't think there is any way to protect a kayak from being broken having passed through the rapid I encountered. I do believe that had I lined the cockpit with Kevlar it would not have broken into two separate pieces. It would have held together and I could have recovered the kayak as a whole instead of in pieces. I punctured the hull of the VJ this spring on a sharp rock but had no leakage because the kevlar stopped the rock from penetrating all the way through. I repaired it by doing a simple fill and recoating with the graphite/epoxy mixture. Certainly, some rock hazzards will do damage. The graphite simply reduces the effect of the less damaging encounters.

: Finally - are you going to make yourself a new spray skirt to fit the bigger
: cockpit opening? That might affect what I wear!

I will be making a custom spray skirt for the rebuild. I have no choice in the matter because the opening is irregular. If I don't have one sewn up by the time you get here and the river is open for paddling, I'll use the rebuild and you can paddle the VJ. I have plenty of appropriate clothing for myself to stay warm.

: Again, very nice. I'm really impressed. Congratulations.

Thanks, Paul! I'm excited to get started on the graphics. I'll give the JA her original graphics and incorporate the mother-of-pearl you gave me when you were here. It should be a good looking kayak when it's done.

Robert N Pruden