- Wavelength Magazine

Transcription

Photo by: Leisure Works Images
Editorial
Editor
Alan Wilson
The Creative Process
Assistant Editor—Office Manager
Diane Coussens
Associate Editor
Laurie MacBride
Assistant
Diana Mumford
Associate
Howard Stiff
Webmaster
Ted Leather
Distributors
Marty Wanless, Herb Clark,
Rajé Harwood, DRM Mailing
Bookkeeper
Margaret Dyke
Advisor
Mercia Sixta
ADS & SUBMISSIONS
250 247-8858
250 247-9789 PH/FAX
info@WaveLengthMagazine.com
www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
WaveLength is printed in and distributed
from Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mail: 2735 North Road, Gabriola Island
British Columbia, Canada V0R 1X7
WaveLength is an independent magazine, published
bimonthly and available at 500 print distribution sites
(paddling shops, outdoor stores, fitness clubs, marinas,
events, etc.) in North America—and worldwide on the
www. Articles, photos, events, news welcome.
B
uilding a kayak is a bit like building an issue of our magazine. It all starts
with a plan—in our case a feature topic like ‘kayak construction’. Then we proceed to gather the raw materials (articles and photos) from far and wide.
Eventually we’re ready to begin, surrounded by all our tools and materials. We start
to shape the pieces to our needs and gradually fit them into the template, one by one,
until we’ve got a rough draft. It’s a matter of trimming and fitting, trimming and fitting,
until we’ve got something that hangs together and has a pleasing form.
Then it’s time to do a test paddle to see how it performs—as you might with the
prototype of a new design. We run it by our editors who judge the strengths and
weaknesses, offer comments and suggestions. Then it’s back to the shop for another
round of modifications, more proofing, more editing... until we finally arrive at a
finished product.
Of course there’s a lot more to boat building and publishing than that, but you can
see the similarities. We work with the materials at hand and to a certain extent we
make it up as we go along, with choices and trade-offs. At the end of the day, we
hope it floats!
If you think such a comparison is totally fanciful, consider the fact that the printed
version of this magazine and a wooden kayak are both wood products—which shows
what a marvelously diverse material wood is.* And this underlines just how our modern world, for all our technological advances, ultimately derives from nature.
So we must also ask ourselves—are our materials the product of ravaged rainforests? Is their production toxifying our air and waters?
We need to choose carefully, assuring ourselves the suppliers are responsible. We
need to use our power as conscientious consumers to purchase wisely, and our active citizenship to push for public policies which ensure optimum ecological values.
Once reassured we’re doing the best we can, we return to our workshop to engage
in the creative process, to transform our chosen materials with care, energy and
passion, into a thing of beauty, a vessel to carry us off into future adventures.
Happy paddling!
Alan Wilson
*To minimize the use of resources, we long ago began offering WaveLength in both print and web forms.
Don’t miss an issue!
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INSIDE
Volume 12 Number 4
COVER PHOTO Bathing beauties
5 Why a Wooden Kayak?
24 Clayoquot Sound—Still Not Saved
DAN LEWIS—COLUMN
NICK SCHADE
7 The Gals Who Built the Boats
LEE BELIVEAU
9 View from the Moaning Chair
ROD TAIT
ISSN 1188-5432
10 HIN It or Lose It
Canadian Publications Mail Agreement
No. 40010666
LARRY BURDEN
GST# 887432276
11 Visiting Artisans Program
JEREMY WARD
SAFE PADDLING is an individual responsibility. We
recommend that inexperienced paddlers seek expert
instruction and advice about local conditions, have all the
required gear and know how to use it. The publishers of
this magazine and its contributors are not responsible for
how the information in these pages is used by others.
Published by
Wave-Length Communications Inc.
© 2002. Copyright is retained on all material, text and
graphics, in this magazine. No reproduction is allowed of
any material in any form, print or electronic, for any purpose,
except with the expressed permission of Wave-Length
Communications Inc. (unless for private reference only).
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government
of Canada, through the Canada Magazine Fund, toward
our editorial costs, to promote Canadian writing.
4
12 Have Wheels, Will Paddle
VADIM KIN
14 WOODEN KAYAK DIRECTORY
17 Inuit Kayaks
LYN HANCOCK
18 Building Greener Boats
JAMER BUOTE
20 New Sit-in/Sit-on Hybrid
RON IRWIN
22 A Bit About Boat Building
STEVE CROWE—COLUMN
by Rod Tait, Orca Boats
26 ‘Discovering’ Howe Sound
ALAN WILSON—COLUMN
29 Howe Sound’s Pulp Mills
CHRISTIANNE WILHELMSON
30 The Salmon Forest
ALEXANDRA MORTON—COLUMN
32 Rave Reviews
DEB LEACH—COLUMN
33 Wood on the Web
TED LEATHER—COLUMN
34 Feathery Paddlers
BRYAN NICHOLS—COLUMN
36 NEWS
38 UNCLASSIFIED ADS
42 GREAT GEAR & KAYAKS
44 BOOKS
46 CALENDAR
www.WaveLengthMagazine.com December/January 2003
Why a Wooden Kayak?
he fog starts to lift as you leave the
island where you camped. As you
head out across the bay, a seal pops up
to see who is crossing its territory. Out to
the right you hear a porpoise exhale.
You’re carrying all you need, self sufficient, dependent on no one. You look with
satisfaction down at your deck, evaluating the selection of wood, wondering if
you should rearrange the deck lines, thinking about new hatch systems. You are paddling a kayak you built yourself.
There are not many things that you can
make that will take you as far as a kayak.
While some people can make a motorcycle or an airplane, these are not
projects suitable to the average basement
or garage workshop, whereas a marginally handy individual can make a highly
functional kayak without sophisticated
tools or skills.
There are lots of reasons why you might
want to build your own kayak, from saving money to getting a pretty boat, but
the most compelling reason is the satisfaction you get from being out on the
water in a craft you made with your own
hands. This satisfaction is enhanced by
December/January 2003 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
Photo courtesy Pygmy Boats
T
Nick Schade
the fact that yours is almost always the
prettiest kayak in your group. It’s also
likely that your boat will be one of the
lightest and least expensive. In this age
of pre-packaged dinners there are few
opportunities to make such a high quality product by yourself.
WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BUILD ONE
Don’t take on the project just to save
money. The materials to build a high
quality wood kayak generally cost less
than a similar pre-manufactured boat,
but that doesn’t include your time.
Kayak kit manufacturers will quote times
as low as 45 hours to build a relatively
simple design. While they are not lying, they are probably being a little optimistic for the average beginning
builder.
The average person with a job and
family obligations may have difficulty
finding the time. The work is satisfying
and should be relaxing. If you go into
the project thinking you will bang out a
boat in short order and be ready to paddle in no time, you may end up frustrated. If you see the time spent build-➝
5
ing as a chance to slow down, learn new skills and relax, you are
more likely to enjoy it.
Before you commit yourself to trying to build a kayak as a thing
of beauty, consider how you want to use it. They are pretty, but that
can sometimes interfere with their practicality. If you have spent all
winter obsessing over making a gorgeous kayak, you may be reluctant to subject it to the inevitable bumps and grinds of use. If you
use it, your kayak will get scratched.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to put your best effort into
making a beautiful kayak. You just need to realize that perfection
takes time. While you can make a very nice looking kayak quite
quickly, it takes a very long time to make a drop-dead gorgeous
one. If you start the project with the attitude that it’s just a boat to
be used, you will likely be overwhelmed with how pretty it comes
out. If you go into the project hoping to achieve perfection, you
may be disappointed in the inevitable flaws.
One kit, 60 hours,
a lifetime of
ADVENTURE
Sea Wolf Wooden Kayak Kits are for the
discriminating paddler who prefers the
beauty, light weight and efficiency of a
wooden kayak.
The beauty of wood is undeniable. It has a
visual richness that is only seen in natural
materials. And it doesn’t take any particular
skill to make wood look good. It’s a forgiving
material—the texture of the grain hides many
mistakes.
• Kits include only the highest
quality materials.
• Easily built by anyone with
limited woodworking
experience.
• These kayaks will
last a lifetime
and beyond.
You can
proudly say
“I built it
myself”
6
WHY YOU SHOULD BUILD A KAYAK
A wooden kayak is not a compromise. It can be just as strong as
a pre-manufactured plastic, fiberglass or kevlar boat. In fact, a
wooden kayak is often also a fiberglass kayak. Most of the building
techniques incorporate fiberglass into the finished boat as reinforcement. The difference is, the wood serves as a core material
between layers of glass. This makes a boat that is generally stiffer
than other kayaks. While it is possible to scratch through the outer
layer of glass to expose the wood core to water, it’s hard to break
completely through a wooden kayak. Most scratches are just cosmetic and don’t harm the boat.
The wood-fiberglass composite creates a structure that is relatively lightweight for its strength. It will be easier to paddle and
more responsive than other, heavier kayaks. And a lighter boat is
much easier to load on the car and carry down to the put-in.
Building your own boat provides you with all the skills to fix it,
should the worst happen. You will know intimately how the boat
goes together and what needs to be done to put it back together
should it break.
Making the kayak yourself lets you customize it exactly to your
needs. Many of the building methods let you do simple tweaks of
the design to get the performance you want. If you have unusual
desires, the kayak designers are often willing to create a custom
design specifically suited to your needs. And as you build, you can
outfit the boat to meet your specific needs. If you want extra deck
lines or a fishing rod holder, you don’t need to negotiate with the
manufacturer to get what you want.
ROY FOLLAND WOODEN KAYAKS
130 Como Gardens, Hudson,
Quebec, J0P 1H0
(450) 458-0152
Email: kayak@royfolland.com
www.royfolland.com
The real advantage of wood is it permits you to do it all yourself
without sophisticated tools or skills. It’s possible to make a fullfiberglass kayak at home, but it’s a much more involved project. If
the idea of moving across in the water in a craft you put together
with your own hands appeals to you, making a wooden kayak is
the best way to do it. The time spent in the basement will feel well
spent when you place the boat in the water and head out across
the bay. ❏
©Nick Schade is the owner of Guillemot Kayaks,
Glastonbury, CT . Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847.
www.guillemot-kayaks.com/
The Gals Who Built the Boats
Dale Boothby photo
Lee Beliveau
Funny how
one thing
leads to
another...
Imagination is the glue holding it all together.
T
ake two mid-aged women with visions
of sea kayaking floating in their heads,
add two Chesapeake hulls lying in the basement, and we have action.
Jeannette’s husband, Keith, had chosen
the plan, cut all the sections and carefully
wire-stitched the mahogany plywood. Then
he became ill and the rest was up to us.
With no one to guide us, we spent a fair bit
of time reading the instructions and consulting The Kayak Shop (1993) and The New
Kayak Shop (2001) by Chris Kulczycki (Ragged Mountain Press). Nervously we discussed the concepts of what went where
and what meant what. How do you pronounce “chine” anyway?
We ventured out to the marine shops and
bought our first batch of cold cure epoxy,
reassured that it would take extra time to set,
and we would thus have more time to correct errors. Fiberglass seemed very important.
As novice kayakers, we wanted reinforcement on our precious crafts.
We had an open carport to work in, plus
a backyard. Jeannette is a sculptor so she
had saws and sanders and knew how to
use them. Beginning August 15, we collaborated at least once a week on my days off
work. We had so many questions. How to
cut the fiberglass and keep the edges from
fraying and causing bumps in the glue?
How to measure the varying amounts of
cold cure, and was that Part A or Part B? Do
we have any more gloves somewhere?
There is a fantastic measuring device you
can fashion yourself out of a simple piece
of wood. It’s called a “jig”. Once we discovered what it was supposed to do, with
the advice of our builder friend Doug, we
created one and were delighted to be able
to accurately calculate spacing of the
coaming edges and nailings.
A discovery was made that Merlot wine
went well with late supper barbeques, once
we were all cleaned up from the day’s work
and could celebrate the progress we’d
made. When the hulls were dry we could
foresee something spectacular. Those boats
would actually float.
We became creative. Certain individual
talents surfaced. It seemed I had an eye for
lining things up and Jeannette had an uncanny ability to recognize when I had
something backwards. We came to rely on
each other’s instincts of doubt and we made
no irreversible mistakes. Holding the curved
deck in place was handled by strategy and
duct tape until those nails were in.
Then the coaming! That’s the smooth edging around the cockpit over which the kayak
skirt fits. Building it seemed like a high level
skill to me. Our design was a keyhole shape
that required layers of plywood glued together and held every few centimeters by
our large supply of hefty clamps. Doug
helped us with this endeavour in the template stage, then sat back to watch us wrestle with the wood. Shaping and innovating, we made the opening an inch wider
and the depth one thickness higher. Sanding the edges with a disk grinder, I felt like
a dentist with my first patient. By August
24, we performed our first trimming of the
deck and coaming with a plane. We even
saved a few shavings from this first “haircut” for our journal.
Yes, we did remember to put rudder
tracks, pedals and cables on before the deck ➝
For Brandon Nelson and
Heather Christensen, it
began with the dream of
kayaking the length of the
Sea of Cortez.That led to
clearing out their garage...
and ultimately to
Chesapeake kayak kits.
“Building the boats ourselves and then paddling
them for 72 days along
such a desolate and harsh
coast, in total comfort the
whole time...This is the
definition of Joy!” (See their
inspiring story in Sea
Kayaker, April 2002.)
Whether your dream is
long-distance or short,
we’ve got a kayak kit that
makes getting ready almost
as fun as getting there.
32 easy-to-build
quality boat kits.
Chesapeake Light Craft
1805 George Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 267-0137 info@clcboats.com
www.clcboats.com
7
Lee Beliveau photo
Jeannette cutting the rear hatch.
Jeannette Boothby photo
went on. We shopped four locations for
hardware and accessories. Originally we
planned to make our own seats but found
suitable ones at a kayak shop instead.
Did I say Jeannette actually knew what
“scarfing” meant? She did that part all by
herself, fashioning symmetrical noses for
the girls. I noticed her holding her breath
as she smoothed two plywood edges together until they were nicely spliced. Very
impressive. As we glide over the water now,
we peek over the blue cosmetic noses she
sculpted.
More epoxy. Good thing we understood
why only a light coat on the underside of
the deck was recommended so it could be
bent into shape. Bit of a glitch though, comprehending what was meant by
“unthickened,” plus the fact that I placed
the pieces upside down. You see, I thought
unthickened was a term for unhardened.
So I spread only Part A and added no part
B, the hardening agent. Alas, we soon found
out this would leave only a “forever sticky”
surface. Then what to do? How do you remove it? And/or harden it? We tried wiping
it off. Amazing how it seemed to reappear.
We called the manufacturer. There were
suggestions but no one was giving any guarantees. Try acetone first, they said. Maybe,
Jeannette thought, we could use the hair
dryer to heat it up and then remove it. With
a glimmer of hope, she whisked away to
the hardware store and bought a heavy duty
hot air gun. It worked! To justify the cost,
she reassured herself she could use it again
later with her art work.
One evening, as we pushed on to finish
one more task before dark, we looked up
to see our neighbour with his extension light
Lee showing off the finished creation.
pointed over the fence. If it hadn’t been for
him we might never have put those rudder
holes in the right place.
One sunny day, we sat in our boats on
the back lawn and pretended we were on
the ocean. It was actually coming together.
And, they no longer looked like canoes.
We sanded. Wet, dry, by hand, and with
an orbital sander. We debated. What did
“smooth” really mean? What did they mean
by bubbles? How big were allowable? What
if you sanded too much?
The handmade sawhorses gave way,
knock-kneed, a few times. The boats were
lifted in and out of the basement window
once they looked tempting enough for
someone to steal from the open carport.
After we bought paint and read the fine
print, we discovered it was not compatible
with the epoxy. Plan B: we decided to have
a body shop spray them with polyurethane
8
paint. October 30, the rainy evening we
picked them up, the entire shop room shone
a shocking brilliant blue. A bit much! We
reassured ourselves that we’d love them
anyway. And we do. On their own turf (or
sea) with a trim of black webbing and
bungy, they look sleek and they move like
dolphins.
Summer of 2002 has been a whole new
set of adventures as we learn to read the
waters. We murmur expressions of peace and
tranquillity from the floating perspective.
And you know, it’s a bit like walking a
dog. Everyone approaches us with friendly
greetings. They pat our kayaks, and we wag
our tails. ❏
© Lee Beliveau, of Surrey BC began writing on
a quest to illustrate the world of the
professional nurse. Her balance for this
demanding role comes with retreat to nature.
Kayaking is her ultimate solace.
View From the Moaning Chair
Rod Tait
T
o recall early experiences in building
hand crafted wood strip kayaks, a litany
of phrases come to mind like “if anything
can go wrong, it will” or “measure twice,
cut once”, or maybe even “more is not necessarily always better”. But the concept that
best describes those initial construction
days is that of the “Moaning Chair.”
For those who may be planning to build
your own boat, you too will need to find
your own moaning chair. Whether it’s an
old lawn chair, a wooden stool or that old
wooden crate in the corner of your garage,
it will provide that place of solitude where
you sit back and view your boat as it takes
shape. It’s the place where a builder flops
his or her weary body to ponder the challenges that lie ahead, to ask—”How am I
going to accomplish this?”
As I embarked on adding wood strip kayaks to my boat building experiences, I read
numerous publications and attended several boat shows. After purchasing a set of
plans, I painfully waited for them to arrive
in the mail. Upon arrival, I placed a small,
metal, folding chair in my small shop and
proceeded to pour over the written and pictorial explanation of how to assemble my
boat. I didn‘t know at that time that this
very chair would become my “moaning
chair.”
Throughout the months that followed,
that old folding chair provided comfort to
my tired body when needed, allowed me
a good aerial view as the boat took shape,
and folded up to allow room for frustrations to vent. It became my building partner as it traveled with me to the water’s edge
on launch day. That was some years ago
and many boats have been launched since.
The boat building business has expanded
and relocated several times, but that dedicated chair still sits in my shop. It no longer
holds the title of moaning chair, but it still
provides a place of comfort for customers
who undertake building their own boats under my direction. Many customers have sat
A new cedar strip paddling dream turns into reality in Rod’s workshop.
in it to admire their accomplishments and
countless photos have been taken from its
aerial perch.
After years of building, I now find pleasure in assisting others to realize their
dreams. I am thankful to work in my own
business where I am allowed to be creative, feel the sense of accomplishment in
overcoming challenges, and can assist others to experience those same feelings. It‘s
amazing that in the same moment one can
feel frustration and relief, anger and elation, anxiety and calm, but in the end, always success.
First-time builders often ask me to critique and comment on the quality of their
work. I am glad to share advice, but I can
honestly say that I have never found a boat
that did not fully express the desire and
pride of the builder.
If you are thinking about building your
own kayak, purchase a set of plans and find
your own moaning chair. It will soon be-
come your building partner and friend because the view from the moaning chair is
always good. It’s a place to proudly acknowledge your success as you turn your
paddling dreams into reality. ❏
© Text and photos by Rod Tait of Orca Boats
Custom Boatbuilding. Rod designs, builds and
teaches others to build wood strip canoes and
kayaks through his courses and in his shop.
He also took the cover shot of this issue.
info@orcaboats.ca.
www.orcaboats.ca.
Paddling, Palm Trees, Parrots and Pina Coladas!
Join us in the Bay Islands, Honduras for private island lodge-based trips, reef
and rainforest combination trips, and the finest meals and instruction possible.
www.uncommonadv.com
1-866-882-5525 (from USA)
231-882-5525 (from Canada)
9
HIN it or Lose It
O
h, the dream of building a kayak or a
canoe from scratch and paddling
around in my own work of art, knowing
that my boat is unique and special. Unfortunately, nearly every home-built water craft
I have seen lacks one very important feature—a means of identifying it if it’s stolen!
Boat owners often tell me they know their
boat intimately and would be able to identify it anywhere, and they are right. They
could identify their boat if someone stole
it, but I couldn’t.
Personalizing your kayak with graphics
and special features is great, but that type of
information cannot be entered on a police
computer and does not provide the police
with any grounds or authority to seize a suspected stolen boat when encountered.
All water craft in North America are required by law to have a “hull identification
number” (HIN) permanently attached to the
hull. The HIN is a twelve character number
that describes who the manufacturer is, its
production number and when the boat was
made. When you purchase a kayak or canoe from a manufacturer, it will have the
HIN on it. Unfortunately, not all manufacturers are complying with regulations and
using the correct HIN format or applying
HINs to their products! This practice is not
only illegal, it places the owner in a difficult situation should their boat get stolen.
Unfortunately, most people are unaware
of the regulations that require kit boats or
home built boats to have a HIN, or how to
Larry Burden
The police need two things, a HIN so
if it is removed we can investigate,
and additional hidden identification
so we can prove a boat is stolen and
get it back to its rightful owner. We
get no authority from the removal of
any other type of identification such
as graphics or your name—we get
our authority from the HIN.
get a HIN issued for the craft so it complies
with the law. Builders of home made or kit
boats are required to apply to the government for a government-issued HIN. In
Canada it is called a ”Single Vessel Label”
and costs $5. This is not a tax grab or unnecessary government interference, but a
very important feature of all pleasure craft.
Unfortunately, the single vessel label is not
very permanent.
I recommend you do two things: put a
clear coating over the government label to
make it more secure, and make an additional HIN label from a labeling machine
and hide it inside the craft so the police
have an additional means of identification.
In the USA, government-issued HINs are
issued at the state level. Some states provide a label or plate but most just issue you
the HIN and you put it on your boat any
way you choose.
I am not a great fan of that process because enforcement officers have no way of
knowing if the State-issued HIN is a legiti-
BAJA MEXICO KAYAK TOURS
LOW COST, SELF-CATERED, 16 YEARS IN BUSINESS
© Larry Burden is a Constable with
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
• 6 day kayak trips
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ADVENTURE
• 7 day kayak trips
Cdn$725—US$525
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• Mainland Mexico bike tours
info@gck.ca
OUTFITTERS
FUNKY’S Little
Also 2–9 day summer trips to:
• Johnstone Strait/Knight Inlet
• Queen Charlottes
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• Nootka Island
• Broken Group
• or Gulf Islands Weekends
www.gck.ca
910 Clarendon, Gabriola Island, BC CANADA V0R 1X1
PH: 250-247-8277
10
mate state-assigned HIN, especially if it is
scratched into the hull with an engraving
pen. It’s bad enough that too many manufacturers engrave the HIN into their products, we should not compound the problem of escalating rates of theft by making it
too easy for thieves. Engraved numbers are
easily rubbed out with a little sand paper
leaving little or no trace of the original HIN.
The HIN is very important to the police
because in most jurisdictions, if the HIN
has been altered, obliterated or removed,
it’s grounds for the police to seize the craft
as stolen property.
Which brings me to the other pressing
issue—that of having at least one additional
HIN hidden in the craft so we can actually
identify it when we seize it. If you are building your own canoe or kayak please ensure you put several pieces of identification into your boat. The police need two
things: a HIN so if it is removed we can
investigate, and additional hidden identification so we can prove a boat is stolen and
get it back to its rightful owner. We get no
authority from the removal of any other type
of identification such as graphics or your
name—we get our authority from the HIN.
If a boat is stolen we need to know what
the correct HIN is so we can put that information on the police computer. You may
be able to identify your kayak by its colour
pattern but there is a good chance your boat
is going to be transported to another jurisdiction and the only method we can use to
query a suspected stolen boat is its HIN.
In Canada you can apply for a Single
Vessel Label by contacting the Office of
Boating Safety, 200 Kent Street Ottawa, ON
K1A 0E6. Ph: 800-267-6687. Web:
www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca. ❏
FAX: 250-247-9788
CANOE & KAYAK Shop
Custom milled red & yellow cedar,
bead & cove or straight, boxed
plywood strongbacks. Let us cut
and shape your station molds,
greatly minimizing the tools, space
and time you need to get paddling!
Cumberland, Vancouver Island, BC
250-336-8523
bfunk@island.net
Visiting Artisans Program
T
Jeremy Ward
Soft Science Associates photo
he Canadian Canoe Museum is
practice them. They will be able to
hosting a new Visiting Artisans Prowitness the remarkable conversion of
gram to preserve and promote cultural
natural raw materials into the sophisunderstanding and the teaching of traticated craft for which these builders
ditional knowledge.
are known. Moreover, the cultural
Last summer, the museum piloted
context and stories embedded in
this program when we began the conthese arts are to be a featured elestruction of a 36 foot birch bark cament. The visitor will also come to
noe under the glare of hot lights, movie
understand the value of traditional
cameras and the watchful eye of our
kayak building today, which has
patient visitors.
largely shifted from that of a practiGreat sheets of bark, many of which
cal skill born out of need, to a powmeasured over twenty feet in length,
erful symbol of cultural pride, expreswere peeled from trunks of mature
sion and renewal.
white birch trees slated for harvest in
The documentation of this exciting
the Haliburton area. Back in the muinitiative will be published through
Rhonda MacIsaac and Jeremy Ward sewing sheets
seum’s Preserving Skills Gallery, these
various media, including a film docusheets were staked out and carefully of side bark as the hull takes shape.
mentary, print material and an online
formed as the bottom of the canoe’s
exhibit through our website:
hull. With two runs of bark stitched in place along each side, the
www.canoemuseum.net.
full volume and scale of this long-haul carrier of the 18th and early
The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario
19th centuries has begun to take place.
is known internationally for holding the largest and most comConstruction of the canoe is expected to carry through the sumprehensive collection of traditional canoes and kayaks in the
mer of 2003, after which this fully functioning replica of a Monworld. Since 1995, it has worked to advance knowledge, intreal Canoe will be tested with a cargo and crew of four tons! Visicrease access, and promote awareness and understanding of
tors to the museum’s website can follow progress of the canoe over
unique and diverse indigenous cultures. The museum has sucthe next months.
cessfully interwoven a rich cultural tapestry of stories, living
Following this, through the development of solid partnerships
traditions, skills, and knowledge around its comprehensive colwith communities in the North, the museum will host Inuit buildlection of watercraft. This is accomplished through new and
ers who will construct a traditional kayak as the next feature demcompelling ways, using the canoe as the unifying link between
onstration of the Visiting Artisans Program.
the people and the country. ❏
Museum audiences will enjoy the rare opportunity of a first hand
© Jeremy Ward is Supervisor of Artisan and Public Programming
encounter with these valuable traditions and with the people who
with the Canadian Canoe Museum. www.canoemuseum.net
KAYAK BAJA IN STYLE
whale watching & desert wilderness
Call 800-616-1943
info@seakayakadventures.com
www.seakayakadventures.com
11
Have Wheels, Will Paddle
I
t was a cold, wet, gray, spring day here in Seattle when my friend
George offered to take me out in his recently built Pygmy double. I grabbed a paddle and got into the front cockpit. George got
in back, another friend shoved us off, and I was finally paddling a
kayak again after a 22 year hiatus. One sniff of the moist coastal
air, two strokes of the paddle, and the old addiction was back.
I grew up in Moscow, Russia, where every summer my parents
took me on a month-long kayak trip down one of the many placid,
flat, and very remote Russian rivers. The kayak was our ticket into
the back country and otherwise inaccessible forests full of mushrooms and berries, rivers and lakes swarming with fish. That all
changed when I was 13, when I sustained a spinal cord injury that
left me paralyzed from the chest down. I had not kayaked since.
The love of wilderness
never left me though,
and every chance I got, I
spent outdoors. By now
I had moved to the US,
where I took my wheelchair on the roughest
trails possible. Where the
chair did not work, I
eventually used a Jeep.
Although the strategy
was a huge improvement My take-apart wheelchair.
over the urban jungle,
there were still problems. The roughest wheelchair trails did not
take me very far from the car; I could not carry very much; and the
noise of civilization was constantly with me. The Jeep took me
much further, and would also carry my camping gear, but then I
was generating my own noise.
Therefore, sitting in George’s kayak, all I could think of was a
300km, month-long paddle, away from roads, cars, jeeps, motors
of any kind. Overcome by the memories, I dreamed of being 12
years old again. I had to get a kayak. But what kind? Where could
I get something that would work for me? Being in the front of my
friend’s double felt great, but he had a wife and two small sons—
already enough to transport. And what about the wheelchair? I really wanted to be fully independent and be in charge of my own
craft. And then another thing happened during my second paddle
with George. Her name was Martine, and she paddled a white and
turquoise Tesla.
In search of a solution, I went to the TAPS Kayak Symposium—a
Vadim Kin
trade show and get-together held annually in
Port Townsend, Washington. I pushed my
wheelchair through the
deep sand for the length
of the beach, stopping
every ten yards or so to
look at, or touch, another
type of kayak. There were
singles, doubles, triples, A wide, accommodating cockpit.
plastic,
fiberglass,
wooden, canvas, rigid, folding! I tried a few of them on the water.
The larger ones—doubles and triples—had the advantage of the
additional cockpit for the wheelchair, but they were slow and heavy.
I knew that I could not keep up with Martine in one of those.
I nearly flipped the first single I tried. I have control only of my
upper body and some back muscles, while the lower back, abdominal muscles and hips are paralyzed. Balance is a big issue, so
the 24” beam of the single made me uncomfortable. And all the
kayaks there had foot-operated rudders. I needed a stable, welltracking single, and I had to figure out a way to get the wheelchair
aboard.
The blisters on my hands—the result of 200 yards of pushing the
wheelchair in loose sand—told the story of my search. I had covered the ground, I had seen everything available, and nothing fit
the bill. I decided that I had to make my own. I did try one boat
that I knew could probably work, and I was going to start with that
one. The boat was the Pygmy Queen Charlotte XL.
The QC-XL is a big boat of the Old Greenland type. It is 17.5’ long
and 25.5” wide, resulting in excellent initial stability. Another advantage is the hull’s cargo capacity. I had only to modify it to somehow
swallow my wheelchair. As with all adult-sized Pygmys, this one has
the larger 33” x 17” cockpit—still too small for my smallest wheelchair. A trip to a wheelchair shop resulted in a smaller wheelchair
with quick-release wheels, casters, footrests, armrests and back support. I knew this one would fit into the cockpit, and I did not let much
time pass before two huge boxes, filled with plywood panels, fiberglass
and epoxy, were sitting on the floor of my garage.
Some six months later, the boat was launched for its inaugural
paddle. I immediately realized that I still had work to do. Following the excellent Pygmy instructions, I built the kayak without the
rudder, bulkheads, or hatches. Most of the wheelchair did indeed
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12
The ’5-minute’ hatch behind my seat.
fit under the deck behind the seat, and I
had only the wheels to put on the deck.
However, I still had a 300 km paddle in
mind, and that meant a lot of stuff besides
the wheelchair, and most of it would have
to fit under the deck as well. I needed
hatches. I also had an opportunity to observe a rescue session involving an overturned kayak that did not have a front bulkhead. I knew I needed bulkheads, too.
I soon discovered that the Greenland hull
has some interesting tracking characteristics. I found that if the boat started to turn
one way, it wanted to continue to turn that
way, no matter how I adjusted my stroke.
One way to deal with it, of course, is to
shift your body position and lean away from
the direction in which you want to turn.
But I cannot lean very well while maintaining my balance, so I had another problem
to solve—the rudder.
First I did the obvious—standard bulkheads and hatches from the Pygmy catalog.
I cut the rear bulkhead down, so it could
be installed deeper into the stern, about two
feet behind the cockpit, leaving enough
room for the wheelchair. I also added the
standard rudder, but did not hook it up to
the foot pedals. While at a sailing equipment store to get some rope for a bow line,
I came across a device called the “tiller
tamer.” It’s normally used on a sailboat tiller
to fix it in a given position. I picked one up,
and installed it on the deck of my kayak, in
front of the cockpit. I then routed the rudder cable sleeves on top of the deck, and
attached the cables to the tiller tamer ropes.
Now, the rudder could stay fixed in one
position, and I could adjust it with minimal interruption to my paddling. I finally
had an expedition kayak!
Or so I thought. I then paid a visit to Lee
Moyer, the owner/manager of Pacific Water Sports (near Seattle), and a renowned
kayak designer. Lee did not think much of
the two foot long compartment behind the
cockpit, and as for the rudder cables—”people will just want to grab them to lift the
boat” (which I had already observed to be
true).
The boat went back into the garage for
one final set of modifications. The rudder
cables were routed under the deck, and as
for the wheelchair compartment —I applied
Lee’s theory of the “five minute hatch.” Normally you want the deck hatches to be
watertight. But I needed a third bulkhead,
right behind the cockpit, and a hatch in that
bulkhead. This hatch needs to hold water
only if I capsize, and if my boat is capsized
for more than five minutes or so, a bit of
water in the wheelchair compartment is
probably not my biggest problem. Additionally, to help keep an unwanted immersion
into our frigid northwestern waters to less
than five minutes, I installed a modified
paddle float rigging—a variation on another
one of Lee’s inventions. Despite two-thirds
of my body
representing
dead weight in
a self-rescue
situation, the
rigging passed
the five minute
test with flying
colours.
As for my expeditions? How
do two weeks Ready to roll.
in the Gulf Islands, two 120 mile trips down the Green
River of Utah, and plenty of shorter paddles
near Seattle, sound? And I’m just getting
started.
And as for building your own boat—
George warned me, and now I am warning
you—you will not be satisfied with just one.
Or two. Or any finite number. Martine will
tell you. She now has to park her car in the
driveway, because there are two Pygmy
Cohos under construction in our carport. ❏
© Text and photos by Vadim Kin, a fine art
photographer who lives in Seattle, Washington.
Ed. note: We’ll have more from Vadim on his
paddlefloat rigging and the Tiller Tamer in our
‘How To...’ issue next spring.
POPO‘S ADVENTURES
Whitewater rafting, sea kayaking,
monkey tours. Located at one of Costa
Rica’s best known surf breaks.
We have everything you’ll need to
explore Costa Rica’s vast wonders.
www.poposcostarica.com
poposca@racsa.co.cr
001-506-656-0086
13
Wooden Kayak Directory
A Great Little Kayak Co. Richmond, BC, manufacturer of Teeka
Kayaks, is a small company that builds kayaks as a labour of love.
They start by building a new design in cedar strip and, if the cedar
strip kayak meets their criteria of performance, they then take a
mold off it and start to manufacture them in fiberglass. They are
always open to suggestions on new designs and ideas. Expedition
and sailing sea kayaks are their specialty. Contact Mike Walker
(owner) at 604-671-3295. Web: www.kayakme.com. A Great Little Kayak Co. 16860 River Road, Richmond, BC. V6V 1L6.
Bear Mountain Boat Shop Peterborough, Ontario. Renowned
for pioneering the woodstrip epoxy construction technique, Ted
Moores, author of Canoecraft and KayakCraft builds kayaks and
canoes, offers classes, and sells professional building plans for 25
canoes, kayaks and small boats. Visit their web site and interactive
bulletin board. A catalogue of plans is available. Toll free order
line: 877-392-8880. Email: info@bearmountainboats.com. Web:
www.bearmountainboats.com.
Chesapeake Light Craft Annapolis, Maryland. Chesapeake Kayaks have enjoyed a long development and widespread popularity.
Kits are precision cut on their own CNC machine from African
Mahogany marine plywood. Their touring and racing sea kayaks
are built and paddled by professional kayakers and rank beginners,
teenagers and octogenarians. These are highly sophisticated, highperformance boats that can be assembled by beginners in their
own garages. Check out their huge website: www.clcboats.com.
Funky’s Little Canoe & Kayak Shop Cumberland, BC. Are you
dreaming of building a beautiful wood strip canoe or kayak? Think
the task too difficult? Don’t have all the tools? Red and Yellow Cedar custom milled strips: 3/16" or 1/4" thick by 1/2" to 7/8" widths,
Bead & Cove or Straight cut. Boxed plywood strongbacks. They
can also cut and shape your boat’s station molds to your plans. This
greatly minimizes the tools, space and time you need to get paddling. FLCKS is located in Cumberland, Vancouver Island, BC. 250336-8523. Email: bfunk@island.net.
Guillemot Kayaks Glastonbury, Connecticut. Plans for building
your own high performance wooden sea kayak. Distinctive designs
to suit any paddling style. Rugged, beautiful, strip-built construction for complete design freedom. Accurate, computer generated,
full size patterns. Complete instruction book available separately.
Email: info@guillemot-kayaks.com. Web: www.kayakplans.com/L.
Newfound Woodworks of Bristol, New Hampshire has been supplying cedar strip/epoxy canoe and kayak kits to boat builders since
1988. Cedar strip and hybrid kayak kits are their specialty. Check
out the new Explorer and Navigator designs on their website. Phone:
603-744-6872. Email: info@newfound.com. Web: www.new
found.com.
Nomad Boatbuilding Vancouver, BC. Nomad Boatbuilding is
dedicated to the design, building, and restoration of wooden canoes, kayaks, and row/sail boats up to 20 ft in length, specializing
in custom building using the techniques of glued lapstrake plywood and traditional clinker construction. Other services include:
cedar/canvas canoe restoration, yacht repair, instruction in boat
building and repair, half-model building, and paddle and oar making. Located on Granville Island in Vancouver. Ph: 604-723-9584.
Web: www.nomadboatbuilding.ca.
Orca Boats Custom Boatbuilding Port Coquitlam, BC. Rod Tait
of Orca Boats designs and custom builds handcrafted wood strip
canoes and kayaks. In addition to custom building, Orca Boats
also repairs small wooden boats, sells plans for canoes and kayaks
and offers courses on building wood strip boats. Their unique onsite building option allows customers the opportunity to complete
their own boats under direction and supervision. Orca Boats is
determined to turn your “paddling dreams into reality.” Email at
info@orcaboats.ca. Web: www.orcaboats.ca.
Pygmy Boats, Inc. Port Townsend, Washington is the largest manufacturer of precision precut plywood kayak kits in North America.
Started in 1986 by boat designer and software engineer John
Lockwood, Pygmy produced North America’s first computer-designed sea kayaks. During the past 16 years they have expanded
their line to include 15 models of sea kayaks, a rowing skiff and a
wilderness tripping canoe. For more information, contact Pygmy
Boats. Ph: 360-385-6143. Web: www.pygmyboats.com.
14
Redfish Kayak & Canoe Co. Boise, Idaho.
Joe Greenley of Redfish set out to design and
build a series of wood kayaks that would be
fast, responsive and maneuverable with no
need for a rudder. The lines and final finish
of his kayaks make them as pleasing to the
eye as they are to paddle. Four Redfish designs are available: Silver, Spring Run, Return and the new King. Ph: 360-565-8329.
Email: joe@redfishkayak.com. Website:
www.redfishkayak.com.
Roy Folland Wooden Kayaks Hudson,
Quebec. Roy Folland Wooden Kayaks was
established in Hudson, Quebec five years
ago. An experienced and accomplished
designer, Roy’s objective was to bring the
kayak kit business to a higher level of pre-
cision and beauty than was available at the
time. With an innovative approach, unique
construction methods have been incorporated enabling anyone to build a beautiful
wooden kayak. Having trouble with anything? Call any time for assistance. Information is available on several kits. Ph: 450458-0152. Email: kayak@royfolland.com.
Web: www.roy folland.com.
want to be known for the quality of their
designs and kits and are not interested in
mass production. Take a look at their
website, these folks are in the business because they really love paddling and building! www.woodenkayak.com. Or write for
a free brochure: San Javier Kayak, 1308
Beechwood Dr., Petaluma, CA 94954. Ph:
707-781-6852.
San Javier Kayak Petaluma, California.
Currently the only supplier offering “full
sized” patterns to builders who don’t want
to mess around with the complication of
blue prints. In business for seven years, they
have deliberately kept a low profile. They
True North Summerland, BC. True North
Wooden Boat Co. is dedicated to producing top quality, high performance wood/
epoxy canoes and touring kayaks. As durable as they are beautiful, these fine wooden
boats can be paddled with pride and con-➝
Coastal Kayak Leadership Training Course
May 2-11, 2003
Malaspina University-College offers an intensive 10-day ocean kayak
course, providing participants with the knowledge and skills necessary
to lead groups of kayakers in coastal waters. The course takes place
on the west coast of Vancouver Island and includes basic training,
followed by an expedition into unprotected coastal waters.
WEST COAST
CANOE COMPANY
Manufacturing & Restoring
Wooden Canoes
1-800-446-1588
canoes@islandnet.com
www.islandnet.com/~canoes
For more information contact
The Centre for Continuing Studies
(250) 740-6160
Nanaimo Campus
900 Fifth St., Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5
Kayak Specialists
Kayaks & Gear
Rentals & Lessons
250-245-7887
610 Oyster Bay Drive, Ladysmith, BC
www.IslandOutdoorCentre.com
Sea Kayak Association of BC
Trips, training, monthly meetings,
newsletters, paddling contacts
www.skabc.org
membership@skabc.org
604-669-4492
Box 751, Stn. A,
Vancouver, BC V6C 2N6
15
fidence and are destined to become a treasured family possession. Ph: 250-494-4458.
Email: woodboat@vip.net. Web: www.true
northwoodenboat.com.
Waters Dancing Edmonton, Alberta. Waters Dancing has manufactured quality
stitch & glue kayak and canoe kits since
the 1950s. They use the unique QuikLock
Connector SystemTM to join panels quickly
and accurately. Waters Dancing’s comprehensive manuals average 130 pages with
photos and illustrations. These kits are the
most complete kits on the market at the
lowest price. Ph: 780-437-4919. Email:
Sales@boatcraft.com. Web: www.waters
dancing.com.
West Coast Canoe Company Campbell
River BC. West Coast Canoe Company is
dedicated to the crafting, restoration and
repair of classic cedar and canvas canoes.
Their product line features 14 different models ranging from a 10' trapper to a 20'
freighter, yet they strive to make each canoe as individual as the customer purchasing it. They also hand-craft paddles and canoe boxes from the finest west coast materials and offer a complete line of supplies
for the do-it-yourselfer. Call toll free 1-800446-1588 or email: canoes@island
net.com. Web: www.islandnet.com/~canoes. ❏
GALIANO
GALIANO
ISLAND
ISLAND
KAYAKING
KAYAKING
Waters Dancing’s Lightning 14 (14’ long, 24.5" beam, 35 lbs, approx. 85 hours).
Kayaking Costa Rica
www.villasdeloreto.com
info@villasdeloreto.com
011-52-613-135-0586
since 1987
Treat yourself to a
week in paradise!
Weekly getaways
December thru April.
“Thank you
Protected Waters,
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est.1985
PH/FAX: 250/539-2442
kayak@gulfislands.com
www.seakayak.ca
16
Baja pioneers
for doing such a great job for
us and all the work you and
your staff did to make our stay
with you a memory we’ll always treasure. The kayaks
and gear worked out great,
you picked out perfect campsites for us. The Amore Restaurant was excellent too! We
have never had a more wonderful time. We will definitely
be talking with you again for
our next trip.”
Bill & Myra
Saskatchewan, Canada
Inuit Kayaks
Lyn Hancock
I
n the old days, when an Inuk hunted seals
or caribou by kayak (spelled qajak now),
he got out of the vessel by walking over the
bow, stepping lightly on a concealed crossbar. If he stepped on any other place, he
would break through the stretched caribou
skins seamed with caribou fat that covered
the willow branch thwarts.
When I study the qajaks made today by
my Inuit friends in Nunavut or Northwest
Territories—caribou-skinned with caribou
sinew rope and string, caribou vertebrae
bungy cords and scrounged spruce paddles—I am amazed at their apparent fragility and tippiness. It makes me thankful for
my roto-molded plastic Current Designs
kayak.
Closeup of cockpit showing willow ribs, sinew string, caribou skin covering,
bone frame cockpit rim, and spruce paddle.
Sam inspects a bone and steel-tipped
spear carried on deck of the qajak
which sits on its winter rock supports.
In the old days there wasn’t much variety in building materials on the arctic tundra—just animals, willows, driftwood if you
were lucky, and unlimited numbers of
heavy, lichen-encrusted rocks.
It didn’t take long for Sam and his other
guiding buddy, Ben Ogigon, to choose four
flattish rocks, stabilize them into position
with other rocks, and place them as Vshaped end supports. Then they set one of
Bobby’s qajaks, which usually hangs from
the ceiling in Treeline Lodge’s meeting
room, onto the stone qajak frame.
My Inuit friends are happy to show me
how they did things in the old days and
patiently pose for my cameras, but they stick
to their outboard motors and skidoos for
seal or caribou hunting when I am not
around.
Ironically, when I return to Nanoose Bay
on Vancouver Island, I take down my kayak
from its wood and steel cradle on the side of
my house and set off on a seal hunt of my
own. I need the craft of their ancestors to
creep up to my quarry with my camera. ❏
© Text and photos by Lyn Hancock,
a freelance writer living in Nanoose Bay, BC.
www.albernioutpost.com
NANAIMO—Country Club Mall, 3200 North Island Hwy.
Sam, dressed in caribou skin
clothing, paddles near Bathurst Inlet
Lodge in the central Arctic.
On my visit last year to Treeline Lodge,
Sam Kapolak showed me how the Inuit
fashioned frames in the late autumn to hold
their qajaks over the winter. Traditionally,
the qayaks would sit in these stone holding
frames from the finish of their fall caribou
hunts until the beginning of summer when
the qajaks were repaired and renewed with
fresh caribou skins.
Nanaimo BC V9T 1W1 Ph 250-760-0044 Toll Free 866-760-0011
nanaimo@albernioutpost.com
PORT ALBERNI
5161 River Rd. Port Alberni
BC V9Y 6Z2
Ph 250-723-2212
Toll Free 800-325-3921
outdoor@albernioutpost.com
SALES, LESSONS, RENTALS
and a full line of accessories, plus hiking and camping gear.
Seaward, Current Designs (Port Alberni only)
Necky, Sun, Azul and Riot kayaks
17
Building ‘Greener’ Boats
W
hen the idea of submitting an article
on kayak and canoe construction
was first proposed to me, my coworkers and
I had just completed a major project using
the latest vacuum infusion technology.
Since building boats is as much a passion of mine as paddling them, I appreciate the opportunity to share some insights
on the benefits of new construction techniques with fellow paddlers.
Although there is a wide variety of materials to build paddlecraft from, it seems
fiberglass holds an edge in the minds and
choices of most paddlers. Fiberglass is a
great medium for kayaks and canoes since
it’s possible to mold it into the flowing, complex shapes of modern kayaks and canoes.
It’s also very durable, when used properly, and stands up well to years of heavy
use. My old fiberglass canoe has logged
more than a few miles over the last 20 years
and still looks surprisingly good with only
minimal maintenance and upkeep.
A major downside to fiberglass construction is the negative impact on our environment. It can be fairly noxious stuff, as anyone who has worked with it or been close
by when it is being used, will attest.
Fortunately, awareness is gaining momentum and tougher restrictions are being
imposed on the fiberglass industry to reduce both airborne emissions and solid
wastes. Although there are some in the industry that feel these new regulations are
too costly to implement, many others are
working hard to develop technologies that
meet or surpass these new regulations and
guidelines.
With vacuum infusion, and other closed
molding techniques, the harmful gasses
associated with fiberglass manufacturing
are contained under a vacuum bag or between the two-part molds. The off-gas normally associated with fiberglass construction is all but eliminated by using these techniques since the gas can be filtered both
before and after the vacuum pump.
These new techniques also use less material than the traditional open or “hand
laid” methods, so reduce the amount of
solid waste that eventually ends up in
landfill sites. Even vacuum bagging, which
is quite different than vacuum infusion, can
contribute to excessive solid waste if con-
Jamer Buote
ventional bagging materials are used.
Although reusable silicone bags and
two-part molds may seem expensive initially, they allow very impressive production runs making them cost effective over
the long term.
Another area that benefits from closed
molding techniques is the manufacturing
workplace. With greatly reduced emissions,
the shop floor is certainly a much healthier
and friendly atmosphere for those using these
newer methods. In the past, laminators
looked more like alien life forms than boat
builders after donning the suits and breathing apparatus required to work with chemicals used in fiberglass construction.
All this is obviously good news for the
environment and for those of us who work
within the manufacturing industry but there
are also significant benefits to those who
paddle the boats made this way. Not only
are closed molded kayaks and canoes
“greener”, they are also stronger and lighter
than boats made using older methods.
With traditional hand laid or open
molded boats, the resin is applied to dry
fiberglass cloth material then rolled or
scraped to distribute the liquid evenly
through the cloth. A skilled laminator can
attain a glass to resin ratio of close to 60%
but a 55 to 45% ratio is more often the
norm.
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Vacuum bagging has the resin added to
a dry laminate, then the bag is added and
the resin is then spread through the laminate with rubber or hard plastic squeegees.
The glass fabric or cloth to resin ratio is
only slightly higher than the best hand laminate but the reduction of resin does decrease the finished product’s weight somewhat.
With vacuum infusion, the dry cloth
laminate is bagged under very high pressure, normally 14.5 pounds per square inch,
which translates to a ton of force per square
foot. Under this pressure, all moisture and
air is removed from the dry laminate before the resin is introduced. The vacuum
pressure is then used to draw the liquid resin
through the laminate and is maintained until the part solidifies.
The result is a finished product that uses
less resin and yields a glass to resin ratio of
70 to 30%. Since there is no excess resin
in the material laminate, we see an increase
in strength and a reduction in overall
weight.
Many paddlers opt for carbon or carbonkevlar to gain extra strength, and to drop a
few pounds of weight, but that comes with
a price tag that is hard to justify for some of
us. Generally speaking, the cost of these
materials ends up averaging $100 per
pound of weight saved.
With infusion we can gain the strength
and lose some weight without the extra cost
associated with exotic materials like carbon and kevlar. Because the infusion process lends itself so well to production manufacturing, these advantages need not come
at the higher costs attached to these exotic
materials. Ironically, even the exotics like
carbon and kevlar gain from the infusion
process and yield the same advantages enjoyed by the more conventional materials,
again without adding to the cost.
Although some companies are slow to
embrace these new techniques, it is obvious that environmental concerns and the
added advantages of closed molding will
set the demand for stronger, lighter and
“greener” kayaks and canoes.
Since paddlers in general are a very environmentally aware group I’m confident
that we will soon have the choice of our
favorite designs constructed with the latest
technology—if we ask we will receive.
Here’s to “greener” boats. ❏
© Jamer Buote is President of Inukshuk
Adventure Group on Vancouver Island. He has
31 years in the marine manufacturing industry
and 25 years experience in composite
manufacturing. He’s an avid paddler, sailor,
hiker and dog musher.
Modern materials definitely have their their advantages but
our friend Doug has identified at least one potential downside.
“Guess I parked ‘er a little too close to the camp fire.”
19
New Sit-In/Sit-On Hybrid
T
wo years ago, at the beginning of the new millennium, kayakers
speculated about future trends in kayak designs. Most pontificated about hull shapes, hydraulic steering mechanisms, electronic
navigational devices and modern materials, missing the most obvious design development just waiting to be
performed—a merger
of sit-in and sit-on
kayak elements.
Take the best of sit-on kayaks—closed hulls with seat indents,
intact cylindrical hull, self-draining cockpits, ease of entry and sense
of freedom—and blend it with the best of traditional sit-in kayaks—sprayskirts which give comfort through their weather protection. Hey, presto! You have the Hybrid Combo, the world’s ultimate kayak!
At PaddleYak Sea Kayak Productions in Cape Town, South Africa, unexpected advantages emerged as they developed their Fusion and Swift ranges of hybrid combination sit-in/sit-on sea kayaks. Criticisms from traditional sit-in manufacturers and sales persons made those at PaddleYak think more carefully about the design innovations which were emerging with their new hybrid craft.
So far the following unique qualities of hybrid kayaks have been
identified:
Craft connectedness. Unlike recreational sit-ons, the hybrid has
a deep seat which is contoured from the lower middle back area
right up to the heels. Also, unlike sit-ins where separate seats are
mounted to the floor of the kayak’s bottom hull, or swung from the
rim of the cockpit, the paddler’s back, buttocks, thighs and heels
are all firmly connected to the deck’s cockpit seat area, allowing
20
Ron Irwin
excellent feel of the craft’s movements. This is achieved without
giving the feeling of entrapment associated with sit-ins. Knee-bracing against the cockpit coaming of sit-ins is unnecessary due to the
excellent connectedness of the paddler with the whole hull of the
craft, but for diehards
this can be achieved
through the addition
of a knee-brace or a
firm
sprayskirt
stretched tautly across the coaming. For those wishing to brace in
order to roll, a quick-release lap strap can provide more than enough
support, as waveski paddlers have proven. Rolling ability is also
not a prerequisite for taking these craft into the most severe of ocean
conditions.
Ease of entry and re-entry. The self-draining, indented seat cockpit allows for lower freeboard and decks than is the case with sitins, making entry and re-entry into the craft easy and safe. Water
drains out of the cockpit in an instant, making pumping unnecessary. Paddlers can also hang their legs over the cockpit indents to
stabilise their craft, leaving their hands free to perform any tasks
required. The lower design profile of the hybrid also makes it less
prone to the wind and adverse sea conditions than sit-ins.
Stability is not compromised. With careful designing, hybrid kayaks have seat indents which are at the same height from the bottom
of the craft as featured in good sit-in kayaks. Seats in hybrids are
never flush with the bottom of the kayak as this is not the optimal
paddling position. Stability, in any case, is also a function of beam
width and hull design, not only of seat height.
Integrated and sealed hull provides strength and waterproofing.
Unlike with sit-ins, the hybrid’s hull is a
sealed unit, almost like an elliptical ball.
There is no gaping cockpit hole in the top
deck which has to be sealed off at all costs
with a sprayskirt and bulkheads, or a cockpit pod, to avoid flooding. Bulkheads are
unnecessary in hybrids in respect to waterproofing or safety. The seat and leg indents
in the deck prevent dry-bags from shifting
out of reach. The paddler is also seated on
the deck of the craft, so to speak, and does
not step on the unsupported bottom hull of
the craft. This means that the hull can be
reinforced with foam and not only with layers of reinforcing cloth which add weight
to sit-in craft.
Seaworthiness of hybrids undisputed. The
hybrid has all the well-proven sea worthy
characteristics of sit-on classics like surfskis
and waveskis, but also provide for the comfort and weather-protection of the paddler
by the addition of a sit-in type sprayskirt
coaming.
The hybrid revolution is silently emerging in a variety of guises. The first K1 Olympic Class sprinting kayaks with seat indents rather than sit-in cockpits have appeared recently. These K1s are but two steps
away from adding coamings and self-draining scuppers and becoming fully-fledged
hybrids! Ocean Kayak in the USA has recently introduced a new range of sit-in kay-
aks which have seat indents and coamings,
rather than sit-in cockpits. Previously they
produced a craft with a removable
coaming. Now it’s a fully-fledged hybrid,
bar one more step—a self-draining cockpit.
PaddleYak’s hybrid Swifts and Fusions
may well be paving the way forward. The
credo of its owner and manager, Johan
Loots, is that even the Inuits would have
preferred such craft had they had the technology to build them! ❏
© Ron Irwin is a freelance writer
living in South Africa.
Speaking of innovations, here’s a
great new kayak that lets paddlers
really connect with the environment.
Clear Blue Hawaii makes this
transparent hull from high-tech,
impact resistant polymer. Weighing
just 40 pounds, it gives you a
window to the sea life beneath you.
Web: www.clearbluehawaii.com.
Ph: 808-832-2438 or 1-877-777-6708.
Editor’s note: Despite the appeal of this photo,
we do NOT recommend paddling without a life
jacket, even in tropical waters. However, it has
been pointed out to us that in big surf landings,
if you were to capsize and need to dive to avoid
being struck by a breaker—or possibly your own
kayak—a lifejacket could be an impediment.
Careful judgement based on experience with
specific conditions is obviously crucial, but
lifejackets are the first line of defence, and
capsize/rescue situations must be practiced.
Canadian Recreational Canoe
Association (CRCA) Courses
Finally, a nationally recognized
certification program for
amateur kayakers!
2003
• Recreational Courses & Exams
• Intermediate Sea Kayaking Training
– Level II (Tidal)
• Advanced Sea Kayaking Training
– Level IV
• Instructor Training & Exams
Basic, Level I, Level II
• SKGABC Assistant Guide Training
Courses
WANT TO BE A GUIDE?
Here is the first step. A 10 day
course offered in partnership with
Geophilia Adventures.
For dates and prices, call us at 250-381-4233
or check out our courses on the web at:
www.oceanriver.com
21
Rapid Descents
A Bit About Boat Building
I
recently had the opportunity to learn
about innovations in whitewater kayak
construction. My parents had just built a
deck over the slow-moving river that fronts
their property and I was caring for their
house while they vacationed. “Don’t you
jump off that deck,” mom had commanded
me with a mother’s mechanical admonition
as she left. The next day I had the picnic
table resting on the railing and my friend
sitting reluctantly on top in my kayak. “It’ll
work,” I said.
With what was intended as a mighty
shove, I slid him along only as far as the
point of no return. In horror, I watched him
tilt forward until he dropped vertically out
of sight. I looked over in time to see him
toppling forward, upside-down, into the
river. Imagine my relief to see him quickly
roll up with a bewildered grin on his face,
jarred but not broken.
Satisfied my friend was okay, I became
concerned for my boat. But it was barely
scratched. Why? Plastic, of course. And
that’s the innovation. In the days of
fiberglass, I could never have pushed my
friend onto the rocks.
With a newfound respect for the construction of kayaks, and a theme stimulus
provided by Alan, the editor, I contacted
Glen MacPherson, a very agreeable spirits-sampling companion from the days of
our youth. Glen is now the sales manager
for Necky kayaks and would be my introduction to the world of whitewater kayak
construction. I visited Glen at the Necky
factory in Ferndale, Washington where the
BC born company moved all its plastics
manufacturing a year ago. Relieved to be
pulled away from the phone, Glen gladly
toured me around the facility and introduced me to Spike Gladwin, the product
development manager, and Brian Queen,
22
Adhering logos to the aluminum mold.
the director of operations and designer of
the roto-molding ovens that cook the kayaks. These two willingly and ably answered
my questions about the process and the
history of whitewater kayak construction.
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
I’ll attempt to summarize the construction process:
First, a designer creates a design in his
mind and on a computer.
Second, he creates a plug using foam and
fibreglass. This plug is the final shape the
kayak will have.
Third, an aluminum mold (top and bottom) is created from the plug and costs tens
of thousands of dollars. All the eventual
boats of this model come from this mold.
Fourth, mold-in graphics with the Necky
and model logos are adhered to the inside
of the mold. These will be cooked into the
plastic, making them impossible to remove.
Fifth, Superlinear™ polyethylene powder,
a very strong, durable and refined by-product of petroleum processing, is poured into
the mold. The colours of this powder are
selected by the marketing department.
Multi-coloured kayaks are created by swirling different colours together at this point.
Sixth, the mold is sealed tight and rolled
Steve Crowe
into a natural gas-fired oven that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and roasts at
288° C. The oven then tilts back and forth
and the mold rotates continuously, hence
the term “roto-molding”. These actions ensure that the powder, as it melts, coats the
entire surface of the mold evenly. On average, time on the spit is twenty minutes.
Seventh, upon removal, the molds are
cooled as quickly as possible with continued rotation and powerful fans.
Eighth, the boat is popped out of the mold
and placed in a fibreglass cooling rack.
Ninth, a detailer removes excess plastic
at the seams, and cuts cockpit, drain and
bolt holes.
Tenth, the cockpit is outfitted with a seat,
thigh braces, hip braces, drain plugs, handles and, depending on the model, foot
pegs.
Finally, the kayak is wrapped, shipped,
and—when Glen is having a good day—
sold.
Preparing polyethylene powder.
HISTORY
As for the history of whitewater kayak
construction, it would be speculative of me
to suggest that the whitewater industry began a shift towards plastics because more
and more people wanted to push their
friends off sketchy launch pads, but I’m
pretty sure it had something to do with
rocks. Rivers flow over rocks, kayaks flow
down rivers, and inevitably the two meet.
I’m sure they met spectacularly many times
in the fiberglass past.
Spike, who designed and built his first
boat with his dad at age thirteen, told me
the first plastic boats were made by
Hollowform. The first plastic boats of significance, however, were designed by Bill
Masters for Perception in the early 1970s.
Though rugged and able to take a beating,
the boats were not immediately popular.
Paddlers thought plastic boats inferior and
deridingly called them “tupperware.” There
were few serious paddlers at the time, and
Pouring powder into the mold.
they preferred to make their own fiberglass
boats in their garages or buy direct from
the manufacturer. With a small market and
exorbitant prices for the aluminum molds
and ovens, Perception remained the only
company manufacturing plastic tubs for a
number of years. The Dancer is a wellknown boat from the era.
About 1993, Prijon introduced the Hurricane. Although Prijon was (and is) the only
blow-molding boat manufacturer in the
industry, its design of the Hurricane was
radical and affected the whole industry. It
was short and had a flat back deck, just like
the fiberglass boats. They sold like hotcakes.
Applying the cockpit rim.
Suddenly there was a market for plastic
boats and other companies launched their
own small, low-volume boats. Quickly a
new segment of the market appeared: recreational paddlers—average Joes who just
wanted to kayak for fun. Over the next decade, the designs, the roto-molding process
and the plastics used were refined and improved until today’s tiny, rigid boats less
than six feet long.
Spike himself was involved in creating
one of the most influential boats of the mid90s. Spending time kayak-surfing on ocean
beaches, Spike (who was the junior world
champion slalom kayaker when he was 16
and winner of the Canadian national championships in 1987—although he was British, and thus not named champion),
couldn’t help but notice that the surfers
around him were going much faster than
him on the waves.
The difference, he found, was that the
surfboards had flat hulls, unlike the displacement hull on his kayak. Convinced this
characteristic would improve whitewater
kayaking as well, Spike brainstormed with
colleagues, including present western Canadian sales rep Dave Vanderveen, to come
up with the prototype for the Rip. When
Mike Neckar, the company founder and
chief designer at the time, returned from a
trip to find this boat on his factory floor, he
was so impressed that he decided to reverse
his decision to have Necky make ocean
kayaks exclusively. Soon after, they released
the Jive, which was an improvement on the
Rip, and they are making them to this day.
So where is the future of whitewater
kayak construction heading? Dave, who I
spoke with at his home near Abbotsford,
BC where Necky still maintains a composite factory, believes it is in improved
outfitting. He showed me models of Necky’s
new playboats for the 2003 season, the
Chronic and the Vibe. Lifting one, I noticed
it was very light, indicating thin plastic
walls. “Now watch this,” he said as he
turned it upside down and started jumping
on it. Evidently it still had all the strength of
heavier boats. “Look here,” he said turning
it over again and pointing inside.
I saw a narrow rail of aluminum running
the length of the boat, under the seat. This
is what Necky is calling its recoil system,
which will provide kayakers with a responsive hull so they can bounce off waves to
catch air, and less weight so they can jump
higher. Dave also pointed out other cockpit innovations, such as a molded foam seat
that can be sanded for a personal fit, which
Necky hopes will put them at the forefront
of the industry in 2003.
Spike, thinking even further ahead, thinks
that the future of kayak construction lays in
Jim Hnatiak testing a Jive’s strength
on the Bridge River.
the development of new materials. He
doesn’t know what they may be yet, but is
confident that some chemist in a basement
lab of some chemical manufacturer will
soon create a new material that will be
stonger, lighter and stiffer than polyethylene.
Given the right material, he thinks, it is
possible that people will again be making
their own whitewater boats in their garages.
Once that happens, with thousands of innovators racing ahead of the corporate design teams, where the development of kayak
construction will go is anybody’s guess. ❏
© Text and photos
by Steve Crowe,
co-author of
“Whitewater In BC's
Southwest: A Guide
to Accessible Runs
for Beginner to
Advanced Kayakers.”
North Island Kayak Rentals & Tours
Two Locations:
Telegraph Cove and the
Port Hardy Adventure Center
1-6 day Guided Trips & Rentals
Toll Free 877-949-7707
nikayak@island.net
www.KayakBC.ca
23
From the Rainforest
Clayoquot Sound—Still Not Saved
Dan Lewis
I
Jacqueline Windh photo
t’s been a bit of a freaky
completed a satellite-based
fall here in Clayoquot
survey of the planet’s reSound. Instead of the
maining closed-canopy forusual waves of storm
ests, which include oldfronts bringing copious
growth and naturally-regenamounts of rain, we’ve
erated woodlands.
had day after day of
They found that over 80
warm, sunny and calm
percent of the remaining
weather. Kind of like Auclosed forests in the world
gust, but without the afare located in just 15 counternoon westerly winds.
tries (Canada is one of the
The salmon are holding
four industrialized nations
near the mouths of the
on the list). “88 per cent of
creeks, waiting for rain to
these vital forests are
swim upstream.
sparsely populated, which
While lighting the
gives well-focussed and
woodstove the other day
well-funded conservation
(we don’t read newspaefforts a real chance of sucpers—we just burn them,
cess,” said Klaus Toepfer,
although I have been Pretty Girl Cove in Clayoquot Sound. What will be left for the future?
Executive Director of
known to take up to half
UNEP. “Knowing it is unan hour to get a fire lit), I read that the world’s glaciers will all be
likely that all forests can be protected, it would be better to focus
gone within twenty years, according to Dr. David Schindler, one of
conservation prorities on those target areas.”
Canada’s most distinguished scientists. It seems that global warmMeanwhile, in BC, International Forest Products (Interfor) is gearing is upon us.
ing up for a major assault on one of the world’s major candidate
One of the things we can do to slow global warming and mitigate
protected forests. They have just submitted a ten year plan for their
its effects is to protect the world’s remaining ancient forests. The United
tree farm license here in Clayoquot Sound. There are some serious
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) issued a report in 2001
flaws with it, including the scale of logging proposed, the highentitled “An Assessment of the Status of the World’s Remaining Closed
grading of big old cedars, and the contentious location of many of
Forests.” Working with NASA and the US Geological Survey, they
the proposed cutblocks.
24
in Sulphur Pass. This is sure to rekindle conflict.
Other contested areas on the chopping block include Kennedy
Flats, which is the area between Kennedy Lake and Pacific Rim
National Park (Long Beach). PRNP has been listed as one of Canada’s ten most endangered parks. Logging immediately outside its
boundaries is one of the primary threats. The Park supervisor concedes that the park is too narrow to sustain its own ecological integrity and is therefore dependent on the old growth outside its
boundaries.
And finally, there’s Satchie Creek, a small watershed flowing into
Hesquiat Lake, at the extreme north end of Clayoquot. This is the
only pristine valley left in Hesquiat First Nations territory. The surrounding area of Hesquiat Harbor and the Escalante River has been
stripped bare by logging companies. The area has seen millions of
dollars worth of restoration efforts, but now the money has dried
up. It would cost far less to protect this one last valley than to fix it
up after logging.
Nearly ten years after the mass arrests of the 1993 blockades, it
is time to look back and ask if the issues here have been resolved.
The fundamental environmental issue here in Clayoquot Sound—
protection of the intact ancient temperate rainforest—has never
really been addressed. The government and the logging companies seem determined to get the big trees out of here at any cost.
Their obstinance is sure to be met with resistance. Check out the
Friends of Clayoquot Sound website (www.ancientrainforest.org)
to see how you can get involved. You can check out the UNEP
report at http://www.na.unep.net/reports.php3. ❏
Photo Mark Hobson
In the old school of industrial logging, the amount of timber to
be cut is determined, then cut, and it is hoped that some forest
values and habitat will survive at the end of the day. The Clayoquot
Sound Science Panel tried to turn forestry on its head. They stated
that the forest ecosystem should first be inventoried, then a determination be made of how much wood could be removed without
damaging the ecology of the forest. Interfor is currently trying to
stockpile 800,000 cubic metres of approved cut, before any scientific plans are completed. Clearly, Interfor intends to try to maintain a regime of industrial-scale logging here in one of the world’s
most contentious forests.
Interfor is high-grading ancient cedars from Clayoquot Sound
and all of their proposed cutblocks are in the oldest age category.
This practice leaves behind an inferior forest, while giving the appearance of having retained forest values. Observations of the variable retention (the new style of clear-cutting calls for “retaining” a
variable amount of trees within the cutblock) in Interfor’s past cuts
indicates that the patches of trees “retained” are mostly unmarketable young hemlocks and dead snags, and that cedar has been
logged from within many of those retention patches.
This is the first time since the mass arrests of 1993 that a logging
company has tried to go into so many contentious areas at once.
Sulphur Passage is one of the places now on the chopping block.
This spectacular pristine area is located at the north end of Clayoquot
Sound, and is a favourite passage for kayakers and yachters heading up to Hot Springs Cove. It is the gateway to the largest intact
rainforest left on Vancouver Island—the complex of valleys including the Sydney, Pretty Girl, Megin, Watta and Moyeha. Sulphur
Pass also stands as a buffer between this large expanse of wilderness and the logged-out Atleo River and Shark Creek. In 1988,
after failed negotiations, First Nations, the fledgling tourism industry, and local environmentalists finally blockaded road-building in
Sulphur Pass. Now Interfor proposes to build 14 kilometres of road
© Dan Lewis and Bonny Glambeck run
Rainforest Kayak Adventures from Tofino, BC.
1-877-422-WILD. www.rainforestkayak.com
Come visit us
in Abbotsford and
see this lovely mural!
25
Mothership Meanderings
“Discovering” Howe Sound
Alan Wilson
In the last issue I outlined the
first part of our trip this summer: crossing Georgia Strait
to the mouth of the Fraser
River to visit the historic cannery town of Steveston. After
touring the Gulf of Georgia
Cannery National Historic
Site and paddling through a
salmon opening on the river,
we entered Vancouver’s magnificent harbour and cruised
up nearby Indian Arm. In this
issue, I outline our frustrations
with contrary winds and our
“discovery” of Howe Sound.
Laurie and I have such
goal-oriented habits that
boating holidays can easily
fall into an “agenda” if we’re
not careful. It’s easy to become preoccupied with logistics—time & distance equations, complex variables of
tide and current. That’s all
very diverting in its own right
but falls short of our real goal,
which is just to meander (“to
wander aimlessly or casually
without urgent destination”).
Sometimes that becomes a bit
daunting, like trying to clear
your mind of the hubbub of
Gambier Island—a good place to wait for winds to change.
daily activity when you want
to sleep.
So this year we planned a relaxed circle trip that would include
eluctantly leaving Indian Arm—a veritable jewel so close, yet
Howe Sound, Jervis Inlet, Jedediah and Lasqueti Islands. No great
so seemingly distant from the urban world of nearby Vancouexpedition, just a plan to anchor, kick back, swim, paddle and
ver—we timed our transit of Vancouver Harbour in order to slip
generally pursue communion with the marine environment.
under the Lions Gate Bridge and through First Narrows with the
But like a lot of boaters this August, we were faced with implacebb tide. We cruised out through English Bay, leaving the city beable opposition to northward progress. The day after we turned
hind, making our way back to Georgia Strait.
into Howe Sound for a look-see, the “good weather” northwesterlies
It was a gorgeous, calm day but knowing how the weather can
started churning Georgia Strait into a no man’s land of whitewater.
change, I suggested we carry on up the Strait toward our goal of
Each day after that, as we headed out to carry on up the Strait, we
Jedediah and Lasqueti Islands while the winds were favourable.
were brought up short by powerful winds and waves which set our
But Laurie had never spent time in Howe Sound and wanted to see
elderly boat pitching and rolling with bone-rattling thuds.
what it had to offer, so we hung a right at the Point Atkinson lightTwice we set out from Gibsons only to see a horizon of rolling
house. As we did, we saw before us the spectacular mountain vista
white seas foaming down the Strait—no place for an aging vessel
which Europeans first encountered in 1792, exactly three hundred
likes ours—forcing us to turn tail and surf back in to the relative
years after Columbus stumbled on the new world.
safety of Howe Sound. Each time we assumed the winds would
Howe Sound is shaped something like a “horn of plenty”, empblow themselves out, and we’d be on our way the following day.
tying out of the Coast Mountains into Georgia Strait, spewing isIn such weather, the long-fingered hand of Gambier Island prolands out of its mouth, the remains of long-past glacial actions.
vided shelter for numerous boaters, and its shoreline offered diThe Sound’s steep wall of ragged, “recent” mountains, shapely
verting paddling while we waited out the weather. There are few
islands and beautiful waters are remarkably close to Vancouver
anchorages other than Gambier at the mouth of the Sound so it
but, like Indian Arm, they’re also a world apart. Swept by somewas here we kept returning between attempts to head north. And it
times sudden inflow and outflow winds, with steep shores and deep
was here we watched the calendar and saw our precious holidays
waters, most of the Sound is like the other fjords that cut into the
relentlessly passing, day by day.
BC coast, relatively uninhabited. The bulk of the residential develNevertheless we enjoyed our times at Gambier: a couple of nights
opment is on the east side of the Sound. Much of the west side, as
at Port Graves, anchored off Camp Artaban at the head of the bay,
we later discovered, is the preserve of the pulp and paper industry.
R
LAUNCH A NEW CAREER!
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Previous training or experience required.
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26
Rental Fleet
SALE
Instructors:
Dan Lewis & Bonny Glambeck
Dates: May 3-11, 2003,
May 17-25, 2003
Location: Tofino, BC
and a couple of nights in Center Bay, sterntied to shore in a little nook on the west
side, sharing the space with others similarly
afflicted by the winds. We paddled, swam,
and read books. It was tough.
Planning an early morning start one
morning, we tried overnighting at Plumper
Cove, a provincial marine park at Keats Island across from Gibsons, right on the edge
of the Strait. The wind dropped in the night,
and with no wind to keep the boats headed
into the swell off the Strait, we awoke to a
sickening, snapping roll. Beating a hasty retreat to Gibsons, we spent the next night
thankfully tied up at Gibsons’ Marina. Here
we recovered from nausea and regained the
use of our land legs, trying out various restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If
we had to be shorebound, we decided we’d
enjoy it, and we did.
Gibsons is the home of Sunshine
Kayaking (info@sunshinekayaking. com,
604-886-9760), and a pretty ferry ride from
Horseshoe Bay. It’s also the gateway to the
Sunshine Coast, Sechelt Inlet, and a stepping stone to Desolation Sound. (Sechelt is
the home of Pedals and Paddles:
pedals_paddles@sunshine.net, toll free: 1866-885-6440, www.sunshine.net/paddle.)
The next day, trying the Strait again, we
found ourselves again beaten back, and
settled for a lovely day paddling at Pasley
Island near Keats. After yet another night at
Gambier, we cruised around to Bowen Island where we settled into a visitor’s slip at
the marina.
Bowen holds special meaning for me. My
grandparents, my aunt and her family all
settled here together in the 50s, so throughout my childhood, a visit to Bowen was a
family event. Bowen was magic for me—
the ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay, meeting
my grandad at the wharf for the long trudge
up the trail to their house on the bluff, and
all those woods to play in!
The relatives are gone now, but I enjoyed
leading Laurie up the steep trail from Snug
Cove toward Dorman Bluff and Robinson
Road. There, my aunt and uncle (who immigrated from Ireland) used to run Robinson
Weavers, making beautiful Irish-style woven crafts for the tourist trade in the old days
when cruise ships used to regularly bring
visitors from Vancouver.
I was delighted to discover that the old
trail is now part of a park, the cottages at
Snug Cove are being restored, and the general store has been preserved as a library.
We also admired the farsightedness of
Bowen Islanders who have managed to secure 650 acres of the island as parkland.
Moreover, a third of the island is still undeveloped “crown land” and Bowen has an
excellent trail system (but no camping so
you’re limited to B&Bs on the island).
Woodfibre mill
Howe Sound
Pulp & Paper mill
© This map is from “Kayak Routes of the Pacific
Northwest Coast,” by Peter McGee, one of the
best guidebooks to the coast, written on behalf
of the BC Marine Trail Association, published
by Greystone Books. ISBN: 1-55054-615-5.
Used with permission of the BCMTA.
We enjoyed a lovely forest tail walk to
Killarney Lake, through soaring maples and
cedars, along shady, fern fringed pathways
to a lake festooned with lily pads and garrulous ducks.
The weather was baking hot while we
were at Bowen, so we had cooling ice
cream cones at the ferry dock, watching
novice paddlers stream in and out of Bowen
Island Sea Kayaking’s dockside concession.
Visitors from around the world laughed and
chatted in a multitude of tongues as they
returned from paddling. (BISK can be
reached at 604-947-9266, www.Bowen
IslandKayaking. com.)
We also enjoyed paddling out of Snug
Cove, around the foot of Dorman Bluff and
south to September Morn, the swimming
beach of my childhood.
Next morning, listening to the staticky
weather report on our VHF, we were disappointed to hear there was no end in sight
to the winds, so we said to hell with it and
gave up on our plan to go up the Strait.
Although it can be so benign at times—
like a giant’s bathub on a glassy calm day—
Georgia Strait was no place for our elderly
boat in this weather. So we turned towards
Squamish, some 25 miles away at the head
of Howe Sound, and chugged off up the west
side, determined to make the best of it.
Much like the experience in Indian Arm,
we quickly left waterfront homes and cottages behind as the shoreline steepened. We
putted up Thornbrough Channel, marvelling at our surroundings, noting the start of
a glacial green tint to the water from the
ice-melt of distant mountains. With no ferry
or boat traffic it was like being up in one of
the northern inlets we have enjoyed so
much in past summers.
And then we saw a pall of smoke in the
distance. Gradually as we approached, the
scene resolved into a giant industrial complex on the shore where two valleys converged. Giant barges lay at the docks, log
booms clustered nearby, the smoke stacks
fumed. This was the Howe Sound Pulp and
Paper mill, the most modernized mill on
the coast.
A closer look at the surrounding mountains showed the results of massive
clearcuts, the slopes shorn and replanted ➝
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27
Mount Garibaldi dominates the Sound.
with various monocultural age classes. Here was the great BC tradeoff: rainforest sacrificed for jobs—the great pulp and paper plunder.
As we slipped by, we took pictures for future slideshows and discussed the state of pulp and paper regulations, especially the Liberal
government’s rollback of the Zero AOX legislation (see next page).
As the mill disappeared behind us, we cruised on past hills and
valleys cropped and chopped, past glacially scoured and loggingscarred valleys. We were impressed, however, with the startling, precipitous rise of Anvil Island, like a forested blade against the sky.
Editor’s note: the BC Ministry of Forests is considering lowering
the visual quality objectives of both Gambier and Anvil Islands
which would hurt the scenic values of Howe Sound. The Gambier
Island Conservancy needs our help. Contact them at 604-886-8901.
Then, turning the corner... wham! Mount Garibaldi. Stark, huge,
barren against the windswept brilliant blue sky—simply mammoth.
Once a fire-spitting volcano, Garibaldi is now a landmark to Whistler’s international ski mecca.
As we made our way towards this dominant landform, we passed
a second pulp mill, Woodfibre, belching against an otherwise gorgeous backdrop of distant peaks.
Approaching the head of the Sound, we concentrated on our
chart and guidebooks, reading that the entrance to Squamish is
tricky and shallow. Few boaters seem to make their way to this
industrial town with its log booms and chip piles, barges, warehouses and tugs. Yet Squamish has a exquisite setting, blessed by a
triumvirate of hulking monoliths—Garibaldi, the Mamquam Glacier, and the bluff sheer granite face beloved by rock climbers,
Stawamish Chief.
Squamish bills itself as “the outdoor recreation capital of Canada”,
Go Undercover
Protect your investment!
and they may not be far off given all the climbing, skiing, hiking,
and highly competitive windsurfing on the Squamish winds which
whistle down the valley from the icy heights above.
We wended our way carefully through the shallows of Mamquam
Blind Channel and landed at the small, crowded public dock with
the help of the friendly captain of the Ocean Light, a graceful sailing ship sporting kayaks on deck.
Captain Eric Boyum was provisioning for six weeks of charter
trips up the coast but took a break to help us tie up alongside his
67' vessel. We learned he guides trips to view the white “spirit
bears”, whales, porpoises, and wolves in the Great Bear Rainforest
and Southeast Alaska. (Ph: 604-898-5996 or cell 604-815-8382,
info@theoceanlight.com, www.theoceanlight.com.)
We were also delighted to find that the public dock was only a
short walk from an excellent restaurant, the Howe Sound Inn and
Brewing Company, which served us a superb dinner! It’s also near
a series of nature trails in the Squamish River estuary, and the estuary is renowned for the huge congregation of eagles which gather
there to feast on spawning salmon each fall. Although our timing
was such we didn’t manage to get paddling, there is a lot of paddling potential here. Squamish is home to Paula and Don Jameison’s
Sea to Sky Kayaking School (see our Apr/May 2002 issue) and they
can direct you to challenging whitewater opportunities in the nearby
tumbling rivers. (s2skayaking@direct.ca, www.squamish kayak.com,
604-898-5498).
The following day we left Squamish and cruised down the east
side of Howe Sound, past Britannia Beach, Porteau Cove, and Lions Bay, staring upward at the soaring peaks, and steep channels
down which rainy-season torrents cascade into the Sound. I was
reminded of my hiking days long ago when I stood high atop the
This was the only boat we saw en route to Squamish. Note
Stawamish Chief with Mamquam Glacier behind.
Middletons’ Specialty Boats
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Ph: 604 240-0503
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28
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GEAR: Aquabound & Harmony paddles. Salus & Serratus PFDs.
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Lions and looked down over all this from
the dizzying heights.
After one last night at Bowen Island, we
finally caught a “weather window”—ironically what we’d been waiting for all along,
but which had eluded us in the time we
had available—and crossed back across the
Strait to our Gulf Island home waters.
It wasn’t the holiday we’d intended, but
we found that our “discoveries” had thoroughly dissolved any disappointment, leaving us refreshed and renewed. In retrospect,
Howe Sound’s Pulp Mills
H
owe Sound has long been a spectacular recreational area but it’s also a
“working waterway”, with industries such
as pulp mills being a large part of the local
landscape.
There are two pulp and paper mills on
Howe Sound. Howe Sound Pulp & Paper
at Port Mellon, located at the mouth of the
The Howe Sound Pulp & Paper mill.
Rainy River on the west side of Howe
Sound, and the Woodfibre Mill, located on
the west side of the Sound opposite Britannia Beach.
Though these mills have long been a driving force behind the creation of towns and
livelihoods, their impact on the surrounding environment hasn’t been as favourable.
Pulp mills make kraft pulp through a chemical process that results in the discharge of
toxin-laced waste water. These toxins include resin acids, chlorinated phenols, ab-
sorbable organic halides (AOX) as well as
organic waste. These contaminants impact
the surrounding environment in many ways
including their bioaccumulation in animals.
Species near the top of the food chain, like
sea lions, have high levels of toxic chemicals in their bodies, the same chemicals
released by pulp mills.
However, the creation of improved pulp
pollution technology has resulted in a decrease in the industry’s impact on the environment. These technologies have helped
to eliminate 90% of the dioxins in effluent
since the 1980s. Creativity on the part of
mill owners has also gone a long way towards designing a more environmentally
friendly pulp process. In fact, pulp mills in
Europe are starting to move towards practices that will create totally chlorine free,
zero discharging mills.
Replacing chlorine with oxygen-based
bleaching means the elimination of AOX
discharges and their persistent chlorinate
organic wastes. Regrettably, a recent decision by BC’s provincial government to revoke the regulations requiring mills to move
to zero AOX was a huge step backwards in
BC and will prevent us from reaching the
high standards of European mills. The reality is that for all the advancements the in-
it had truly been much more “mothership
meandering” than any of our former trips. ❏
© Text by Alan Wilson.
© All photos by Laurie MacBride.
Christianne Wilhelmson
The Woodfibre mill.
dustry has made, pulp mill effluent, airborne emissions and solid wastes still contain many toxic chemicals, and only goals
such as the zero AOX discharge regulation
will help to solve the problem.
Hopefully, public pressure, new vision
and leadership will ensure Howe Sound remains a beautiful recreational and working water for generations to come. ❏
© Christianne Wilhelmson, the Georgia Strait
Alliance’s Clean Air and Water Program
Coordinator, welcomes inquiries: Ph: 604633-0530 christianne@georgiastrait.org.
© Photos by Laurie MacBride.
Editor’s note: In Germany 72% of all paper comes
from paper recycling mills. If the entire world were
to achieve this rate, wood needed for pulp production would drop by nearly one third.
VIKING
ADVENTURE TOURS
• Kayaking • Sightseeing
• Diving • Fishing
Explore the Beautiful
British Columbia Coast
54' Mothership MV VIKING 1
Skipper: Ken Lund
Call (250) 755-9175
info@vikingadventuretours.com
www.vikingadventuretours.com
29
From the Archipelago
The Salmon Forest
Alexandra Morton
T
he summer was a blissful series of clear,
of all species are coming back in greater
calm days with lots of whales. Little
abundance. This year’s Fraser River sockeye
Springer seemed to enjoy this summer too.
were not only abundant beyond expectaWith extraordinary resilience, this little
tions, they were a pound and half heavier
whale has moved among her closest female
on average.
relatives to make a place for herself. SomeA few weeks after the failed gillnet opentimes she’s seen with her Granny, sometimes
ing, tour operators who take people into wawith her Great Aunt’s youngest daughter. At
tersheds to watch grizzly bears began askthe time of writing she has returned to the
ing, “Where are all the pink salmon?” Young
young female, A51, who was orphaned hercubs were being eaten by starving adults.
self years before and who has been teachTour guests burst into tears watching paning young Springer to stay away from boats.
icked bears searching the river for the caloThe winter will test these new-forged bonds Alex’s daughter Clio drawn to a wild
ries they required to survive winter. The usual
and spring will be when we learn how this
300 eagles never gathered and the few that
salmon caught in the waters of the
story ends.
live in the valleys of Knight Inlet ate seagulls,
But whales are not the only creature I Broughton Archipelago.
a poor substitute for the rich, vitamin entrack. I also seek escaped farmed salmon.
dowed flesh of a salmon.
When I pulled up to the crisp little gillnet boat, Rick and Lynn
“The pinks have crashed” was the phrase of wonder this fall in
smiled and waved. “No, we didn’t catch any Atlantic salmon last
languages as diverse as a bear’s growl and an eagle’s screech. It
night. Actually we didn’t catch much of anything!”
reverberated through homes, canyons and across open water, right
They helped me tie alongside and offered a steaming cup of cofup to the doors of the the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
fee. Little Claire was professionally feeding her younger brother at
And there it was silenced. “There were no lice, the pinks are fine...
the galley table as I watched the crew pull in the last set of this
they’re just late. We expected a crash.”
fishing opening. I love the squeak of the gill net corks as they wind
A dysfunctional agency, spinning falsehoods that made me anonto the drum and the smell of the net. They remind me of my
gry as the pink salmon elsewhere on the coast came home in glopeaceful days fishing with Billy Proctor and my little boy.
rious abundance.
But these were different times: my son is a man now and this net
It’s time to clean that house out, time to examine priorities and
came aboard empty. No longer wondering about how many esprotect one of the last great wild food resources our planet has
caped farm salmon had been caught, I turned to Lynn. “Where are
bestowed on us.
all the five million pinks that are supposed to be here?”
What is a pink salmon anyway? Why all the fuss? They’re just a
Lynn shrugged. “What about those lice you studied last year
runt of a salmon, no trophies among them. They fill those tiny cans
around the fish farms? Could they have anything to do with this?”
on the market shelf. Tuna probably taste better anyway, and who
When the fishery closed they had twelve pink salmon. They
cares if those little cans disappear—life would go on without a
should have had 1,000.
ripple, wouldn’t it?
This wasn’t the first time I had looked at this run of fish. These
To answer that, let’s take a journey back to the beginning. This
were the adults returning from the sea lice infestation I had studied
tiny bit of life, curled into the shape of a comma, struggles against
on the juveniles last year. While my data had clearly suggested
the rose tinted membrane that entraps it. Finally free, the delicate
78% of these fish would die before coming back to spawn, I had
spinal cord straightens for the first time and begins the gentle sashay
thought nature might work a miracle here and make up the differthat makes this a salmon. As the yolk sac forming a pregnant-curve
ence with the extraordinary ocean survival rates wild Pacific salmon
in the tiny fish’s belly draws up, the little fish becomes restless.
are now enjoying.
Lying in the gravel is no longer enough, she wants to move, craving
The Pacific Ocean oscillates between regimes which favour and
the taste of something she has never known—salt.
tax salmon, and the last few years have benefited salmon. Salmon
In a flood of life she and her cohorts emerge under cover of night
and pour down river. Birthing into a cool April sea, the river pushes
this tender life out beyond the delta. “Swim and bring home riches
LPW KAYAK POWER SYSTEMS
from the sea so that I may bear again,” is the river’s last message as
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she embeds her scent to guide the fish home. These babies need
salt now, but in a little over a year, the river will be the only thing
on these fishes’ minds.
The kingfisher blinks in pleased surprise. As if suicidal, the blue
and white-flecked bird leaps off her perch and falls headlong into
the sea. Gone for an instant, she flutters back to her perch and
deftly whacks the silver fish twice, then closes her eyes as the fish
slips down her throat and trips an inner clock: time to make eggs
and continue this kingfisher line.
By the first of May, dark ribbons of five centimeter-long fish snake
for kilometres along steep rock shores and swirl above white shell
sea floors in shallow coves. Young coho, fat and sassy after a year
in the stream, position themselves below the pinks. Brilliant, predatory flashes remove all who are slow, damaged or inferior, until
2000 E. Clearview Dr. Carson City, NV 89701 Fax: 775-882-2760
30
only the robust and finest fan out from the
archipelago waters. Now the internal instructions shift: it is time to leave the shore
and sunlight and dive out of sight. The
sweep of the growing spotted tails continue
to push the unseen masses west. For the next
fifteen months, the river feeds the ocean. Everywhere that the pink salmon school, life is
assured, new generations begin, and always,
the pinks are continuously honed to perfection by their predators.
Feeding low on the food chain, on plankton blooming under an open ocean sun,
these fish avoid the insidious toxins we have
unwisely loosed into the atmosphere.
Higher up the food-chain, fat molecules
bind tight to these toxins and carry them
home to all of us carnivores. But the pink
salmon doesn’t seek the accumulated fat in
higher trophic layers; she feeds as directly
upon the sunlight as animal life can, and she
stores this in her rapidly growing body until
the river whispers, “Come home to me.”
Some forms of life were simply designed
to feed the masses, and pink salmon are
one of these. Returning home, they grow
the sea lion pups, nourish the mighty orca,
offer a package of protein just the perfect
size to be carried into an eagle’s nest, and
feed communities of humans. If they all
made it back into the river, they would not
fit, but if none came home at all, this passage of life would become a sweep of death.
Leaping in wriggling abandon, as if swimming up into the clouds, the early summer
sign of pinks upon the coastal waters have
brought a sense of peace to First Nation
elders for many thousands of years. Winter
survival has been assured. Sweeping her
massive head, the mother grizzly can smell
their arrival on the wind, and know that the
cub inside her and the ones wrestling with
her now would live to grow. The mink, the
wolf, raccoon, raven, even the mountain
goat and cedar tree would benefit from the
nitrogen, phosphorous, fat, protein and
minerals surging up-river, timidly at first and
then with a rush so great that the level of
Eagles, salmon, bears, the forest... it
all ties together.
the river itself is raised. As males and females find their perfect match, rosy eggs
spill down into the gravel. The water ouzel,
a bird that runs along the river bottom,
chases these pearls of protein to refuel her
motherhood-depleted body.
Bears drag fish beneath the trees of the
salmon forest, feeding these giant plants that
shade this river nursery and protect its banks
so it’s capable of making fish. The growth
rings inside the trees stretch wide in response to the tons of fish fertilizer rotting
into the forest floor. Insects lay eggs on decomposing ocean protein so that, come
spring, there will be invertebrates to nourish young coho, Chinook, steelhead, trout
and sockeye which—unlike the pinks—
must stay and feed in the river.
Without the pinks there can be no bugs,
so none of the larger salmon can survive.
An eagle takes a bellyful of pink salmon
into the alpine and leaves some behind to
grow a clump of grass impregnated with
nitrogen from the pacific gyre. And then a
hush drifts down the watershed. The eggs
are washed clean by oxygen-rich water in
gravel beneath ice. Snow blankets the forest floor. And it all begins again.
To break this chain of life, to allow wondrous ancient DNA to unravel, to sentence
death upon innocent life as diverse as snowflakes in a blizzard, should be a crime that
all humanity guards against. Inside that tin
beside the tuna is a blueprint for the perpetuity of life—our life, our world, our children’s life.
This past year I have witnessed a line
crossed, a line between abundance and
death. I refuse to witness this any further.
Only 1% of the pink salmon of my home
waters came back this fall. When their progeny go to sea, we must ensure that there
are no corporate farm fish along their route
to kill these babies again. The evidence is
clear to all that allow themselves to see.
Enough is enough. ❏
© Text and photos by Alexandra
Morton (R.P.Bio) is a marine
mammal scientist and writer in
British Columbia’s Broughton
Archipelago.Visit her website at
www.raincoastresearch.org.
If you’re looking for a great present for a
loved one (or yourself!) this year, we
highly recommend Listening to Whales,
Alexandra Morton’s
inspiring life story
which chronicles the
evolution of research on
killer whales, and her
own developmnent as a
scientist. Ballantine,
2002. ISBN 0-34543794-2.
31
Paddle Meals
Rave Reviews
T
ake two cyclists, stick them in kayaks
and add water. It’s a recipe for success
when they’re fun-loving adventurers like Jim
and Marianne.
Their first kayak camping trip was along
BC’s marine trail from Cedar by the Sea to
Sidney. Marianne raves about “the utter
closeness of nature and that feeling of
peacefulness with the rhythm of paddling—
like the perfect ‘spin’. You are really in tune
with nature and your body.” She reckons
cycling and kayaking are a nice blend of
activities. Jim still races in the Master’s series and does time trials. Although Marianne
has abandoned racing, she thinks nothing
of pedalling a century (100 miles) in a day.
Marianne and Jim received rave reviews
for their Greek dinner on Valdes Island. In
fact, their paddling buddy, Lauren, requested falafels for her 14th birthday dinner on Discovery Island two months later.
The bikers are also bakers who treated
us to “Rainforest Cookies” (WaveLength
June/July 2002). Jim has since perfected
Rebar (Victoria restaurant)’s Chocolate Chip
Cookies—“the best ever made in the universe.”
GREAT GREEK
For appetizers—serve dolmathes (rice
stuffed grape leaves). Look for cans in Mediterranean deli sections.
For the main course—plan for 1-2 very
thick pita bread per person. Especially de-
Jim Holtz and Marianne McGrath with Deb Leach
licious is the flax seed pita from the Banana Belt grocery in Oak Bay. Split and
warm the pita over a grill or lightly oiled in
a fry pan. Fill with your favourite combination:
Bulgur Pilaf (see recipe below)
Falafel–crumbled after cooking in olive
oil (buy 2 packages of falafel mix or
454 g from bulk bins for 8 paddlers)
Tomatoes–chopped (1 medium per
paddler)
Peppers–sliced thinly (2 for 8 paddlers)
Onions–sliced thinly (1 medium for 8
paddlers)
Cucumber slices (1 English cuke for 8
paddlers)
Greek olives–pitted
Tzatziki–in the dairy case (450 mL for 6-8)
For dessert–halva, Turkish Delight, fresh
figs and dates.
BULGUR PILAF
(Serves 8)
olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cups bulgur
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup apricots
2 cups boiling stock (use 2 vegetable cubes)
salt and pepper.
REBAR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Makes 28
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped finely
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup roasted and chopped walnuts
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or
line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, blending each one
well. Blend in the vanilla. In a large bowl
mix together the apricots, flour and baking
powder. Add the wet mix, then stir in walnuts and chocolate chips. Drop heaping
tablespoonfuls of batter on the cookie sheet,
leaving room to spread during baking. Bake
for 9 minutes, rotating the tray half way
through baking. Cook on a wire rack and
hide them well. ❏
© Deborah Leach is
Director of Health
Promotion at the Canadian
Forces Base in Esquimalt.
Cook onions in oil till softened. Stir in
bulgur and cook for 1 minute. Add everything else. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
PAGE’S RESORT MARINA
Silva Bay—Gabriola Island, BC
Cottages, Campground, Fuel, Moorage,
Laundromat, Showers, Diveshop,
Artwork, Charts, Books and
PRIME PADDLING!
Flat Top Islands and
Drumbeg Provincial Park.
Call 250-247-8931
mail@pagesresort.com
www.pagesresort.com
32
Web Paddling
Wood on the Web
Y
ou’ve made the decision! You love wood so you’re going for a
wooden kayak. I, too, love wood. Before my latest incarnation
as a webmaster, I used to work with wood full time.
It started because I wanted a home on a beautiful piece of
Gabriola Island property. Not knowing one end of a hammer from
another, I decided the most prudent course of action was to purchase a home kit, just like you may be planning to buy a kayak kit.
This led to fifteen years of wood working—ten years in a commercial
wood shop and the balance building homes for friends and family.
Applying my home building analogy to your dilemma, the question is, do you buy a premade kayak, a kayak kit, or a set of plans?
For the least handy and adventuresome, buying a finished wooden
kayak may be the answer. But for those who are willing to test
themselves—just as you have already tested yourself by getting into
kayaking in the first place—there is nothing like the sense of accomplishment that comes from something made with your own
hands. Even the imperfections in my first home could not dull that
satisfied feeling I got from living there. As with love, there’s nothing quite like that first one.
So if you’re at all inclined towards building your own kayak, I
would certainly recommend the adventure. If you’re a beginner like
I was, a kit is probably the preferred choice, but if you already have
some building skills, you may choose to go the “Full Monty” and
buy a set of kayak plans. The decision is a personal one which
depends upon time, circumstances, knowledge and money.
I can’t help you with the money part, and I don’t know your
circumstances, but I can certainly help you somewhat with your
time and knowledge. WaveLength’s updated “Wooden Kayak” directory in this issue (and on the web at www.wavelength
magazine.com/2003/dj03dir.php) is a great place to start. Listed
are the major wooden kayak kit and plan suppliers. Many of the
sites offer a wealth of information. On my recommended list are:
• Chesapeake Light Craft’s (www.clcboats.com) “Shop Tips” include about 50 articles on construction, epoxy, fiberglass, fitting
out and finishing.
• Pygmy Boats’ (www.pygmyboats.com) “Kit Construction Process” is a photo and text essay on the 70 hour construction of one of
their kayak kits.
• Waters Dancing’s (www.watersdancing.com) “Frequently Asked
Questions” is also very informative reading, although relating mostly
to their kits.
You may also wish to read about other people’s experiences and
there are several great personal websites dedicated to Wooden
Kayak Construction. Here are my favourites:
Ted Leather
• Ken’s Kayak Pages: www.dbeweb.com/kayak/index.html. A very
detailed site with lots of text and high quality images on kayak
construction and even articles on creating wooden paddles. Congratulations, Ken, on a very comprehensive site.
• Bill Walker: www.alaska.net/~bwalker/kayak/ch17/. A photo
essay of building a stitch and glue kayak from plans for a Chesapeake
17 kayak.
• Ross Leidy: www.blueheronkayaks.com/. Ross has built many
wooden kayaks and his site goes into quite a bit of detail on several
models, with lots of quality images and text descriptions.
• John Coppens: http://jcoppens.com/kayak/index_e.html. John
is an electronics engineer and this site details his experience of
building his first wooden kayak with little prior knowledge.
• Lorreta and Chip: www.nwlink.com/~chips/index.html. Their
site has photo essays on both a stitch and glue as well as cedar
strip kayak construction.
• Harvey Golden: http://home.pacifier.com/. Harvey’s site is
about skin kayak construction, but it’s great so I thought I would
offer it as an alternative to building an all-wood kayak.
And of course I have to mention that in 2001, WaveLength had
back-to-back issues (Dec/Jan and Feb/Mar) on Wooden Kayaks and
all of the articles from those issues are available online by going to
www.wavelengthmagazine.com/magazine01.php.
I hope this wealth of information aids you along your path of
discovery. Happy building! ❏
© Ted Leather is WaveLength’s Webmaster and
operates an internet services company specializing in
website design and management (ted@clayrose.com).
www.klepper.com
amscgyca@telus.net
Average time of assembly
33
From the Rainforest
Feathery Paddlers
T
he time has come for this column to
take a look at birds. To watch them. To
be a birdwatcher. We’ve looked at everything from worms, to stars, to history, but
somehow avoided what is perhaps the most
popular form of life. Feathered lizards or
not, people love birds, and it’s time to give
the people what they want.
WHAT’S A BIRD?
Birds are poems, pets, joyous singers and
good luck omens. Birds are tricksters, predators, screeching scavengers and harbingers
of doom. They can be wise, melodious,
talkative, tasty and splendidly colorful. To
most of us, birds are the most familiar form
of life on the planet—even more familiar
than our own class, Mammalia.
So what are they? Taxonomically, birds
are vertebrates and all belong to Class Aves.
They are perhaps the easiest animals to
identify as a group because birds have feathers. All of them. And nothing else does.
Beyond that, though, birds evolved to fly
and flying severely restricts what form your
body can take. Though there are far more
species of birds than reptiles or mammals,
there isn’t the same wacky variety. After all,
a mammal could be a shrew, a blue whale,
a bat or even you—but a bird is, well—a
bird.
Of course birds don’t all look like warblers, and not all of them fly anymore. Unfortunately, some of the most impressive
ones are extinct—huge, fast and terrifying
birds like the giant moas of New Zealand
evolved in various places, but were either
unlucky or couldn’t compete with placental mammals. Ah well, there are still many
orders and families and genera left, from
hummingbirds to ostriches. We can’t cover
them all in one checklist, but we’ll look first
at the ones that are perhaps dearest to a
paddler’s heart, and nearest to our boats—
Victoria: 250 383-2100
Nanaimo: 250 729-9500
Kelowna: 250 762-2110
TOLL FREE 1-800-667-1032
34
the waterfowl. These birds have long been
favorites—their beauty has inspired art for
millennia, from cave paintings to wooden
decoys. And their taste has inspired great
chefs for at least as long.
Yes, waterfowl are also dearest to a
hunter’s heart, and the Pacific Northwest
has a long history and prehistory of hunting them from small boats. Many of the species on this checklist were taken by ancient
paddlers, with nets strung across bays or
with clubs and bows, long before wetlands
became endangered and Ducks became
Unlimited. Whether you appreciate geese
and ducks with your eyes, your stomach,
or both, you have to appreciate paddling
with them. These big, floating birds share
the surface with us, moving as we do at the
edge of two worlds. We can only envy their
ability to move into those worlds, some diving to remarkable depths, and all lifting off
into the sky.
SOME ORDER
Waterfowl is a vague term usually taken
to mean “game” birds that live on the water. “Game” is a vague term usually taken
to mean “animals we like to shoot and eat,
or shoot and stuff.” Of course, not all of us
are interested in shooting, stuffing, or even
eating game birds (a little too gamey tasting for me, thanks), but it does behoove us
to have a better idea what they are. This
checklist includes three Orders of birds.
Gaviiformes (loons) are big, heavy birds
with powerful legs that allow them to hunt
fish at considerable depths.
Podicipediforms (grebes) are smaller but
also good divers and fish eaters. The name
means rump foot, an apt name for their
webbed legs placed way back on their body.
Anseriformes (ducks, geese & swans) are
the familiar birds of park and pond, much
loved by those with bread or shotguns. Families within this order include tree ducks, surface feeding ducks and diving ducks.
As sea kayakers, I don’t expect many of
you will be either feeding or shooting waterfowl, at least not while sea kayaking.
Photography is surprisingly difficult as
well—you pretty much need a big, expensive telephoto lens and fast film, as most of
these species are shy (remember all that
hunting). But with this checklist, a field
guide, and a pair of decent binoculars you
can certainly search out these birds as they
cruise nearby, using their feet as their paddles. Winter is by far the best time to see
most of them on the ocean as many abandon icy lakes for the coast. ❏
Bryan Nichols
© Biologist Bryan Nichols
is a reluctant birder,
perhaps because birds are
so popular now and he’s
the rebellious type. He
does admit, though, that
mergansers are very
cool—and what paddler
can resist buffleheads?
REVIEW
Waterfowl: An Identification Guide to
the Ducks, Geese and Swans of the
World
Steve Madge, Hilary Burn (Illustrator),
Roger Tory Peterson
Houghton Mifflin, 1992 (Paperback
reprint of 1988 book)
298p, $32.50 usd
ISBN: 0395467268
N
early everybody has a bird
guide of some sort—
Audubon, Peterson,
Golden & Sibley are
all popular. But if
you’re really interested in birds that
float, then you
should consider this
book, a true, detailed
field guide to all 154
species of ducks, geese and swans of the
world. Author Steve Madge is an English
birdwatcher, writer and guide who travelled
the world tracking down waterfowl. Fellow
Brit Hilary Burn is a zoologist turned highly
respected artist who does scenic paintings
as well as illustrating numerous guides.
The paperback version is a solid but
packable 23 x 15cm. At the beginning is a
section on how to use the book as well as
tips on field observation. The color plates
sit across from global range maps in the first
section of the book. The text makes up the
second half. Each bird’s text includes information on names, identification, voice, a
description, measurements, variation, habits, habitat, distribution, population estimates (now dated) and references.
This is a field guide, pure and simple.
The wealth of information inside all relates
to field identification. If you’re interested
in waterfowl anywhere in the world, you’ll
appreciate this book, even from an armchair. However, it will really be helpful in
your pack, your car or your boat. ❏
Checklist # 29—Waterfowl
COMMON LOON Gavia immer
What could be more northern, more Canadian, than a loon? Beaver fans notwithstanding, the large, low profile of a loon on the large, low in water,
water, accompanied by that haunting cry— muted winter grays
hat’s the essence of northern wilderness for many. Loons have
heavy bones and powerful feet that allow them to dive extremely
well—they’ve been reported close to 200 meters down. The compromise is the obvious difficulty they have lifting off the water
for flight. Pacific, yellow-billed and red-throated loons are also
occasionally seen wintering in coastal waters.
OLDSQUAW Clangula hyemalis
A fascinating arctic duck that visits us for the
winter. It looks interesting—males are adorned
with white heads and two very long tail feath- lots of white,
ers. It sounds interesting—a repertoire includ- long tail feathers
ing a distinct three note cry (a-ha-na) that
earned them numerous common (old wife, granny hound) and
scientific names (Latin for “noisy winter duck”). And it has interesting skills, not least of which is the ability to dive sixty meters
deep for invertebrate food—well past safe scuba depth.
WESTERN GREBE Aechmophorus occidentalis
Western grebes are very cool looking birds.
Sometimes described as swanlike, their slender necks might look stately to us, but a fish
would see blazing red eyes and a wickedly
pointed bill on the end of that cobra like neck. tall, graceful white
Many of them winter near Vancouver so nick, dark back
kayakers often see them.
BUFFLEHEAD Bucephala albeola
If you’re fond of cute wildlife, you’ll appreciate the bufflehead. Named for its big, (not quite)
buffalo-sized head, is has striking white and compact, lots of white
black markings that bring to mind a little on sides & head
sailboat. Though it’s good at fishing, unlike
heavier ducks it can take off with an instant burst of power. It
tends to be less social than its relatives, floating about alone or
in very small groups.
HORNED GREBE Podiceps auritus
These tiny looking grebes are common in the
winter, usually alone or in pairs. They sit low in
the water, abruptly disappearing with a nifty up- small with dark bill,
ward lunge and forward dive. Occasionally one pattern of grays
will surface close to your boat and immediately duck under again.
CANADA GOOSE Branta canadensis
Nothing illustrates the saying “familiarity
breeds contempt” for me better than Canada
geese. Some books wax poetic about them,
and they should be impressive—they’re big
and intelligent for a bird. But thanks to all big, bold, distinct
the “lawn” habitat we’ve created it can seem
like they’re everywhere and unless you’re the sort who likes to
throw Wonderbread into ponds, they can come across as irritable,
filthy and annoying. All is not lost though, as the sight and sound
of the wilder ones migrating in those impressive V formations is
still inspiring.
SURF SCOTER Melanitta perspicillata
Ruggedly ugly, hefty dark ducks with thick
beaks, scoters are surprisingly adept at divheavy beak, white
ing and prying shellfish off the bottom and patches on head,
have been the subject of considerable inter- squeaky flight
est by government and industry researchers
lately. Paddlers near shellfish leases might see large, low nets
over the bottom meant to keep them out. Large groups of scoters
can be seen all along the coast in winter—listen for their squeaky
wings when they take off. A field guide will also show you the
considerably less abundant white winged and black scoters.
HARLEQUIN DUCK
Histrionicus histrionicus
It’s hard to imagine these ducks are considered threatened when you paddle around the blue gray, smallish,
Gulf Islands. They visit rapidly moving streams rusty sides, numerous
in the summer to breed, though the splendid white patches
looking males leave town shortly after eggs are laid, heading back
to rocky intertidal habitats on the coast. There they hang out in
groups, molting into more drab feathers for the winter.
COMMON GOLDENEYE Bucephala clangula
As you can see by the genus, goldeneyes and
buffleheads are closely related. Common
goldeneyes are widely distributed—Barrow’s
(B. islandica) are usually found near Vancouround spot under
ver. When out paddling in winter, look for big eye, big head,
headed birds in large “rafts.” Like scoters, the squeaky wings
goldeneyes squeak rhythmically when then fly.
WOOD DUCK Aix sponsa
This is the lone “surface feeding” duck on
my list—the family is familiar in ponds of
course. Our ancestors found wood ducks so spectacular patterns
outrageously beautiful they nearly wiped of browns, greens,
whites
them out—which would be more ironic if it
didn’t happen so often. It’s not just a wooden decoy anymore
though—wary populations are increasing so keep your binoculars peeled.
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER Mergus serrator
Beautiful and deadly looking, mergansers are
sleek birds with wicked looking bills, serrated
for holding slippery fish. They are excellent
swimmers and even hunt in feathery gangs (or punk head, wicked
beak, white collar
whatever a group of cooperatively hunting
birds is called). Kayakers see them on rivers as
well as in tide rips—watch them fly as well, for they are the
world’s fastest bird in level flight and have been clocked at over
160 km/hr.
HOODED MERGANSER Lophodytes cucullatus
The males of these cool looking little mergansers have barred sides and an odd, feathery
white crest they can raise into an impressive
round shape. Watch closely as they take off expandable white
and land, as the crest will go up and down, crest, darker sides
changing the apparent size of their head dramatically.
© 2002. Text and graphics: Bryan Nichols.
No reproduction without permission.
35
News
THE NUMBERS ARE IN
The figures from this year’s West Coast
Sea Kayak Symposium in Port Townsend,
Washington indicate the show was a big
success. There were 80 classroom lectures
and 53 scheduled on-water classes and
demonstrations. 44 manufacturers lined up
along the sandy beach on Puget Sound for
attendees to try out a smorgasbord of kayaks, canoes and accessories. 59 exhibitors
were on hand to show and sell products.
1557 registrants tried the latest boats and
gear, surrounded by an estimated 17,000
curious onlookers throughout the sunny
weekend. The event was organized by the
WCSKS Committee with nearly 100 volunteers. The silent auction raised over $2200
for Washington Water Trails Association.
Next year’s event, the 20th annual, is already
in the planning stages for September 19-21,
2003. Contact Chris Mitchell, Trade Association of Paddlesports, 800-755-5228 or 360855-9434. Email: Chris@gopaddle.org. Web:
www.wcsks.org.
BIG SURF AT LONG BEACH
Congratulations to the Vancouver Island
White Water Paddling Society for staging
the successful first annual “Canada West
Kayak Surf Festival” at Long Beach, Pacific
Rim National Park this fall.
Paddlers from Ecuador, USA, BC, and
Alberta converged at Long Beach to show
their stuff and learn moves from some of
the top paddlers in the world. Although
originally defined as a surf event, spectators were fortunate to witness the multitude
of white water paddlers combine spectacu-
lar moves with the ocean surf. New white
water moves such as the “Helix” were performed to the delight of the spectators by
top paddlers James Mole, Ryan Whetung,
Rob Cartwright, Kevin England, Kani
Roland and Diane Bacon (3rd on the women’s list West Coast Surf, USA). Paddling
composite crafts allowed spectators and
paddlers alike to experience the real surf
scene.
Special thanks go to Sean Plecas for his
time and enthusiasm, which allowed
Shayne Vollmers to realize a vision. Thanks
also to all those who volunteered their services and to sponsors who donated prizes.
See you next year! Check out www.surf
kayak.org/ for photos and comments.
(Report provided by Wayne Barson.)
KAYAKS IN SEARCH & RESCUE
Arrowsmith Search and Rescue (ASAR)
is responsible for a large area of central Vancouver Island, including several large lakes
and rivers which are difficult for searchers
to access. Tom Marshall, ASAR Director and
Swiftwater Rescue Tech, is an avid kayaker
and he reports that ASAR has found kayaks
(singles and doubles) to be a very useful
tool in the search manager’s arsenal. The
searcher in a kayak can get a different point
of view from the water, can see under all
the overhanging branches and fallen debris
at the lake edge while traveling at a pace
that will give good search coverage and
confidence that a subject will not be missed
even if they are unresponsive. Once a subject is found they can be extracted by land,
if possible, or by water with a dingy or double kayak for transport. The exact location
is found by GPS and radioed to base for
further instruction as to health and method
of extraction, or police intervention in case
of deceased persons.
For more info contact Tom Marshall at
sunstar@macn.bc.ca.
MARINE PLAN EARNS APPLAUSE
The plan to establish the Southern Strait
of Georgia National Marine Conservation
Area (NMCA), announced in October by
the Canadian government, will add significant protection for the marine environment
of British Columbia’s south coast.
“This is a major milestone in the protection of BC’s exceptionally diverse marine
ecology,” said Peter Ronald, Marine Habitat Coordinator of the Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA). “This area is extremely rich biologically, but it is under increasing stress
from population growth, transportation and
other development pressures.
“The National Marine Conservation Area
will contribute significantly to the vision of
the Orca Pass Stewardship Area, a large,
international, zoned area specially managed for protection of aquatic habitat and
species of the Strait of Georgia and northern Puget Sound,” said Ronald.
Complementing the new Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, the Southern Strait of
Georgia NMCA will extend environmental
protection into the marine realm in an area
that Parks Canada has called the most at
risk natural environment in Canada.
For more info: Peter Ronald, Marine
Habitat Program Coordinator, GSA: 250381-8321. For more information on Orca
Pass: www.georgiastrait.org or www.puget
sound.org.
Editor’s note: WaveLength will be devoting our entire Aug/Sep 2003 issue to the
Orca Pass project in order to showcase the
world’s first transboundary marine protected area project and the exceptional
paddling in the area.
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY GROWS
The environment industry is now one of
the top five industry sectors in Canada, employing more people than the steel industry or the chemical manufacturing industry, growing at an average of 4% per year
over the last decade. According to a new
Statistics Canada report, the environment
industry sector generated $14.4 billion in
revenues in the year 2000, employing over
159,000 people in 7,474 small companies.
The environment industry sector grew in
response to the creation of laws, regulations, guidelines, and international agreements regarding the clean-up of the human
environment and the reduction of pollution.
Instead of polluters using the air and water
as a free source of toxics dumping—where
they harm human health and raise medical
36
costs and reduce productivity of the labour
force—the polluters were required to pay
for pollution control and environmental
clean up. For more information contact
grenser@statcan.ca.
EARTH ECONOMY
Lester Brown, in his book entitled EcoEconomy: Building an Economy for the
Earth, reports that advances in wind turbine
design have reduced electricity costs from
38¢ per kilowatt hour in the early 1980s to
less than 4¢ at prime wind sites in 2001.
And further cuts are likely.
In response to falling costs, wind farms
have come online recently in Minnesota,
Iowa, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming,
Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania.
A quarter-acre of land leased to the local
utility to site a large, advanced design wind
turbine can easily yield a farmer or rancher
$2,000 in royalties per year while providing the community with $100,000 worth
of electricity. Money spent on wind-generated electricity tends to remain in the community, providing income, jobs, and tax revenue. As wind-generating costs continue to
fall and concern about climate change escalates, more and more countries are turning to wind energy.
In December 2000, France announced
plans to develop 5,000 megawatts of wind
power by 2010 (1 megawatt supplies 350
homes in an industrial society). Argentina
followed with a plan to develop 3,000
megawatts of wind power by 2010 in
Patagonia, with its world-class wind resources. In April, the United Kingdom accepted offshore bids to develop 1,500 megawatts of wind power. And in May 2001,
China reported that it will develop some
2,500 megawatts of wind power by 2005.
Brown also reports that the use of solar
cells is expanding rapidly. At the end of
2000, nearly one million homes worldwide
were getting their electricity from solar cells.
With new solar cell roofing material developed in Japan, the stage is set for dramatic
gains in this new energy source as rooftops
become the power plants of buildings.
For many of the nearly 2 billion people
without electricity, solar cells are their best
hope. In remote villages where supplying
electricity traditionally depended on building a centralized power plant and constructing a grid to distribute the electricity, it is
now often cheaper simply to install solar
cells. In inaccessible Andean villages, investing in solar cells may be cheaper than
buying candles. The same is true for those
villages in India where lighting comes from
kerosene lamps.
”The materials economy is also changing,” said Brown. “The challenge is to shift
from a linear flow-through economy to a
comprehensive recycling economy.
Progress is being made on this front, but
not nearly enough. Some countries are advancing. For example, 58 percent of US
steel production now comes from old recycled scrap iron and steel.”
From Eco-Economy: Building an
Economy for the Earth, available at http://
www.earth-policy.org/Books/index.htm.
CRUISE SHIPS
Oceans Blue Foundation recently released a “Blow the Whistle” report on the
cruise ship industry. The first of a two-part
report that makes the case for greater cruise
industry accountability and reform is now
online: http://www.oceansblue.org/
bluetourism/chartacourse/cruiseship/
cruisereport.html.
Each large cruise ship emits smog-creating pollutants equal to those from 12,240
vehicles, for each day in port (US Government Accounting Office).
In the year 2000, the North American-based
fleet (International Council of Cruise Lines members only) of 163 ships emitted the equivalent
of pollutants from 1,995,120 vehicles each day.
SHIPS DUMP OIL
A scathing new World Wildlife Fund report says 300,000 seabirds are killed each
year off the East Coast of Canada in preventable spills.
Irresponsible shipping companies deliberately dump oil in Canadian waters because the fines are a fraction of penalties
imposed for dumping in US waters. Polluters dump more oil in Atlantic waters each
year than was spilled in the Exxon Valdez
disaster.
The biggest fine levied in Canada for
dumping oil at sea was $125,000 Cdn in a
judgment earlier this year. In contrast, the
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line was forced to
pay $27 million (US) in 1999 for oil
dumped by eight of its ships in US waters.
The spills are caused when ships pump
out bilges where dirty oil used in engines
and mechanical systems collects. The US
has eliminated that problem, largely
through deterrence.
Many ships dumping in Canadian waters aren’t even bound for Canadian ports,
but are headed for the US East Coast .
NEWS continued on page 40
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BC is a non-profit society which
upholds high standards for
professional sea kayak guides and
operators in BC. Through on-going
professional development and
certification, the Alliance strives to
ensure safe practices on an
industry-wide basis.
SKGABC EXECUTIVE
PRESIDENT
Michael Pardy <michael@oceanriver.com>
VICE PRESIDENTS
Colin MacNeil <oskayak@shaw.ca>
Kerry Orchard <kolokayaks@shaw.ca>
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Tracy Morben <majestic@island.net>
COORDINATING DIRECTOR
Camillia Brinkman <kootenaygirl@canada.com>
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Jack Rosen <escapades@saltspring.com>
Piper Harris <piper@fmls.ca>
Kirsten Musial <musial@islandnet.com>
Located “on the bay” in Port Hardy BC
Toll Free 800-515-5511
SPECIALIZING IN MARINE AREAS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
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Coast, Esperanza Inlet, Quatsimo-Goletas Channel.
www.catalacharters.net
info@catalacharters.net
ANCHORAGE MARINA has a great inventory
of CURRENT DESIGNS kayaks and friendly
staff to help you choose the right kayak for
you. Check out our expanded kayaking
accessories department. Try before you buy!
1520 Stewart Ave., Nanaimo, BC
Phone: 250-754-5585
anchoragemarina@home.com
ZEBALLOS EXPEDITIONS & KAYAKS
Paddle the Breathtaking West Coast of Vancouver Island
RENTALS TOURS TRANSPORTATION
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kayak@netcom.ca www.zeballoskayaks.com
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info@coastalwatersrec.com
BC, BAJA, TUSCANY & BEYOND...
Saltspring Kayaking
Daily Tours, Rentals & Sales
Ph/Fax: 250/653-4222
sskayak@saltspring.com
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ADVENTURE CENTER
Kayak Rentals & Tours
Oufitting, motherships & kayak transport
8635 Granville Street Port Hardy, BC
Toll Free 1-866-902-2232
Adventure-ecotours.com
SKGABC Membership
To become a member of the Alliance, mail
this form and a cheque to the address below.
___ Company Membership—$100/year
___ Individual Membership—$35/year
___ Associate Membership—$25/year
___ Alliance T-shirt
Name__________________________
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P.O. Box 1005, Station A,
Nanaimo BC, V9R 5K4
info@skgabc.com
News
cont. from p. 37
GREEN ENGINES
A new type of boat propulsion system
that reduces emissions, removes the need
for oil, has no propeller and reduces noise
pollution, means that boating could become a lot more environmentally-friendly.
The system, being developed by the Hertfordshire-based firm Pursuit Dynamics,
works by injecting steam into an elongated
funnel-shaped unit under the boat which
is filled with seawater. The temperature difference between the seawater and the steam
causes the steam to condense, resulting in
an implosion that draws in water and air
through the funnel. This produces a reac-
tive thrust, propelling the boat through the
water.
The new system requires no gearbox, thus
it has no need for oil, removing the potential environmental hazard posed by both
oil use and disposal. Fewer working parts
also mean less noise.
Traditional two-stroke boat engines emit
25% of their fuel and oil directly into the
water or air. This means that in the US alone
marine two-stroke engines spill 15 times
more oil and fuel every year into waterways
than did the Exxon Valdez, according to the
US Environmental Protection Agency. The
California Air Resources Board has also
found that a seven-hour ride in a recreational boat powered by a two-stroke engine
Is it wild or farmed?
ALWAYS ASK.
Netcage salmon farming pollutes
the environment and threatens
the survival of wild salmon.
Go Wild!
Georgia Strait Alliance: 250-753-3459
www.GeorgiaStrait.org
Photo: Wild BC spring salmon by Alexandra Morton ©
40
produces the same amount of smog-causing emissions as over 100,000 miles in a
passenger car.
The new prototype has recently been verified by the University of Hertfordshire as
being capable of running at the same efficiency level as a two-stroke outboard engine
but without any of the pollutants. The company is expecting further efficiency improvements in the near future.
FISH FARMS
CAMPAIGN UNFOLDING
Chefs, scientists, fishermen, and conservation groups on both sides of the Canada/
US border teamed up in late October to
announce the launch of an international
campaign to educate US consumers and
retailers about the environmental and potential health risks associated with the production of farmed salmon.
“‘Think Twice’ is what we’re saying to US
consumers, who need much more information to make informed choices about this
product,” said Jennifer Lash, a member of
the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform
(CAAR) that launched the campaign.
“Farmed salmon is produced using pesticides, antibiotics, and chemical additives
to alter the colour of the fish, and most consumers know nothing about this. In fact,
people often don’t know that the salmon
they’re buying is manufactured and not a
wild fish,” said Lash.
More than 130 organizations sympathetic with this campaign are helping distribute information throughout the west
coast of the US and in Canada. “We are
asking retailers and consumers to do an
easy thing: to make a public commitment
to stop buying and selling farmed salmon
until its safe for us and safe for the oceans,”
Lash said.
Acclaimed Portland chef Greg Higgins,
who travelled to Vancouver to help launch
the campaign said, “Salmon is in high demand, but the issues around farmed salmon
are little understood. When US consumers
fully understand all the issues, they’ll see
the need to keep the marine habitat healthy
and to consider the quality and source of
their salmon.”
BC exports most of its farmed salmon to
the US. In fact, almost all the farmed salmon
consumed in the US is from Canada. And
the lifting of a provincial ban in September
on new farms is set to unleash a major expansion of the BC industry.
Already, retailers and restaurateurs in the
US and BC are signing on to the campaign.
So far 50 stores and restaurants have joined
the campaign, including “white tablecloth”
chefs in San Francisco and Portland.
www.farmedanddangerous.org
The coalition is also threatening to take
legal action against the federal and BC governments to try to put a halt to open-net
fish farms. They say the farms are threatening the survival of wild salmon stocks by
spreading diseases like sea lice.
A report by CAAR claims that most of the
spawning runs of pink salmon off northern
Vancouver Island were wiped out by the
lice this year. The near collapse of pink
salmon runs in the Broughton Archipelago,
where millions of fish failed to return to
spawning rivers this fall, is being blamed
on fish farms in the area. Biologist
Alexandra Morton says fish farms there are
breeding grounds for the lice. (See page 30.)
You can learn more about CAAR by visiting
the website www.farmedand dangerous.org.
CAAR also encourages you to send a fax to industry directly from that site.
FIRST NATIONS’ OPPOSITION
A BC Central Coast Native band is taking the province to court over salmon farms.
The Heiltsuk First Nation has a “zero tolerance” policy on the farms.
It says the province has gone ahead and issued licenses to two companies to operate on
land the band is claiming in the treaty process.
Chief Pam Reid says the band should
have been consulted first.
“The bottom line is just a simple respect
from government and industry to come and
consult with us,” she said. “We live here,
live off the land. We harvest all year round
for different resources. Everything we live off
here is at risk.”
Reid says she wants the fish farms monitored for how they dispose of waste.
She’s also worried about the farmed
salmon spreading viral infections to other
species in the water.
South of the border, the Tribes are also
getting active. At the 49th Annual Conference of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest
Indians in Washington this September, the
Tribes called for a moratorium on commercial marine salmon net pens and support
for tribal salmon fisheries.
BRITISH PROTESTS
The Sunday Herald in Britain reports that
farmed salmon is the most contaminated
food sold by British supermarkets, according to a new analysis by government advisors. Among 100 different worst-case examples of fruit, vegetables, meat and other
foodstuffs polluted by pesticides over the
past five years, salmon comes out bottom.
Every sample of farmed salmon in the batch
tested by scientists was found to contain at
least three toxic chemicals. The revelation
comes as the Scottish salmon-farming industry faces its biggest, and potentially most
damaging, nationwide protest to date. Virtually all fresh salmon sold in British supermarkets is farmed. In October, protesters
picketed over 200 supermarkets in 80
towns, villages and cities across Scotland,
England, Wales and Ireland, urging shoppers not to buy farmed salmon.
CONGRATULATIONS
Jennifer Lash of the Living Oceans Society and coordinator of the Coastal Alliance
for Aquaculture Reform (CAAR) was recently awarded the Jane Bagley Lehman
Award from the Tides Foundation. The
Award celebrates excellence in public advocacy and visionary leadership for social
justice. Jennifer was selected for her innovative approach and committed activism to
challenging aquaculture in the Pacific
Northwest. She traveled to San Francisco
in November to receive the award which
included a $10,000 grant.
Editor’s note: Jennifer worked with us on two
of WaveLength’s Ocean Kayak Festivals in
the mid-1990s. Congratulations Jen! ❏
Jim’s Kayaking
• Sunset Paddles
• Custom Tours
• Day Trips
• Lessons
Let experienced Lead Guide
Jim Demler show you the
waters around Gabriola Island.
250-247-8335 cell 751-5887
www.JimsKayaking.com
jamesdemler@shaw.ca
Kayak Tune-up!
$100
Your deck and hull
buffed and polished.
Shock cords replaced.
Reflective rigging
installed. Repairs and
parts extra.
250-245-7887
610 Oyster Bay Dr., Ladysmith, BC
www.IslandOutdoorCentre.com
41
GREAT GEAR
EMERGENCY KIT
When you leave the dock for
a day of boating, are you
prepared
for
the
unexpected? Are you ready
to handle an emergency?
World Prep’s Boaters
Emergency Kit can help.
Dave Krueger, founder and
president, has created this kit
after 8 years of Marine Patrol
and Search & Rescue on Lake Erie. It’s designed for smaller vessels,
such as canoes and kayaks. Suggested retail: $99 US.
www.worldprep.com. 1-888-263-3416.
FUJI FINEPIX F401 DIGITAL CAMERA
Although not strictly “paddling gear”, this
little beauty is so nifty we can’t resist listing
it. This is our first experience with digital
but we love it already. It’s not waterproof,
by any means, but it’s so tiny we just
drop it down inside our sprayskirt and
fish it out when needed. It’s got 2.1
million pixels, a 3x optical zoom, auto
focus (and manual settings), macro
function, still and movie shooting (with
sound), recharging cradle, and highspeed USB connection. It takes
awesome photos that easily surpass our existing excellent quality
point and shoot, and we never run out of film any more! $699 Cdn.
TONY’S TRAYAK
kayak trailer is a perfect match for the
water-borne efficiency and elegance
of kayaks. The trailer
is feather-light, yet
stable and solid. It
even converts instantly to a grocery-getter model. All trailers are
shipped from Mill Bay, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. You can
reach designer/builder Tony Hoar at tonyhoar@shaw.ca, or by phone
at (250) 743-9915 to discuss your trailer requirements. Or contact
Richard Reeve of Victoria By Bike & Kayak at richreeve@shaw.ca.
Ph: 250-744-2801. Web: www.victoriabybike.com.
The "DURARITE" EXTREME JOURNAL is made with DuraRite
synthetic, tearproof and waterproof stock, created for the
harshest conditions. It contains
a wealth of extreme sports-related material for wind, water,
rock and snow sports as well as
pertinent survival information.
At 4”x6” it’s an ideal stocking
stuffer for the extreme sports
adventurist. Suggested price:
$7.95 US. www.nrsweb.com. 800-635-5202. ❏
KAYAKS
THE ARCTIC HAWK is an 18-foot medium-volume touring kayak
based on traditional West Greenland skin boats. Made of okoume
mahogany plywood, the kit includes plans, manual, pre-cut parts,
hatches, bulkheads, rigging, footbraces, epoxy, fiberglass, seat and
backband. 18’ long by 22” beam. Weight: 42-44 lbs. Cockpit: 16”
x 20” (or optional Keyhole Cockpit). Chesapeake Light Craft,
Annapolis, MD. Ph: (410) 267-0137. Email: info@clcboats.com.
Web: www.clcboats.com.
WATERS DANCING’S ANURI 16 is named after the Inuit word
for wind. 15.9’ long, 23.25’ beam, about. 40 lbs, kit building time
approx. 90 hours. She’s a hard chine boat with a modified v-shaped
bottom and a fish form chine line to help improve tracking. The
sheer is swede form so you can more easily take a vertical power
stroke. The cockpit has plenty of room and the large hatches hold
loads of gear. She tracks well, paddles beautifully and performs nimble turns. Ph: 780-437-4919. www.watersdancing.com.
42
PYGMY’S
OSPREY 13
The fifth in the line of
Pygmy’s Ospreys, the
new 13-foot version
fills a niche for smallframed adults. Folks
up to 5’3", teens and
kids down to 50" appreciate its proportions. Not only is the four-panel deck easy on the eyes, the added deck
chines offer a bit more foot room. It’s available as a kit from Pygmy Boats Inc.
www.pygmyboats.com/. Ph: 360-385-6143.
THE SEA WOLF by Roy Folland (length
17’-3”, beam 23.5”). Expert paddlers love
the speed, handling and efficiency of this
kayak, yet novices find it comfortable and
forgiving. At 39 lbs it’s easy to car-top and
launch, yet it will also hold enough camping gear for weeklong trips. The latest version offers a refined seat system and a
state-of-the-art foot brace system with a pivoting FLEX-STEER capability that enables solid
bracing at all times. kayak@royfolland.com, www.royfolland.com, 450-458-0152. ❏
Sea Kayak
Guide Training
2003 Course Dates
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over 1,000 pages of
searchable information,
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Our Brooks sprayskirts last and
last and still look good.”
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Brooks Wetsuits Ltd.
Toll Free 1-888-986-3441
Fax: (604) 986-3443
e-mail: info@brookspaddlegear.com
www.brookspaddlegear.com
43
Books
The Canoe, a Living Tradition
by John Jennings, Firefly Books 2002.
ISBN 1-55209-509-6. Colour, Hardcover
250 pp. $59.95 Cdn $49.95 US
The Canoe is a lavish project of the Canadian
Canoe Museum which successfully achieves the
goal of providing a comprehensive history of the
construction and use of the birchbark canoe,
Inuit and Aleut kayak, west coast dugout, and
Arctic umiak. It also includes a section on canoeing in the Northeastern States and the evolution of modern recreational and racing canoes.
Twelve authors, working under the editorship of
John Jennings, document the legacy of these traditional watercraft and their roots in the indigenous cultures of North America. This magnificent, large format hardcover book is richly
illustrated with fascinating archival and modern photographs, maps, and artwork.
Coast Kayak Symposium 2003
May 16-18, Thetis Island, BC
$475 Cdn includes all meals, expert instruction, accommodation,
the charter vessel from Vancouver, and lots of GOOD FAMILY FUN!
Space is limited so register early!
Give your loved ones a GIFT REGISTRATION
for an experience that will last a lifetime.
604 597-1122
mercias@telus.net
ODYSSEY KAYAKING
odyssey@island.net
www.odysseykayaking.com
GIVE US A CALL
if you’re planning a paddling
trip on Northern Vancouver
Island or the Central Coast.
1-888-792-3366
250-902-0565
44
Building a
Birchbark Canoe
by David
Gidmark,
Firefly Books
2002, ISBN 155297-569-X,
B&W, 139 pp.
$19.95 Cdn.
In this well illustrated book, David Gidmark presents detailed descriptions of traditional Algonquin
Canoe construction methods. He offers a
overview of the evolution of bark canoes,
features the construction techniques of four
native builders, and includes a chapter on
paddlemaking. Fascinating reading for
those interested in native culture as well as
those considering building a canoe.
The New Kayak
Shop: More
Elegant Wooden
Kayaks Anyone
Can Build
by Chris Kulczycki,
Ragged Mountain
Press 2001. ISBN 007-135786-6. Paperback. 208 pp
$34.95 Cdn
In The New Kayak Shop paddlers will find
plans and instructions for building and finishing three new stitch-and-glue designs—
a touring kayak, a fast sea kayak, and a
flatwater kayak—that are even more elegant, durable, and functional than their
forerunners. Chris Kulczycki’s highly refined
designs and simple building methods offer
kayakers not only the experience of paddling an extraordinary boat but also the rare
reward of having built it.
Wooden Kayak Book Reviews
from Previous Issues:
KayakCraft
by Ted Moores, WoodenBoat
Publications, 1999. ISB0-937822-56-6,
softcover 171 pp, B&W $19.95 US
Ted Moores believes that professional results can be expected if good patterns are
used and simple steps performed with care.
In this book he describes the process of
building the Endeavour 17, a popular Steve
Killing design. He provides all the
neccessary information about design, materials, tools & techniques to ensure that a
first-time builder can create a woodstrip
kayak with truly professional results. Clear
detailed instructions and excellent photos
& diagrams.
Aleutian Kayak
by Wolfgang Brinck
Ragged Mtn Press
ISBN0-07-007893-9
soft-cover 170 pp.
B & W, 19.95 US
The Aleutian Sea Kayak tells you everything
you need to know to build an authentic
baidarka in your basement or garage for
about $200. You don’t need extensive
woodworking experience, an elaborate tool
collection or exotic woods. Author
Wolfgang Brinck shows that if you can use
a handsaw, block plane and a drill you can
build a baidarka. Here are clear, well-illustrated, step-by-step instructions to guide you
through the process from buying materials,
tailoring the boat to fit your body, building
the frame, deck, and sewing on the skin.
He also includes instructions on paddlemaking, sewing your own paddling jacket
and spray skirt, repairs and using your
baidarka.
Qayaq—Kayaks of Alaska and Siberia
by David W. Zimmerly
University of Alaska Press
ISBN 1-889963-10-0
B&W, soft cover, 103 pp. $16.95 US
In this new edition, David W. Zimmerly
reviews the construction of different kayaks from various regions of Alaska, Canada
and Siberia, discussing techniques, materials and the special approaches of individual
craftsmen. He shows how the vessel’s design varied in response to the demands of
climate, the available resources and the
needs of the paddlers. He also considers
associated equipment, from paddles to
paddlers’ clothing. This is a succinct authoritative overview of the kayaks of Alaska,
the Mackenzie River delta and Siberia containing many interesting and informative
photos, maps. and drawings.
The Strip-Built Sea Kayak
by Nick Schade
1998 Ragged Mountain
ISBN0-07-057989-x
soft-cover 191 pp. B&W
Nick Shade presents full plans and instructions for building three beautiful, sea-worthy strip-built kayaks. He includes detailed
information on how hull design affects performance, tools and materials, building
techniques, finishing, repairs and maintenance, safety and risk management. This
book contains all the information you’ll
need to build a strip sea kayak, from setting up the shop to making the paddle.
If you have a book, video or CDRom you’d like our readers to
know about, please get in touch.
The Zen of Wooden Kayak Building
Chesapeake Light Craft
60 minute video. $29.95
www.clcboats.com
John Harris takes you step-by-step from a
pile of parts to the launch of an elegant varnished Chesapeake 16 kayak. Epoxyfiberglass work and varnishing techniques
are clearly demostrated, so that the techniques can be transfered to any stitch and
glue boat. Excellent information presented
with engaging wit.
Knot Tying: The Basic
Knots
Knot Tying: The Basic
Knots is one of three
new CD-ROMs from
Beutner Multimedia
Software Services of
Athens, Ohio, which
provide excellent instruction in this essential skill. Knot Tying covers 21 of the most
useful and commonly used knots by way
of high quality video that is amazingly easy
to follow. Gone are complicated diagrams
of the printed page. Here you follow along
with the sound and images of a professional
instructor. There is even rope enclosed for
you to use. Nothing is installed on your
hardrive, it just opens up from the CD. Although designed for PC computers, we
found it worked just fine on our Mac G4.
Other titles include: Splicing Three Strand
Line and Advanced Knotting. For more info:
740-597-1409. Web: www.beutner.com.
Blue Latitudes
by Tony Horowitz
Henry Holt and Company
2002. ISBN 0-8050-65415, Hardcover, 444 pp.
In Blue Latitudes , Tony
Horowitz recounts his
own “voyage” following Captain Cook’s
epic journeys around the world. He starts
out by signing on as crew for a week of
shipboard life aboard a replica of Cook’s
ship, the Endeavour. Then he jets to various
locales, including Tahiti, Australia, Alaska,
England and Hawaii, in Cook’s footsteps.
It’s an interesting concept and he brings the
great man’s adventures alive with quotes
from the ship’s log and other historical references. But Horowitz’s own mundane exploits, accompanied by an alcoholic sidekick, make up rather too much of the book,
and his account ends up being little more
than a depressing tour of dissipated cultures,
detracting from Cook’s real adventures.
Beyond the Cockpit
Wayne Horodowich,
founder of the University
of Sea Kayaking, has enlisted Derek Hutchinson
as guest instructor on Beyond the Cockpit , the
third volume of his InDepth video series.
Horodowich and Hutchinson take you through many of the techniques and progressions that Derek teaches
in his one day clinics. $39.95 US. Ph: 805696-6966. www.useakayak.org. ❏
WEST COAST EXPEDITIONS
Educational Nature Tours since 1974
Sea Kayaking in the Kyuquot Wilderness, BC
Toll Free 800-665-3040
www.island.net/~nature
•Basecamp comforts
•Educational focus
•Cultural contact
•Family oriented
•All-inclusive
45
Bryan Nichols photo
Will orcas still be here for your grandchildren?
TAKE A MEMBERSHIP TODAY!
Georgia Strait Alliance
250 753-3459 www.GeorgiaStrait.org
CALENDAR
Jan 1, Annual Penguin Plunge Paddle Fun
Race, Deep Cove Canoe & Kayak,
North Vancouver, BC. 604-929-2268.
Feb 5-9, Vancouver International Boat
Show, BC Place Stadium.
www.sportshows.ca/VanBoat.
Feb 7-9, Outdoor Adventure Show,
Northlands Park, Edmonton, AB.
403-246-7276. coas@shawbiz.ca.
Feb 14-16, Outdoor Adventure Show, BC
Place, Vancouver, BC. 403-246-7276.
Feb 21-23, Outdoor Adventure Show,
International Centre, Toronto, ON.
905-477-2677 enaar@national.com
Apr 11-13, Port Angeles Kayak
Symposium, Port Angeles, WA. 888452-1443. www.raftandkayak.com.
Apr 5-7, Outdoor Adventure Show,
Roundup Centre, Calgary, AB. 403246-7276.
May 16-18, Coast Kayak Symposium,
Thetis Island, BC. mercias@telus.net.
604-597-1122.
Jun 19-22,14th annual Inland Sea
Symposium, Bayfield, WI. 715-6828188. www.inlandsea.org.
The next issue of WaveLength
(Feb/Mar 2003)
‘CULTURES OF
THE COAST’
Deadline December 20th
Info@WaveLengthMagazine.com
We’ll be looking at the ancient
and modern cultures of First
Nations’ peoples, and will have
a First Nations’ Directory of
tourism opportunities.
For WaveLength ads, subs,
or bulk orders: 1-800-799-5602.
Diane Coussens
Assistant Editor
46
WaveLength is available at over 500 outlets around North America, and globally at www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
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47

- Wavelength Magazine

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