For some vans Karitek make a roof rail system to mount the ELRR on. For my Renault Trafic each rail is mounted on 3 out of the 4 rack mounting points along the roof, so that the load is fairly well spread (it would also be easy to use longer lengths of rail & an extra fitting to utilize all 4 mounti...

Does anyone know if Liquidblue clothing (UK maker of dry-trousers) are still trading? Their website links all seem to end in a blank page.

It's still on the to-do list for the club, but not high priority at the moment, so not progressed it any further yet.

Thanks Robert - its useful to know that there are possibilities.

Does anyone have experience of canoe/kayak clubs which are not affiliated to BCU/SCA etc, and have sourced their own club insurance cover? Any suggestions of insurance companies who provide club policies?

I have 2 paddles, made by Mike Bell, which are almost identical - with the exception of the loom width. On the original paddle I slightly overestimated the width, and found that because I prefer to have my hands at a point where the loom widens into the blade (t he paddles are shoulder less), my han...

Can I recommend Mike Bell at cedarboats.com for an excellent custom made paddle at a very reasonable cost?
Rhod

An friendin the Lochgilphead area mentioned that they were looking to sell their oldish Aleut a few months ago. As far as I know they haven't advertised it, so its probably still there. I've not seen the boat, so no idea as to condition. Let me know if you draw a blank elsewhere & I'll try to put yo...

I only have experience of Reed decks on composite boats, but if you only have a single bungee, then they'll probably add a second one for a fairly nominal cost. They recently re-taped the seams on my cag & dry trousers, which were starting to peel after 8 years use, and modified the good slightly - ...

Mark
I'd try talking to Geoff, at Karitek, directly. If you do have any issues with clearance, then it's more than likely that he can make up spacers to lift the bars on the rails.
Rhod

I use a Kelly Kettle quite extensively when open canoeing, but so far I've never bothered with it when sea kayaking, except on a couple of pottering day trips in an area with a lot of forest . The reason? There's loads of space in an open boat & the KK gets stuffed under the stern thwart where it's ...

Not having the luxury, or otherwise (!), of a forward mini-hatch, I have a North Water Under-deck bag mounted under the deck in its place. Small enough not to be in the way, but large enough to hold sunglasses, gloves & snacks, and easily removable by 4 fastex buckles. I can access this easily throu...

I got a set of the Reed ones for my girlfriend, but they are the wrong shape (too wide & long) to fit either of our boats, a Romany LV & a North Shore Atlantic LV, comfortably. There's nothing wrong with them as a product, they just don't happen to fit these smaller/narrower boats. Also, both our sp...

I've just done the same thing myself, to my right wrist, under much the same conditions. I use Lettman Liberty S blades (long & narrow) on a straight shaft, with no feather and varies between a highish & low angle stroke over the 3 days. We also had prolonged beam winds of around F4, and I have a su...

Peter
I live about 30mins drive south of Inveraray, at Port Ann. Not much help with parking I'm afraid, but let me know if I can help you with a shuttle, or anything else. If you PM me, I'll let you have contact details.
Rhod

I got a pack of "Sealeasy" from Karitek earlier in the summer. Similar in appearance to Keeleasy, but actually an entirely different product. The pack contains a variety of different sized patches. The blurb claims that it can be applied underwater, but suggests that best results are gained by clean...

For protective film, I've used helicopter tape from http://www.covertape.com - Their ebay shop sells it as various sized squares as well as in lengths. It seems high quality stuff & shows no signs of lifting around the edges to date.

I have the Karitek system on a Mazda Bongo which, like the California, has an electrically raised roof. One problem which you might need to be aware of is the effect of the extra weight of the rack on the lifting motors. Withe the empty rack in place I need to give the roof a helping hand from insid...

Aha! Kayaking Bongo owners - brilliant. I am looking at getting a van and am currently leaning to a Vito or a T4, I like the look of the Bongos and think you actually get a lot more van for your money with them as opposed to the Vito or T4 but.... bit worried about the fuel consumption, what are yo...

Hi I've been looking at getting a bongo and my main concern is that if I go for one with the roof tent then I have to deal with attaching a roof rack to a fibreglass roof. This can't be very secure surely, and don't you find you're pretty restricted on weight as a result? 2 kayaks? 3 at most? Or is...

Hi Skerryvore
I could be interested, but don't really know anything about Malin boats. Do you know which of the mainstream boats it would be closest to in terms of size & handling?

Hi Fruitcake My plastic P&H Capella is for sale if you're interested. It's the older square hatch version, but in fairly good condition. The main reason that I'm selling is that I'm a bit light for it & am looking for a smaller boat. Asking price is £350. Both boat & I am located in West Argyll - pl...

Hi Matt
If the boat is still for sale then I'd definately be interested, if there was an option to test paddle. Located West Argyll.