Keep an eye on the "Private Sales" bit of this forum. Most sellers will be happy to let you try a boat to see if it works for you and if they are close enough it might be an easy way to get to try some boats. Getting yourself to one of the symposiums (symposia?) is an excellent way to get to try loa...

Just paddle it..... :-)

I always strapped paddles beside the kayak when I had one-piece paddles (old Lendal Powermasters) to give them a bit of protection and didn't ever have any issues without using a bag. Back in river paddling days we would all just put paddles up beside the last kayak on the roof and hold them down un...

I think - and I might be wrong - that the brass frame helps to allow the compass to be rotated in the mount once the screws are loosened a little bit by pushing the plastic housing up away from the base.

It actually looks OK from the photo - it appears to be pointing straight along the kayak, but yes and (probably) yes. Loosening the screws a little will let you rotate the body of the compass. The most accurate way of lining up the lub-line is to run a string from bow to stern and line up on it - bu...

not so sure about the job though.....

job done?? surely not!!

"Matrimonial duties on the table" Have I missed something??

PM sent

If it's plastic, put it upside-down on the roof bars and try to get the cockpit caught between them to stop it sliding forward. Use straps which are long enough to pass over the boat, round the bar on the other side and back over the boat again to be tied down. Strap it down firmly - but not too tig...

The usual suspects are hatch covers, seams, cracks along the keel line, leaky deck fittings or end-rope attachment points and stress points on the hull, particularly around the bulkheads (and skeg boxes - but that's not going to be an issue with an HM.....) Cockpit rims and footrest fittings can als...

Any legible remains of the original Valley label left in the cockpit?

From K1 paddling days, under-stern rudders were much smaller than the over-stern blades but were just as effective. I suspect a lot has to do with the rudder being positioned further forward and turning moments etc but I'm sure some of teh more hydro-dynamically literate posters on here will be able...

"Postage possible but pick up preferred"

Where are you based?

Have a look at the "Skudder" set-up which is a combined retractable skeg / rudder. https://vimeo.com/107470449 and https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=120769 I'm not sure about retro fitting them though. Karitek used to do a skudder kit which could be retro fitted but I don't s...

Then they'd be leaving the cars with broken windows in plain view. I don't know whether there are bye-laws on the Loch Leven islands prohibiting camping - pre "right to roam" they used to try to try to chase off paddlers from the loch as it was a bird reserve (what - all of it??), apart from once a ...

I think it's been bodged ("modified") by a previous owner. Inside the rear hatch is there any evidence of brackets on the side of the boat, about a foot apart, on the right hand side of the hull? The Island skeg in my non LV Islander is similar to the one in the flickr photographs. The skeg should b...

A cautionary tale for any wild campers amongst us.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-t ... l-43710093

Not the best way to end an evening away with the kids.....

Came across this one, of about the same vintage, a couple of years ago out on Inchkeith. It was also an HM but we didn't meet up with it's owner unfortunatley so didn't get any history of the boat. https://media.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/uploads/61824/1523103457318-8443.png https://media.ukriversguide...

Yeah, I stick to the west coast :-) I've had a few foggy days on the Forth right enough - and also sailed through thick fog on Loch Fyne. In the kayak - one of the uses of the compass is to keep the boat level! With no horizon I sometimes find myself leaning further and further over as I paddle in ...

I actually use a deck mounted compass very rarely, maybe if I am doing a long open crossing. Most of the time I am close to land and keeping track of landmarks as I go.

I guess you've been lucky and have never paddled into sea fog then?..... :-)

I've used a GPS in a waterproof case on deck but it's much harder to read than a deck compass It doesn't have to be a permanent fixture though. Option from fitted into the compass recess, mounted on a spray deck cover or a bungee on compasss (this sort of thing - although other designs are available...

...or possibly a Lendal Powermaster.

Might be a "second" if there are no Lendal stickers on the blades (or maybe they just came off...) as I bought a few sets of "seconds" from them with no stickers. I never could find out why they had been rejected from the good stock.

A true loss to the paddling community. Duncan was one of the "wise old men" of canoeing in Scotland, the UK and beyond. His wisdom and humour and his infinite patience will be greatly missed. Duncan's legacy will live on in all the little design tweaks he brought to the kayaks we all paddle today (r...

2nd that. Excellent paddling around the Burnt Islands (a wee bit of tidal flow but easy to avoid...) Loch Striven and along past Tignabruich and Kames with possibilities for lunch stops in both. Camp with showers etc. at Carry Farm just beyond Kames or wild camp on Bute (Buttock Point is an "Argyll ...

Try padding the contact points under the coming / deck a little rather than padding the seat. I always end up with scrapes and bruises after a pool session, probably in part due to the number of times I'll roll in nice clean warm water as opposed to cold sea water but mostly due to the lack of layer...

Copied to the SKEG group. (hope that's OK?)
Good luck and best wishes to Nigel.

Maybe we should spend more time categorising our selves and our fellow paddlers, rather than the fairly limited number of boats out there.
Or do you think it's a bit like dogs and their owners? We eventually get to look like our boat-type?

My wife likes her Kokatat MsFit BA.

I don't know if you are anywhere near Glasgow but Lomo managed to find a dry-suit to suit my wife.
Oban Sea Kayak should be able to help out too if you are ever in that area.

There's always a wee trip along the canal.....