Speaking of yaks . . .

In the spirit of if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I'm playing with the
notion of getting a fishing yak -- maybe a Pungo or something similar.

Question for the yak experts. Given that I am of advanced middle age
with a significant pot and limited shoulder stremgth, is paddling
upstream against weak to moderate currents feasible? I doubt I'll
have a shuttle service available to me so it would seem like an idea
to paddle upstream (walking it through fast water) and then do the
drift back. The Saugeen, upstream of Denny's Dam, has very limited
access and wonderful stretches of water with little or no angling
pressure (the Pirate can attest to the latter). I could put in at one
of the few access points, paddle and fish up, then paddle and drift
back. It would seem to beat the canoe alternative.

Peter

On 3 Mar 2004 11:39:43 -0800, (Peter Charles)
wrote:

Question for the yak experts. Given that I am of advanced middle age
with a significant pot and limited shoulder stremgth, is paddling
upstream against weak to moderate currents feasible?

That's what I do, mostly, except in salt water. Sometimes I even troll
a wooly bugger upstream and then drift and fish dries on the way down.
--
Charlie...

Peter Charles wrote:

... It would seem to beat the canoe alternative.

Why ? I mean for people of close to average proportions who can
walk and chew gum at the same time, why does a sit-on-top kayak
beat a solo canoe ?

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Wed, 03 Mar 2004 19:52:32 GMT, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

Peter Charles wrote:

... It would seem to beat the canoe alternative.

Why ? I mean for people of close to average proportions who can
walk and chew gum at the same time, why does a sit-on-top kayak
beat a solo canoe ?

A Pungo isn't a SOT, but it also beats a canoe - lighter, easier to
paddle, more maneuverable, ... etc. A SOT has the additional advantage
of being easier to get in/out of on the water. I don't have a Pungo,
but I have had a couple of canoes.
--
Charlie...

In article , Charlie Choc
wrote:

On Wed, 03 Mar 2004 19:52:32 GMT, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

Peter Charles wrote:

... It would seem to beat the canoe alternative.

Why ? I mean for people of close to average proportions who can
walk and chew gum at the same time, why does a sit-on-top kayak
beat a solo canoe ?

A Pungo isn't a SOT, but it also beats a canoe - lighter, easier to
paddle, more maneuverable, ... etc. A SOT has the additional advantage
of being easier to get in/out of on the water. I don't have a Pungo,
but I have had a couple of canoes.

I do have a Pungo. While it's certainly not the lightest yak around
it's roomy but not so wide it's hard to paddle. It tracks well and
seems to has enough heft and keel to keep it from blowing all over the
place by the wind wind when sitting, which is my main reason for liking
a kayak over a solo canoe (although I'd like to have both!)
I've taken a spring clip, attached a pully and clipped that to either
the bow or stern loop and run a line from the cockpit to a small
anchor. This easily allows me remove the anchor for days I'm just
paddling, clip it to the stern for anchoring in moving water or to the
bow which works better in still water.

Allen
Catonsville, MD

Ken Fortenberry wrote in message . com...
Peter Charles wrote:

... It would seem to beat the canoe alternative.

Why ? I mean for people of close to average proportions who can
walk and chew gum at the same time, why does a sit-on-top kayak
beat a solo canoe ?

Getting in and out, control, ease of beaching, weathercocking, ease of
putting on top of car, won't swamp. I'm neither an expert at canoes
or yaks but given my physical limitations, a yak seems better. I'm
prepared to be proven wrong.

On 3 Mar 2004 15:36:28 -0800, (Peter Charles)
wrote:

I'm
prepared to be proven wrong.

A local shop here has a canoe and kayak 'paddlefest' once a year where
you can try out any/all of their boats on the river. Maybe there is
something like that up there where you could do the same.
--
Charlie...

Peter Charles wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Peter Charles wrote:

... It would seem to beat the canoe alternative.

Why ? I mean for people of close to average proportions who can
walk and chew gum at the same time, why does a sit-on-top kayak
beat a solo canoe ?

Getting in and out, control, ease of beaching, weathercocking, ease of
putting on top of car, won't swamp. I'm neither an expert at canoes
or yaks but given my physical limitations, a yak seems better. I'm
prepared to be proven wrong.

Charlie gives good advice when he says to paddle both, and you're the
only judge of which is better for you, but I don't believe one word of
anything I've read in this thread regarding the supposed superiority
of kayaks over a good quality solo canoe.

Compare the Pungo (48-53 lbs.)

http://www.wildernesssystems.com/kay...creational.php

with the Wenonah Vagabond (24-42 lbs.) and Sandpiper (22-39 lbs.)

http://www.oakorchardcanoe.com/vagabond.htm

http://www.oakorchardcanoe.com/sandpiperwenonah.htm

Good shopping and happy paddling !

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 00:23:34 GMT, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

but I don't believe one word of
anything I've read in this thread regarding the supposed superiority
of kayaks over a good quality solo canoe.

Ever paddled a kayak (SOT or not)?
--
Charlie...

Charlie Choc wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:

but I don't believe one word of
anything I've read in this thread regarding the supposed superiority
of kayaks over a good quality solo canoe.

Ever paddled a kayak (SOT or not)?

Yes. I've paddled a Current Designs something or other and
a sit-on-top whose provenance I don't remember. Perhaps I'd
get used to it in time, but I don't like the way you sit in
a kayak and I can't for the life of me figure out why you
think getting into and out of a kayak is EASIER than getting
into and out of a canoe. Most emphatically the exact opposite
for me. I feel like I'm WEARING a kayak as opposed to paddling
it, which is a good thing I suppose if you want to squirt
around in white water, but that's not my thing.

--
Ken Fortenberry