RIP EMEL

One of the great things about living in a neighborhood since childhood,
is having that sense of community that comes with old friendships.

sunset cliffs - ashes to ocean - Dave EMEL Tremel

I was bummed to hear of the passing of a high school friend,
an avid surfer and waterman - Dave EMEL Tremel.

David Scott Tremel

We had some good times back in the day,
a couple stemming from the same birthday week,
which in OB meant a little drunken mayhem.

wake

In tribute the wake was set up in his backyard of Sunset Cliffs.

friends

Friends poured into the ocean.

EMEL's final sendoff

What a perfect day for a final sendoff.

RIP EMEL!!

TP

how to - shorten a kayak paddle!

Okay so last post I told you about the sleeping monster.
Now you'll know what I meant!

Jakob & new/old paddle

Our biggest problem was multiple boats,
3 paddlers and only 2 paddles.
A quick craigslist hunt came up with a $40 score.
(thanks CL seller!)

big and little

That's the white one on the left.
The brownish one is my old faithful Merv Larson stick.

Being cheap has some drawbacks.

This 230cm/90" paddle was almost a foot longer than we needed it to be.

So here's a "how to - shorten a fiberglass kayak paddle".
The popular paddle size is 220cm/86+",
which is good for fat wide kayaks.
Hey that's not a foot difference you may wonder.

hot rod work bench

I put some time in an OC-6 team,
those long 6-man outrigger canoes using a single blade paddle,
and learned shorter paddles allow a snappier vertical stroke,
using less arm and more torso strength.
It will also be better for the kids and strong winds.
We're shooting for a 208cm/81+" length.

slice

About 10 inches were cut out of the center.
Then a 5 inch section was cut out the scrap,
and sliced up to use as a ferrule for joint.

Here I realized I was sparse on fiberglass resin,

so we took a trip to my parents house over the hill.

prepped

The first thing to do was set up the feathering angle.
That is the offset angle of the two paddle blades.
There's a ton of argument on the correct angle and control side,
but really it's up to the individual.
We're going for 60-70 degrees.

real work bench

The easiest way is to make a mark at the split,
when the paddles are at 0 degrees,
then another when they are at 90 degrees.
The center of those marks is 45 degrees,
and the quarter of those marks is about 70.

All the materials were collected.

I had some carbon fiber lying around.

It's important to use epoxy resin (or vinylester) or it will crack.

Time to preposition the clamp spot.

goodies

A couple wood blocks were needed,
and it reminded me of some friends recent blog post...
shinya kimura @ chabott engineering: DIY: work desk for #12 mezzanine...

Jaxon - child labor

My dad had one hand saw in his stash,
an old tree branch saw he's had for years.

Jakob - child labor

The kids and I all had our go at sawing away.
Must have been in the planets so similar to that link.
(see we read and learn shinya and ayu!)

glued

Resin mixed and the ferrule glued up...

checking feathering angle

...and the last double check for a decent feathering angle.
This is why it's hard to know an exact number,
it's all in the feel.
My personal paddle is a left hand control,
due to that bike fall I told about last post.
This one will be right hand control.

layup

The layup is easy,
similar to paper mache.
The carbon fiber is first,
and a layer of fiberglass cloth covers that.
Should have used gloves here!

goop

It looks nasty and goopy and it is.
This is a little too wet with resin as well.

cheap vacuum bag

The trick is to get that plastic bag scrap,
and wrap it around the seam.

tape wrap

Masking tape is then wrapped around the repair,
squeezing out the extra resin,
and compressing the layup like a vacuum bag.

straight

The paddle is blocked as straight as possible,
clamped up,
and left to harden.

clamped

After a bike ride and some chores,
we couldn't wait to see how it turned out.

time to unwrap

Jakob unwrapped it,
and it looked about as good as expected.
Shiny smooth with no sanding needed.

smooth

Time for a little rattlecan customization.
Only right side painted so it's easy to recognize,
and bright enough to be visible far away.

shorty paddles

Here's a similar repair on that right paddle.
It's held up for at least 15 years now,
using only one wrap of fiberglass tape.
Long ago someone had made this a two-piece paddle.

one-piece

The boys couldn't stop and added some stripes...

rattlecanners

And finally the paddle was finished.

perich brothers - Jaxon & Jakob - 2013

Time to test it out!

TP

sleeping monster

Any long time readers may see a pattern in my obsessions.
Get into something and charge as cheap and hard as possible,
usually using vintage tools, equipment or techniques.
Bikes, stereos, hot rods, dental work, kids...
Last weekend we woke up the sleeping monster.

perich brothers paddle session

Twenty plus years ago I popped my wrist in a lame biking fall,
marking a huge change in my life's sequence of events.
After a half summer of healing,
paddling was a great way to regain strength.
I lived and breathed kayaking for 15 years.
There was always a boat setup on or in my VW or Ford vans,
and I'd paddle almost every day or night,
the worse conditions the better.

merv larson paddleboard/surf ski

During this time I had moved up to Ventura.
Living the life of a kayak bum with a space in the back of a shop.
Looking back on some paddling escapades I wonder what I was thinking.
Paddling offshore in snotty conditions takes 100% of your focus.
It can get crazy.
There's no safety net,
nobody else is out there.
It's just me and a boat and paddle that's been repaired countless times.
Maybe that is why I liked it so much.

merv larson paddleboard/surf-ski

So what happened?
Well besides meeting my wife and having a bunch of kids...
In 2000 and every summer after,
Ventura had a phenomenon called red tide.
It's an algae or plankton bloom that suffocates the harbor and coast.
The water turns a murky brownish red,
and it's similar to being in an unflushed toilet bowl.
The only benefit is night paddling,
as every disturbance of the water creates a phosphorescent glow.
Each year the red tide seemed to grow in area and duration.

early merv larson logo

Unfortunately I'm a thin skinned guy.

I'll get poison oak just by looking at it.

I'd go out in the red tide water,

and come back with little 50-cent patches of bug-bite-like rash,

usually in high chafe areas like under arms,

maybe chest and legs.

Super uncomfortable but after a shower it would mellow out.

For years I was that test monkey that would grab the banana,

only to get shocked,

and do it again and again.

Over time I became a seasonal paddler,

only going out in the winter time,

big swells and good stiff winds.

But my obsession slowly dwindled.

waveski stash

Fast forward a couple years,
and I had turned into a landlubber.
Even moving to San Diego didn't help,
maybe going in the water a couple times in the past 5 years.

la playa

This summer things are changing,
as the kids have been taking swimming lessons.
Now I feel confident that they'll be comfortable stranded in the water.
Time to dust off the old kayaks!

paddle time

I've got a quiver of kayaks,
surf, workout and longer surf-ski's.
The kids had gone out in the user-friendly plastic sit-on-tops,
but never on semi-performance boats.

jaxon with merv larson kayak

It was like those surf movies,

when the crusty surfer dude takes the newbies out on ancient boards.

We picked some way old paddleboard style kayaks built by Merv Larson.

These are probably from the late 60's or early 70's,

from when he was building lifeguard rescue boards.

jaxon with another merv larson kayak

We picked out a local flatwater spot.

The boys caught on really quick.

We started on simple hand paddling techniques,

and then moved on to the paddles.

Within the hour they were out of sight.

me and jakob

We had a great time,
and it made me wonder why it took so long.
Whatever we're doing it now and that's all that matters!

Me and macey

Macey even took a ride on a little waveski.
I need to get a couple more paddles.

macey perich - 2013

Don't be surprised if you see more kayak related posts...

TP

future project #797

This old canoe has been following us around for years.

penn yan canoe

It's an old cedar strip canoe made by Penn Yan Boats.

Penn Yan Boats NY

Let's see here's a better picture of the cool label.

Penn Yan Boats Incorporated

Funny thing is it's basically worthless as a boat,
the canvas covering is long gone.
In a way that's okay,
cause it shows off the fine woodwork that went into the construction.
The steamed bows and the intricate cedar stripping are too cool to cover up.

cedar strip canoe

The plan is to hot rod it out a little.

Instead of using the traditional canvas & paint waterproofing,

I'll do an epoxy + fiberglass coating.

I redid an Old Town canoe using 4 oz. cloth and west system epoxy,

and it turned out really sweet.

Instead of hiding the outer cedar strip patchwork,

the clear coat brightens it up like varnish and makes it very durable.

When the owner picked it up I was on the hunt for a replacement.

A friend spied this at a garage sale only a couple blocks away and I rushed over.
This was back in the Ventura days,
so it's been tossed around for almost 10 years now!

Penn Yan cedar strip Canoe

It is on my STD (shit to do) list,

just not very high,

which means it will probably be tackled more sooner than later.
The fiberglassing part isn't the issue,
it's the missing wood.
Definitely need a focused mindset to do it right.

dirty storage

You may have seen it in the background of some old shop pics,
tucked up in the rafters.

1940 ford coupe + vintage canoe

Continuing with this theme it looks like it's found a new home.
Hopefully temporary.

old chit

If any google searchers have any information on this old canoe,

please contact me through the comments or email.

The # stamped in is CL 797.

CL 797 - Penn Yan Canoe

Chow!

TP