Activity for mmccâ€
| Type | On... | Excerpt | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edit | Post #40795 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
| Edit | Post #39645 | Initial revision | — | over 4 years ago |
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A: Topo map server out there somewhere? For USA: https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/tnm-delivery/topographic-maps Incredibly complete, and free. Maps are big PDFs (40mb or so). Not quicky navigated but well organized. (more) |
— | almost 5 years ago |
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A: What to consider when choosing between rigid and inflatable stand up paddle boards? Great question I would think through in your specific case the following steps: store it (at home or at a public boat ramp if available) transport it (if it’s not already at the launch point)—-to the car, into/onto the car, to the launch point prepare it for use paddle it transport ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Why are we moving in circles with a tandem kayak? Briefly: make sure the boat sits as flat and level in the water as possible. As others have indicated in their answers above, it’s not good if there is too much weight in the front (which can happen even if you are very light if the seat is very far forward—-think of a small kid at the... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Cargo capacity of a kayak Kayaks vary, and while you will be able to do the trip you describe in anything described as a “touring kayak”, the convenience and time required to pack will vary a lot depending on the exact model. In any case, packing each morning will be significantly more of a chore than in a cano... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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How do I make and test a radar-reflecting hat? At significant risk of tin foil hat jokes, I’ve read compelling evidence that a homemade hat incorporating angled and crumpled aluminum foil may slightly increase a kayaker’s visibility on radar — not enough to provide real safety by itself, but as a small addition to other best ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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What can I do to be more visible to other ship's radar when traveling in a sea kayak? I've seen small radar reflectors for sale. Should I carry one when kayaking? What else can I do such that boats can use their radar to be aware of my location when they can't see me due to poor visibility? (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: What equipment do I need for overnight water trail in a kayak? In brief: Drybags or sturdy trash bags (trash compactor bags are good), and a splashproof flashlight you can keep at hand if you want to paddle in low light. You are going to have a blast! Dawn dusk and maybe moonlight are fantastic times for a short paddle close to your campsite. So bring a ligh... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: Filtering fine silt/mud from water (not necessarily bacteria etc.) This is only a partial answer but if you’re not drinking the water immediately you might benefit from letting it settle, especially if you can find water near where you’re camping. From https://www.who.int/watersanitationhealth/dwq/WSH02.075.pdf?ua=1 “4.2 Plain sedimentation or... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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A: How to tell whether a particular pair of sunglasses will effectively protect your eyes? Posting this partial answer in the hope of soliciting comments: Electronics suppliers like digikey sell UV LED’s in various wavelengths, and various devices such as photovoltaics or photoresistors which seem like they could be used in conjunction with a good multimeter to measure light intens... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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How to tell whether a particular pair of sunglasses will effectively protect your eyes? This detailed paper https://www.aoa.org/Documents/CRG/Blue%20Light%20and%20Eye%20Damage.pdf from the American Optometric Association details the various types of short term (i.e. snow blindness) and long term eye damage resulting from exposure to sunlight, mentioning specifically various portions of ... (more) |
— | over 5 years ago |
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How to detect significant sun damage in a plastic molded kayak? Molded kayaks are usually made of polyethylene, an otherwise extremely durable material which can be damaged by the sun. The used market is full of kayaks manufactured ten or twenty years ago which spent some part of their life outdoors. There are many variables in manufacturing (UV stabilizers, pi... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to make my kayak Eskimo roll reliable in rough water? Summary: Develop muscle memory for the basic move through instruction and repetition, develop robustness against external water conditions, and address the internal panic response. Develop muscle memory: get some instruction and then practice the basic mechanics of a roll until you can do it tho... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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How to make my kayak Eskimo roll reliable in rough water? How do I develop my kayak “Eskimo roll” from something I can do most of the time in a calm lake or pool to something I can trust to work close to 100% of the time in real sea or river conditions? (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Learning to Surf in Goa - Your advice Definitely do it, you can make enormous progress in 4 days! But take safety seriously in the ocean: Buy your own leash and carefully check that the connection to the rental surfboard is very secure. If you are anything but a very experienced swimmer then becoming separated from your surfboard in ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: What’s the best thing to wear on your hands when sea kayaking in very cold weather? The best answer I’ve come up with so far is to combine neoprene paddling gloves such as those sold by NRS with an additional pair of waterproof or semi-waterproof mitten shells designed to be worn over gloves / mittens. This has kept my fingers completely comfortable in air temperatures well ... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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What’s the best thing to wear on your hands when sea kayaking in very cold weather? What product or combination of products best protects your hands while kayaking in winter? I’m interested in a system which provides comfort for extended paddling but also the peripheral activities including possible self or assisted rescues, in water temperatures close to freezing and air te... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Why is traditional marine advice to stay still, rather than swim vigorously, if fallen in cold water? If you are swimming or vigorously treading water, two things will happen that make you colder: significantly increased rate of blood flow out to the moving muscles in the arms and legs, which are long and thin and have a lot of surface area to dump heat increased heat transfer from your skin to t... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Best field remedy for small cockroach in the ear A few drops of baby oil (light nontoxic mineral oil) to suffocate the cockroach, then blunt tweezers or alligator forceps to carefully remove it once dead and motionless, if it is visible and easily grasped without rupturing the body of the roach or damaging the ear (don’t dig around blindly i... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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Best field remedy for small cockroach in the ear What are best methods for non-medically-trained personnel to remove a small cockroach from their own or someone else’s ear? (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How do I keep my group together? I very much recommend formally asking the group’s permission for you (or someone else the group designates) to tell them what to do as needed in order to keep the group together. Everyone tends to shrug and agree, and then that breaks down the momentary hesitation to say anything when the gro... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How do you patch/repair an inflatable dinghy while still underway? If you have multiple people one option is for one person to simply use their hand while others get you to safety ASAP. This will not be at all a definitive answer, but here is one data point regarding getting to shore quickly rather than attempting repair: Three friends and I chartered a six mete... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How to tow a canoe with a bicycle? For anyone interested in building their own bike trailer: Just wanted to add to this thread the following resource for cargo-hauling bicycle trailer design and basement/garage fabrication. Note that this is not a canoe-specific link, but much of this is relevant to towing a canoe, kayak, or any o... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: Are there any outdoorsy hikes accessible from the T in the Boston area, preferably (but not necessarily) actually in Boston or Cambridge I’ll let you do the mapping but you’ve got a couple of good options. The Arnold Arboretum is walking distance from Forest Hills Station (directions by different methods, including Forest Hills Station are provided here), and while it’s more of a very large park and you’ve... (more) |
— | almost 6 years ago |
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A: How can I adjust a neoprene wrist/neck seal on a drysuit, by cutting and joining? A YouTube search for “neoprene neck gasket repair” yielded some hits such as this one in which the guy uses a heat gun to remove the tape on the seam: https://youtu.be/MtEODsp1JO8 The advantage of gluing a purchased neck gasket which is the right size over the old one, instead of resiz... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Winter wear in New York Welcome! I’m sure others will have many detailed answers, but the best suggestion I have is to put all of your cotton socks away until the summer. Blends of wool and synthetic (Smartwool is the famous brand, I happen to like Darn Tough, but there are many) exist which are thin and comfortable... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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How can you identify whether brackish water is too salty to drink? Sometimes there are sources of water which are slightly contaminated with salt, such as coastal wells or pools of rainwater in rocks near the coast, or water containers with pinhole leaks which have been stored in proximity to seawater (e.g. aging Dromedary bags in a kayak). In these cases, is the s... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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How reliably can you assess the condition of a reverse-osmosis desalinator? Handheld desalinators operating on the principle of reverse osmosis are available for emergency use in lifeboats. Sometimes they appear for sale unused in their original packaging at a very steep discount because they have been replaced at a scheduled interval by their owners (merchant marines, navi... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Can I sleep in my canoe with it adrift on a commonly used lake? It’s certainly not “safe” by any typical definition but I’m assuming you mean “safe” by the standards of a canoe trip on a big body of water. So I think regarding going to sleep in your canoe, like going on the trip at all, you need to identify and manage ... (more) |
— | about 6 years ago |
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A: Start a fire with nail clippers? Yes if one of these tiny replaceable flints from a gas welding torch lighter lives on the chain of your nail clipper as well. The flints are so small this is reasonable. Apologies couldn’t find a picture that showed scale but the flints themselves are about the length of the eraser on the ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What are these small corroded canisters on top of a mountain in Nevada? A quick note that if you ever hike in areas where you might wander into any place that may have been a bombing range, please familiarize yourself with the concept of unexploded ordinance: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexplodedordnance That’s probably a battery. Some have a metal post an... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Portable canopy leg weights, how heavy? This is a great application of my favorite engineering analysis tool which is the luggage scale / fish scale (the cheap handheld spring scale that tells you with surprising accuracy how much your suitcase / sturgeon weighs). Find someone with the same canopy dimensions you have, who is having succ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What is the difference between a Canoe and a Kayak? A canoe is a boat designed to be best paddled with a canoe paddle, a kayak is a boat designed to be best paddled with a kayak paddle. You can propel a kayak with a canoe paddle, or vice versa, or fit either one with a sail, or a motor, or oars, or a pole, or throw a sea anchor as far as you can and ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How can I fix an airbed valve that pops open? Stick a cork in it. Or a rubber stopper. Or a wooden dowel (wet or waxed). See what you can find you might luck out. You got me curious though and I’ve been googling. Sounds like your best bet may be replacing the valve with a valve from some other inflatable (something broken or discar... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Is it likely to be my technique or my muscles that cause my arms and shoulders to ache so soon after I start kayaking? You can train through this, but don’t miss this opportunity to use the information from your muscles to improve your technique as much as you can while your complaining arms give you the incentive. In my experience kayaking does have a sort of breaking-in period during which a bunch of muscle... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Is there a simple at-home test to objectively measure the insulating value of a sleeping pad? Does anyone know of a reasonably simple means of using household items to objectively measure the insulating value of a sleeping pad, in a way that accurately predicts that aspect of performance in the field? I would imagine that this would involve creating some of the field conditions (for exampl... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Does 'Single-oar sculling' have any use in recreational boating? There’s apparently a version of single-oar sculling performed lying on one’s back in a low, flat boat custom built for the purpose of stealthily approaching waterfowl: https://www.liveoutdoors.com/hunting/166851-scull-boats-waterfowl-stealth-hunting/ (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: If you are kayaking on a lake when whitecaps start happening, what is the best direction to get off the lake? As said elsewhere “It depends”—-on the paddler’s fitness and skill, the geography of the lake, and whether the equipment (boat and clothing) make capsizing inconvenient or dangerous. Generally speaking, paddling into the wind and waves requires greater fitness and less sk... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What is a 'Whitecap' and why should I be concerned about boating in them? As well stated in another answer, whitecaps (the white tips of waves) are a visual indicator of local wind speed over the water. Just wanted to add emphasis that whitecaps, as an indicator of wind, will often appear before the local formation of the sort of short, steep waves (aka “wind chop&... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Neoprene as a base layer for winter activities? How does neoprene perform as a base layer for winter sports? Is it a way to be warm while remaining sweaty, as opposed to wicking sweat away? What are its disadvantages? What are best practices for how to use it as a layer? By neoprene I mean typical neoprene wetsuit material (foamed neoprene, ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How sophisticated a dust mask can one hope to improvise? Working answer: In case of truly irritating particles (bad enough that the breath-moistened bandana ain’t cutting it): Poke many small holes in bottom half of a disposable water bottle. Pack bottle tight with porous / fibrous / granular material. Put mouth over the bottle opening and brea... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What are the options for kayak self-rescue without a paddle float? One more piece of gear worth considering, if you plan to do solo trips or group trips in conditions that might separate the group, are inflatable sponsons—-long narrow inflatable tubes stowed compactly alongside the cockpit rim, secured in advance to the hull or rigging. You can inflate these... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Training for Kayaking out of season When I first began kayaking I found a winter of swimming and rock climbing helped me get through the sore-arms stage, where I had felt stuck, to the plateau of leisurely paddling for hours at a level of exertion that felt more like backpacking. That said I feel the best way to train is to find a t... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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Does a hands-free kayak bilge pump exist that is as speedy and reliable as a hand pump? Does anyone have any experience they can share with actual use of a hands-free kayak bilge pump? I’m curious about foot-operated/electric/other, purchased or custom built, anything that lets me keep both hands on the paddle. My performance / reliability benchmark is the standard foam covered... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Can I use a Canoe Paddle with a Kayak? Yes but try a traditional Greenland kayak paddle You absolutely can although as mentioned above you are sitting closer to the water and may therefore need a shorter paddle. That said, as your seated posture is different (if you really want to take advantage of the narrow kayak hull it’s b... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: How to tow a canoe with a bicycle? Just wanted to add another in the category of a frame with wheels strapped to one part of the boat, and a hitch strapped to the bow. I strongly recommend wheelchair wheels, the axles of which fit in a ½” or 12mm hole (depending on your country) and handle the side loads of a trailer with... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Magnetic connector for LED light on tent mesh I don’t know of anything off the shelf that is a magnetic connector but there is a thing called a “cable pass-through” or “cable gland” that you could use to pierce the netting and pass your cable through while sealing it from insects. Go to an electricians shop an... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: What is the use of the saw blade on a swiss knife? I find those mini saw blades very useful when trying to make repairs to gear or improvise with found objects (not necessarily tree branches)— for cutting notches in a piece of wood to hold cord or wire, for hacking through a plastic drum or car bumper or motorcycle fender, for (slowly) making ... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |
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A: Are there any large knife/saw multitools for pocket or belt use? Another ultracompact possibility is one or more good quality blades from a coping saw, either with small pegs/rings that allow you to hold and tension the blade and cut using two hands, with a folding frame the parts of which you make and bundle with the blades, or with the intent to use found materi... (more) |
— | over 6 years ago |