Fun with kayaks…

I have been an avid kayaker for many years. When I lived in California, I spent a lot of time in the ocean and San Francisco Bay. I also kayaked the many lakes and rivers in Northern California.

I was a kayak guide the the “Escape from Alcatraz” triathlon for several years:



I also did some time on the patrol boat when I was a LEO:



We have a few small lakes here in New Mexico that the lovely bride and I take our kayaks out in. Our daughter and son-in-law live up in northern Colorado and they have many lakes and rivers we want to take the boats out on.



This is a pic of my son-in-law and I on a lake in Maine a couple of years ago:

"dig, dash, and swim" -- ?

Ha ha ha……Something like that! There are about 100+ triathletes who make the 1.5 mile swim from a ferry boat docked next to Alcatraz island to the beach in San Francisco. From there they do an 8 mile run out to Baker beach and back and then they do an 18 mile bike ride out to Golden Gate park and back.

I was part of a group of about 35-40 kayakers who guided the swimmers from the the boat to the shore.

So, it could have been done?

You would have to be in good shape, but it could absolutely have been possible!

I guess I follow a different drummer in water recreation. My kayak is a combination of old and new. The Klepper kayak began in Germany in the early 20th century, and continues today to outfit paddlers and sportsmen around the world. Not cheap either; new ones run about $5K-$7K.

The photos show its uniqueness. Old folks will know what an "Erector Set" was, growing up. The Klepper utilizes a birchwood plywood frame that allows the parts to snap together. The are no screws or nuts to lose.The original "skin" was a rubber hull and fabric deck sewed together to make the hull & deck as one.

I bought mine at a yard sale for about $300, coming complete with a mast, mainsail & jib. A pair of interlocking paddles completed the outfit.
The frame dates back to about 1970, so its got 50 years of use on it.

The new "skin" just arrived from Long Haul Kayaks in CO last month, and has a CSM rubber hull and vinyl-coated acrylic deck. It will hold about 700 lbs, so it will work well for camping tent and gear. The kayak weighs about 80 pounds and has a 17' length. Just right for lakes, and rivers without "rock gardens or submerged tree trunks.

Check out the Klepper videos on You Tube. Paddle/Sail on!

That looks fantastic Buck! I’d love to see a few pics of you using it. A video even better.

I have never tried one, but that looks like a lot of fun, and sorry I missed out. Jet boats up the Salmon and Snake Rivers were on my bucket list during my middle years.

Pap

Have been an avid kayaker for years, own two, this 14' single
and a double.

Buck, that Klepper is really cool! There was actually a Klepper
store in Manhattan many years ago!

Tony

The Klepper seems to be the way to "do it proper", easy to store when you're not using it.

The oldest child had to sell his kayak, he got to a point of never using it (being a father does that) and it was eating up way too much room in the garage.

This is literally in my back yard.

https://youtu.be/vrxObw9NHEg

Pap

Though it’s not a White Water Kayaking, I have “floated” some of the rivers in East Texas.

While I was in college back in the 70s, I floated the Angelina River on different times from SH 21 to US 59 and from US 59 to Kingtown. There were lots of fish, wildlife, and pretty places to see. There were also a few logjams that we had to get out and go around.

Then, during the 80s, when I was a young single coach in Southeast Texas, I floated the Trinity River. On different trips, I floated from the Lake Livingston dam to US 59, from US 59 to FM 787, from FM 787 to SH 105, and from SH 105 to the Highway 90 bridge in Liberty. I encourage you to look on Google maps to see these places.

All of these trips were tremendous adventures for me. I wish I had done it more and I severely regret not floating the Sabine River from Toledo Bend to Deweyville. But those trips are, to a degree, dangerous and don’t jive good with marriage and fatherhood.

Like others, I had to change my adventures to places like Disneyland, Beaches, Mountains, Yellowstone, Carlsbad, and the Grand Canyon. I DON’T regret the trade-off!

Coach, very well stated about the trade off for sure!
Walker