Chine bLog

So I was out for a walk by the river with my daughter a couple weekends back and came across a guy taking a beautiful multi-chine wooden kayak off his car. I complemented him and inquired about the boat and learned he built it from a kit sold by Pygmy Boats out of Washington State.

I think this model, the Coho, was the one in question. I had heard of this shop but never seen one and I was quite impressed. For starters, this guy had done a great job building her - I wish I could name him here and give him credit. The multi-chine lines, however, added to the look. She was much sharper than the typical hard-chine kits you often see. If you are interested in going this route to build a kayak I would say you should definitely give these folks a look.

I love that the key tool for finding the previously-thought-not-be-extinct,-now-maybe-not ivory-billed woodpecker is a kayak. In this piece, Auburn group discovers elusive bird in Florida, they describe another team's use of the craft in their work. And therein is demonstrated the beauty of a kayak - quick, quite, maneuverable, portable - we owe a great debt to the Arctic "engineers" who came up with this concept.

Oh my - sometimes you run across something astoundingly special. A new client of mine, Rare, has funded a venture on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula that provides kayak-based eco-tourism. The venture supports the local economy in a new way and provides new opportunities for local communities to have sustainable livelihoods. Even better, it appears that they are using self-made kayaks, creating the first kayak shop in the region:

This path took Jose Eduardo to Canada to learn the art of kayak making. He is now the only kayak maker in the Yucatán. With start up grants from Mexico’s National Institute of Indigenous People and Rare, Mots Maya is attracting visitors for tours ranging from birdwatching to kayaking expeditions.

This is totally cool. Anyone heading down that way should definitely look into supporting this venture.

My wife and I got out paddling on our vacation, spending a fantistic morning off Castine, ME. We launched from the town landing just Northeast of the Maine Maritime Academy and headed Southeast across the Bagaduce River to the opposite shore. The tide was dead low and the current light. We found a rocky beach and rifted across the shallows and through rock gardens. Starfish lined the bottom, along with the odd crab. We continued along the shore of the large bay, finally scaring up some seals as the tide rose. The announced their presence with that "who the heck is that breathing heavily behind me?" schtick of theirs. Great morning!