[Evenstar]

Originally Posted by Rayhunt

Well its obvious you are an avid kayaker and realy love your kayak..

Originally Posted by Rayhunt

Let me ask you a few questions. Thanks

Ok, but I can see where you’re headed here. Some of your questions are very leading. I’ll play along this time, and will give you my honest answer to every single one - but be nice.

How much fuel do you put in her?

Since I’m the only “motor”, the fuel goes in me. She (me) can do about 20 miles on a peanut butter sandwich and an apple.

Do you go through the wiers channel?

No, I’ve only put in at Shep Brown's, and I try to avoid high traffic areas.

Do you agree that gas powered boat are an the MAJORITY of vessels on the lake?

Yes, that’s rather obvious.

Do large wakes make your kayaking experience more or less enjoyable?

… that all depends on the wakes. If there are a lot of boats in all direction making large wakes, you end up in conditions much like the natural occurring (from wind and current changes) “confused seas”. Those conditions are not fun, because the waves (or wakes) are coming at you from all directions at once. A single wake (or same direction wakes) can be fun to surf on.

Do you have lights on your kayak for night excurrsions?

I don’t kayak at night, so I’m not required to have navigational lights on my kayak. I do, however always carry a high intensity head lamp, but only for emergency – just in case I’m late in returning – for some unforeseeable reason. I’ve never every been out kayaking before or after daylight, so I’ve never even had to use it. I just like to be prepared.

Do you have to register a kayak ?

In NH? Only if your kayak has a (non-human) motor.

Are you required to have a boater safety card to operate a kayak?

If you are referring to a NH valid safe boating education certificate – No, since this is currently only required for persons operating a powerboat with a motor in excess of 25 HP – which would be way too big for any kayak. Although I have had paddling lessons, including white water lessons – which were give by a ACA/BCU certified instructor. And I have taking a boating navigation workshop, which was given at UNH by a certified sea kayak instructor.

I personally believe that all boater operators should be required to pass a boater safety course – although there should be different certification for different types of boats (Like power, paddle, and sail – at the minimum.)

Have you ever been or know anyone who has been run over by a powerboat in a kayak ?

Personally no, or I probably wouldn’t be here to answer these questions. But I have personally seen several pretty close calls. Last summer a powerboat – traveling at way more than headway speed went right between me and a couple in a tandem kayak. We (the two kayaks) were at most 100 feet apart. Yes, I know about the 150’ rule, but that powerboat operator never saw either one of us, until he was nearly between us (and it was a clear day – and we were in brightly colored kayaks – and were all wearing red or orange PFDs). He came very close to the tandem kayak. It he was going much faster, I’m almost certain that he would have hit one of us. The only reason that kayaks are not hit more often is that most are too afraid to go out on the main lake. Without a reasonable speed limit, it is just a matter of time, before someone’s going to be killed.

I was also kayaking on the Connecticut River last spring with a friend, when a high speed powerboat (going way over 45mph) came flying around a corner and barely avoided us – and we were not even near the middle of the river.