Saturday 30 June 2012

BCU Kayak angling module

Today I took part in a newly introduced BCU kayak angling module at Runswick bay ran by Kim Bull with the assistance of Ken Oliver and thoroughly enjoyed the day I learned a few new things and was surrounded by eager enthusiastic Kayak anglers that were new to the sport.

Runswick safety course 012
Runswick safety course 015
Runswick safety course 017
Runswick safety course 018
Runswick safety course 019

 

RUNSWICK TRAINING 202

 

RUNSWICK TRAINING 219

 

RUNSWICK TRAINING 220

RUNSWICK TRAINING 222

RUNSWICK TRAINING 223

 

RUNSWICK TRAINING 224

RUNSWICK TRAINING 225

RUNSWICK TRAINING 311

I’m sure this course will get the new lads started on the right foot and will be a great platform for them to build on as their experience grows.


The course covered things such as paddling techniques and planning for weather and tides along with some excellent buddy recovery methods and also went into safe anchoring systems and basic kit requirements. I should have a certificate soon! my first in the world of Kayaking Happy Days

Thursday 21 June 2012

A brief trip to SW Scotland

 

A few pictures to share from a trip to Kirkcudbright that was cut short due to a stronger than forecast easterly wind but superb scenery and great fun playing in the tide race around little ross in the mouth of Kirkcudbright bay need to get back up there in search of my first Tope

Saturday 16 June 2012

I had been asked by a moderator of a forum if I would write a review of my Kaskazi Dorado fishing Kayak so this is what I came up with just thought I would share it to kick my blog off.


Just thought I would share with you my own personal opinion of the Kaskazi Dorado



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I bought my Dorado at the start of last summer I had been in contact with Simon who is the distributor for these fine kayaks (http://kayakuk.com/) in the UK for a few weeks and had decided to get an aqua blue Dorado then a couple of weeks before I was going to pay a deposit a Dorado in as new condition was advertised very close to me and had only been launched 3 times, this was too good an opportunity to pass up as these Kayaks rarely turn up for sale second hand and when they do they go in a flash.


I got in contact with the seller and took the plunge , after informing Simon of my actions who was still pleased that I had bought a Dorado even though it meant I wasn't sending him my hard earned money for one he still offers me advice and help freely a top bloke to deal with.




My first thoughts of the Dorado were great I loved the storage available and the fact it has a factory fitted rudder which I rarely use unless there is a bad cross wind to contend with as I feel it makes you a less effective paddler to rely on it when a decent paddling technique would do the job but it does have it's uses in unfavourable conditions and I use it a lot whilst trolling as I tend to keep my eyes fixed on the rod tip which would mean my paddling would see me heading all over the place.



The other thing is the weight of it I can easily load it on and off my car on my own which was a struggle with my Ultra 4.7



My first paddle saw me punching out through the surf on my local beach finding it a bit wobbly for the first few seconds then being amazed by how I could handle the kayak in the breaking waves and white water and also edging it to turn was great and something the I couldn't really do in the ultra as its tipping point seemed to be all or nothing.

Then I paddled out passed the breakers and tipped myself out to practice re entries this was a lot harder to do than on my ultra I managed to do it but not as confidently as I wanted I needed to do it 100% as it is very important that you are competent in your re entries and something I practice a lot I found that the Dorado being a good bit narrower beamed than what I am used to and the hull shape being more of a proper V shape it was turning right over easier hence my problems after letting it bug me for a few days and the weather not allowing me back out for practice I was back out in the surf and once I got my technique sorted out I can be back on it as quick as flash now just a case of finding the best way to do it which for me was to hold onto the kayak and let my legs float up to the surface and then just pull myself onto the kayak whilst dragging the kayak under me.



Once I was happy with that I started to get out on fishing trips on it and found paddling out to my marks was much quicker and still can't get over the way you can ride the swells using just a few strokes to keep you going in the right direction sometimes it just feels effortless




I always found surf landings in any decent sized surf very intimidating in my previous Kayak but this is something I have grown to love in the Dorado with its low seat and the fact that you have your legs in tight to the fish box you can grip it and lean/brace to the wave and it gives you very good control I still get wiped out a few times but with the cavernous fish hatch along with all the other hatches no harm done no risk of snapped rods or lost gear.



A few pics for you showing the storage and a bit of rigging

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Fish hatch lid scotty mount for trolling fishfinder mount suunto orca compass and GPS mount

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Fish hatch with spare paddle permanently stored there and plenty of room for anything else including fish and rods

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Hatch behind seat with transducer stuck down

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Battery box slides up snugly next to the moulded in seat inside the same hatch

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Rear hatch showing one of the bulkheads in the hull

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And also possible to get a C-tug in this hatch broken down but the wheels are secured in my crate

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I also changed the anchor trolley lines down one side of the yak to my own system which I find works better for me

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I still kept it in two separate lines as I prefer it and also look neater and added cleats so I can lock the anchor off at the stern for most of my fishing but I find locking the bow off very handy for using it to haul the anchor keeping bow on to tide really makes all the difference

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Rigged up and ready for a trip

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a successful summer trip

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The Dorado really does inspire confidence in you and have never found myself in any kind of situation that I haven't felt in control of and as a kayak it is capable of much more than I am at the moment but feel as my ability grows I will never be wanting anything else as all weather fishing kayak





I even managed to get my son who was 4 at the time of these pics to have a good paddle about in it which he loved only a matter of time before I have a regular fishing/paddling partner me thinks


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There has been quite a lot written on various forums about the robustness of the fibreglass kayaks and while yes they are a bit more 'fragile' than a plastic kayak they are a lot easier to repair and keep looking good just got to use some common sense on where you land them and how you handle them I have had to do small cosmetic repairs to mine which was easy enough to do and also found by fitting a small strip of protective tape to a section of the bow and stern the repairs were a lot less frequent but this really is a small price to pay to have a kayak that glides and cruises so effortlessly and yes it is a little more confined of a space to fish from and sitting side saddle is not as practicle but I wouldn't swap it for anything else.




Thats not to say I won't be getting anything else as I would really like a surf ski style kayak for the rougher days but as an all out fishing kayak the Dorado really is hard to beat



as said at the start of this review this is just my opinion and I'm sure I have missed loads of points out but I will add to it at a later date




Hope this has been of some help and offers some help to would be purchasers


Andy




Read more:http://eastcoastkayakangler.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=kayakinfo&action=display&thread=173#ixzz1xzPwuX7b
I'm hoping to get a blog going of my Kayak fishing sessions along my home patch along the Cleveland coast so will try and keep the posts coming weather permitting and hopefully have some decent photos to share.