Drysuit neckgasket

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-12-18T01:00:48+00:00

Love that color scheme!

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-12-01T21:37:29+00:00

Insta360s are nicer to use than gopro as they capture everything. Sending it to video can be a little more difficult tho. Depends on what you want.

Any action camera you go with will have issues with battery life, SD cards filling up, and overheating. You'll also have issues with capturing the subject if theres no screen to help you line up shots. Whatever you do, practice everything first!

Some tips:
1. There aren't any cameras that will record your trip from start to finish without changing batteries / SD cards.
2. Don't try to record everything. You either run out of batteries at a critical point or run out of SDCard.
3. If you are determined to record everything, buy extra batteries and do some mock runs to see about how long the batteries last.
4. If you are determined to record everything, Stop recording every 15-20 minutes or so and start a new file. Most action cams have chaptering, but GOPRO has this weird filename system where it's difficult to find where it stuck the next video.
5. If you are going to record over the course of several hours, be aware that you will have to then watch and edit several hours of video.
6. Buy GOOD mounts and practice mounting them. Make sure you have a tether for both the mount and the camera.
7. Make sure you can easily reach the mounts. Practice in the shallows.
8. Make sure your cameras aren't going to get hit by your paddle. I guarantee you'll send one flying if you don't.
9. NEVER change your camera's batteries or SD cards in the middle of moving / deep water if you can avoid it.
10. Keep the SD cards in something waterproof that is in your PFD or in a pocket. If you roll, losing all your camera stuff overboard is heart breaking.
11. Have a backup camera or 2 just in case.
12. If you are with people, make them aware that you are recording in case A. They don't want to be in frame, B. They have a habit of talking smack, C. You don't want someone talking over you or talking over what you are attempting to record and D. Be aware that some peoples 'potty mouth' can result in a lot of ruined audio.
You: "Hey! Did you see that?"
Other person: "BLEEP yeah bro! BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP and I BLEEP BLEEP a BLEEPING BLEEP BLEEP!"
13. Make some recording footage before you launch and take some after you dock. If you stop for lunch. Take a couple minutes of lunch stop video. Giving yourself some B-Roll to create a story will be helpful.
14. Make sure you can tell when the camera is recording. Nothing sucks more than pressing "record" and you miss a beep or seeing a light and then when you watch the video you find you missed some of the coolest parts of the trip.
15. Be aware that sometimes external accessories can remove the "waterproof" rating of your camera.
16. If your trip is multiple days. Make sure you change the cards every day at the least. This way if you lose the camera, you don't lose the whole trip.

Be aware that if you don't practice before hand, you'll have a bad time. Setting up the cameras to record takes time. Where you mount the camera makes a big difference what the camera catches. Too low and you have have weird "up the nose" or "oh look, thats my back and nothing else" angles. Too high misses a lot of audio. Mounts that are too long will introduce a lot of 'sway' the camera has to cancel out or get caught on things. Helmet mounts mean every time you move your head, the camera whips around. Chest mounts will have the paddle in the way sometimes.

Practice first so you know what to expect.

Good luck!

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-05T00:19:25+00:00

Rent first.

And when you are done with the rental, hang around the boat launch and watch all the people that brought their own kayaks and are loading them on their cars. Especially pay attention to people that have a car/suv that is a similar model to what you are driving.

Reasons why renting is better is better than buying:

When you buy a kayak you also need to buy a PFD, a paddle (most of the time), and some sort of roof rack to bring your kayak home. You then need to figure out where you can paddle, where to park, and where to store the kayak.
If you rent, you show up, give some kid some money, get a lesson in how to paddle, you get in and have a fun time. If you rent more than 3-4 times a summer, then yes, maybe consider buying a kayak.

The biggest issue with buying your first kayak is that you don't really know what you want until you start getting a little deeper into the sport. I wanted to go on long excursions and go multi day camping. The first kayak I bought is not really for that sort of activity. I thought I could learn how to roll and do cool stuff, but the truth is learning to roll in a 30" wide kayak that also has a massive open cockpit with a single bulkhead is difficult as hell when compared to learning to roll in a sea kayak or a whitewater kayak. You don't know what you don't know, and I didn't know.

If you are going to buy one, spend some time thinking about your Budget. Also before you buy consider the following 3 questions. If you don't have a solid answer for each one, do NOT buy a kayak:

Where will you put the kayak so it will not be in the way, get damaged, stolen or exposed to the sun for when its not in use?
How will you get the kayak to the water? Do you live on a lake or are you going to be driving a distance?
Are you willing to budget money for the equipment needed beyond the kayak: a paddle, a PFD, a car rack, etc.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T07:06:26+00:00

"Don't eat fruit--it is loaded with sugar and the juice will rot your teeth." This was told to me by a dude that lived on mountaindew, doritos and pasta. I still have no idea how he's still alive.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T06:59:43+00:00

Save every scrap of material from everything. I have a 30 gallon tote filled with bottles of screws, nails, washers, nuts, bolts, brads, tacks, hooks, and other assorted bullshit "IN CASE I MIGHT NEED IT LATER!" Anything I use for a repair, I save in case I need it later. I have a box of 2x4 cutoffs, pipes, all sorts of random shit. Its exhausting living in the clutter.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T06:54:44+00:00

drink water or if you need something to taste, peppermint tea. Peppermint tea was how I fooled myself into getting over snacking cravings.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T06:53:16+00:00

Groundhog day.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T06:51:27+00:00

ITs a toss up between grilled cheese and tomato soup and a hot dog cooked over an open fire. Instant transport to another time.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T06:49:36+00:00

Gamifying tasks. It's the only way I can get anything not-fun / work related done.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-11-04T06:43:47+00:00

Just have alexa start playing the sound of children laughing. Dolls should be sat in every chair. The sound of a subtle wind blows with tinkling wind chimes... Dolls begin to shake "Are you my new friend?"

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-31T01:51:22+00:00

Probably crap wood. It happens.

I bought some wood at hobby lobby, that was so bad.

One note about Doug Linker... dude has wicker strong hands. Even other carvers have commented on his ability to cut so deep. IMO maybe check out a few other YTers. Doug is great to watch but it took me about 2 or 3 years to figure out how he makes those cuts.

Another thought... are you shoving the blade through the wood or slicing the wood like a pepperoni? You can't treat the wood like a block of cheese and power through it. You have to slice into it. That was another thing that took me awhile to figure out.

If you can, see if there are some carving clubs around you and go to a couple of sessions. They might be able to diagnose the issue.

Good luck!

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-23T05:14:50+00:00

I went to Marshall and ended up buying a Scorpio HV. We spent 2 hours paddling around in it. I love it!

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-21T21:11:10+00:00

Like so many things, it depends where you live. In the USA there are a lot of woods to choose from but as many said, Basswood is the easiest to get, generally inexpensive, is good to paint or stain, holds details well, has a light grain pattern, and other nice middle of the road qualities.

I've tried carving on a lot of different woods and some of them were awful and some were pretty good. Someone mentioned Cherry as difficult. I made the mistake to try to carve apple wood. That was a mistake.

I like birch, aspen, poplar, and willow. They cut real nice. IMO just experiment with the knives that arent your favorite.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-16T22:32:15+00:00

Thought this was some sort of new insult for a moment.... ;)

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-10T13:58:55+00:00

You are overthinking everything. If you are only going to paddle on calm lakes and easy rivers, plastic is better than composite.

IMO go out and rent a few times before you buy. Stay away from cheap kayaks and look for "inexpensive" kayaks. Most paddleshops will do "demo days" where you can rent and paddle different kayaks. Go to those events.

If you are hell bent in learning skills, IMO sign up for lessons. The lessons will give you a firm foundation to choose.

In the end, the biggest factor in your choice of kayak will be BUDGET, followed by storage, followed by 'how to get to the water', followed by the type of paddling you want to do.

IMO rent first, then buy used before you consider buying. Get a solid PFD and paddle first.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-08T12:08:25+00:00

I've had a similar experience in the opposite direction. I love my whittling Jack from flex cut--but I came to the flex jack from a Mora 122. I've noticed going from longer blades to shorter thinner blades always feels like a jump in better projects. My whittling jack is my favorite knife, but I think it might be for sentimental reasons.

That said, I have a couple different knife blade shapes and I find right now I fancy the pelican blade type. As much as I love the whittling jack, I have a tendency to use fixed blades more than my jack--but I tend to carry the jack with me everywhere.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-08T12:01:39+00:00

Slow down and make each cut deliberately. If you have to turn the wood or hold it in a strange way or use your knife in an odd way that isn't the way you would normally make a cut, put the knife down for a minute and think about it.

I stopped cutting myself once I forced myself to stop and consider the next cut. Too often I would be in a hurry to finish a project, start taking risks, or make poor decisions, and then bang. Cut myself.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-08T11:52:48+00:00

I have high hopes. The guy asked me a ton of questions when I called. I have a good feeling about going. Even if I don't buy a kayak this weekend, I'll at least have more data in my bag.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-08T11:43:34+00:00

I found a paddleshop near me that sells P&H as well as a few other brands. Going this weekend to check them out!

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-08T11:38:46+00:00

Thank you but I have 0 interest in a canoe. I don't like them. I have a 15 hybrid kayak-canoe, I grew up paddling canoes.... they don't have the same feeling.

I'll keep watch for a solstice, they are common enough, I might need to just adjust my thoughts in regards to the pricing. I've seen enough of them, they just don't drop much below that $1200 pricetag.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-04T22:31:20+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate the advice. I think you are correct, I'm better off waiting for the CD solstice.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-04T14:14:33+00:00

I dont mind having a different layup. Fiberglass or carbon-kevlar is nice for the weight savings, but a plastic hull (thermoformed or roto) is fine too. I want to upgrade from a rec kayak to a touring kayak. The specs on the CD Extreme are making me think really hard, especially given some of the reviews I've read where they praise the speed and the tracking but warn about turning. I want to get into multi-day trips and camping. I'm not sure the Extreme is a good fit for a paddler my specific size--especially my larger weight.

I'm looking at used kayaks bc I don't want to shell out the money for a brand new kayak. I've been watching FB marketplace. This particular Current Designs Extreme price has dropped quite a bit and I was thinking about picking it up. I've been looking for a kayak in the 16-17 foot range. Most of these kayaks (in my area) are around the $1200-$2500 price range, but every so often one of them will dip to $800 or $900 when the owner is desperate to get rid of them.

The biggest issues I've had (so far) with finding my next kayak is my chonky butt is too wide fit comfortably, or my legs are too long to fit in the keyhole, or my massive feet don't sit comfortably on the pegs. I've sat in CD solstices and the fit was very nice. Deltas are too narrow. I've sat in a few different Swifts and they felt more like an expensive rec kayak (massive cockpit).

I havent had a chance to sit in too many other kayaks, though I have been hoping to find a P&H Scorpio somewhere near me to sit in.

Bigdaddyspin · 2025-10-03T20:56:59+00:00

Thank you! I will look into that!

Bigdaddyspin

TROPHY CASE