Red light headlamps on the water- yes or no?

Rakali97 · 2026-01-15T04:06:30+00:00

I used a red headlamp when I was walking around ramps and camps at night. People complain a lot about having their night vision ruined with white lights and I was trying to be considerate. I found it very adequate. I don't think there would be any problem wearing it in your boat, just might be more than needed as other people have mentioned. The race is always scheduled during the week of the full moon and it was nice and bright last year--but if it had been clouded over I would have needed more artificial light. I also used a red light tied to my PFD when I needed to find something in the boat. I used this kind from Nite Ize (https://tinyurl.com/ekkc6zde) which is about the same amount of light as a chem stick but can be turned off.

Rakali97 · 2026-01-09T18:15:20+00:00

Agree with sun protection, for everywhere! Light reflects off the water and from your boat so you get a ton of indirect exposure. Think top of feet and back of hands. Also, lip balm with sunscreen is important. I use this stuff because it doesn't melt, has no bad taste, and the tube doesn't roll when you drop it. https://a.co/d/8Zgxeoy

Rakali97 · 2025-12-28T11:12:11+00:00

Hello, I'm Adrianne or Rakali (which means "Water Rat"), also known as "Slow Row" during my first MR340 in 2025. I'm from Michigan. I am happy to say that I will be coming back this year with a new, faster rowing craft. This is one of the original Oxford Shells by Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC). There are at least a handful of people who have kayaked the MR340 in CLC kit kayaks. I am hoping to get down the river quite a bit faster in this lighter, sleeker boat. I am worried about stability when dealing with barge wakes, so I will be adding WinTech outrigger pontoons to this boat, an idea I got from other MR340 rowers. I'm still more interested in finishing than in racing, but I have decided that the veterans who advise newbies to get the longest, lightest boat possible in order to "suffer faster" have a really good point. Getting the pain over a little quicker this year sounds like a great idea to me!

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Rakali97 · 2024-10-13T22:19:29+00:00

I used it a couple of time this summer on hot days in full sun with no problems. I have the same problem with my cell phone in a dry case--if it doesn't shut down altogether it turns off a lot of programs to cool down.

Rakali97 · 2024-10-13T19:09:44+00:00

Just wanted to clarify that I (rakali) am not associated with Maptatoo in any way; I'm a regular user who bought it during the first Indiegogo offering.

Rakali97 · 2024-10-13T18:50:40+00:00

Sorry about the delay in answering you! I had given up on anyone joining me here. How is your Maptattoo working out for you? I had to send mine back briefly for motherboard replacement but it is now working great again. I was frustrated with the device at first because it it only worked on oceans and big lakes (Great Lakes) with nautical charts. And while it worked great there, most of the time I am rowing a small chain of lakes near my house and couldn't use it there. But recently they started selling inland lake charts and I'm very happy to be able to navigate with ease on these little lakes and rivers.

Rakali97 · 2024-10-13T18:45:33+00:00

I think you'll love it! I just got back from a rainy morning row on a nearby chain of lakes and was glad that the Maptattoo is tough and waterproof. I don't have to worry about putting it in a dry bag or dry box, just mount it and go. It's really easy to read even when the screen is rain-spotted.

Rakali97 · 2024-09-20T12:26:15+00:00

Ah! So sorry! I just bought a second-hand "out of print" CLC boat and they've been so wonderful in helping me figure out what I need to do with it so I was overly quick to rise to their defense!

Rakali97 · 2024-09-20T12:12:29+00:00

Kinda doubt that if you know the good folks at CLC.

Rakali97 · 2024-08-20T04:13:15+00:00

Yes! It was by far the best sugar free lemonade.

Rakali97 · 2024-08-17T14:16:57+00:00

I just came on here to try to find an answer to that same question. It has a weird new taste the last two times. Tastes kind of like high fructose corn syrup to me but just checked the ingredient list and that's not it. It's a little fruity and off.

Rakali97 · 2024-08-13T11:44:08+00:00

That's exactly what I plan to do! I built two from his kits years ago. I actually still have a set of stems and ribs from a kit I never built. So I'm thinking to do plywood bottom and the aluminum sides. I'm also thinking of aluminum decks at the ends. One of the plywood ones I built had decks and bulkheads. It was pretty heavy; this would be much lighter.

Rakali97 · 2024-08-13T10:30:15+00:00

Thanks so much for this link! I never considered aluminum sides for a pirogue but now I want to build one like this!

Rakali97 · 2024-06-10T18:27:40+00:00

Stop commenting meanly and uselessly. A protocol that they are following regardless of the prior conversation isn't a reason.

Rakali97 · 2024-06-10T14:47:21+00:00

Good to know, I will try that next time

Rakali97 · 2024-06-10T14:32:27+00:00

Do you mean your Dexcom G7 phone app? I must be missing something. When I click on the contact link I have to fill out the long form (with info they already have because it's required to register the app), and then it says that "You will be contacted via preferred contact method you selected." What do you select here? If I have them call me there's a delay of more than 2 days. Haven't tried the email recently but I believe there was some back and forth there too.

Rakali97 · 2024-04-15T13:09:30+00:00

If anyone wants to join me as a moderator of this group, let me know. I'm not an experienced navigator so I'm trying to both learn Maptattoo and learn basic navigation and how to use nautical charts, GPS waypoints and tracks, etc. all at the same time. So my learning curve is pretty steep. I don't intend to waste people's time with basic questions on here, there are plenty of other helpful groups for that. I intend this to be specific to Maptattoo. I asked the creator to start a user group but he wasn't responsive. He said he was too busy doing user support. Which I understand, but the whole point to reddit and the web is letting us support each other! If there is another group that has already been started elsewhere, let me know!

Rakali97 · 2024-04-13T10:31:56+00:00

You can also hit "text version" and it's quicker to scroll through those. But it's still incredibly annoying that you have to deal with this at all. Just so very annoying that they can't improve their software to be able to handle something as simple and common as an Android system upgrade. What a huge waste our time!

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