100 Boats In 100 Days: Day 27 - Necky 'Looksha 14'

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Day 27 - Necky 'Looksha 14'

Well here is where it gets interesting. I have to catch a flight that departs at 7:45 this morning destined for Burlington Vermont where I'll find a rental car and continue on to Plattsburg New York where I'll be doing BCU Level 2 coach training for the next four days. I only hope there will be four boats and time for me to paddle them during the training. I don't want any naysayers giving me a hard time about 100 continuous days so I intend to make it happen one way or another. I'm not sure there how much opportunity there will be to get on line while I am in NY so there may be a gap in my reporting until I return late next Tuesday night.

In order to find time to get a one hour paddle in and still make my flight I decided to get up very early and make it happen (3:00 AM to be exact). I didn't want to go far so I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out our friend Jim Alsup's new geocache that he recently installed in Quivira Basin. The cache is what is called a multicache which requires you to visit several locations to find clues which provide you with the GPS coordinates of the actual cache. From talking with Jim I already know the location of the cache but I thought it'd be fun to try to locate the clues located around the basin. I took Jen's video camera along and shot video of each of the geocache locations so that I could share them with you to make your search easier. I'll be posting them on this site as soon as I get a chance, so be patient. In the mean time you can log on to http://www.geocaching.com/ and sign in then search for Jim's geocache in Quivira Basin. It's a fun challenge that will take you all over the marina area.

Geocache Clues Revealed

As for the Looksha 14, it was nice. Slow to turn but stable and straight tracking. The cockpit is generously sized so anyone that doesn't like the closed in feeling or needs a larger opening to get in and out will appreciate this boat.

OK folks I have a plane to catch so stay tuned for reports from Upstate New York as long as I can find a computer with an internet connection.

Looksha 14 Review

Manufacturer = Johnson Outdoors
Brand = Necky
Model = Looksha 14
Type = Touring
Material = Plastic
Length = 14'-1.5"
Width = 24.5"
Weight = 57 lbs.

Location = Mission Bay - Quivira Basin Geocach Hunting
Time = 3:30 AM
Distance = aprox 2 miles
Duration = 1:01
Avg. Speed = N/A (geocaching)
Conditions = Dark

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What's this all about

I was inspired by a Southern California paddler, Mark Sanders, who last year managed to paddle one hundred days in one calendar year. Paddling an average of almost two days a week is quite a feet for the average person that has to maneuver around work and family schedules to find the time to paddle, and I was impressed. Late last year as Mark’s paddle reports number 94, 95, 96… came in on the CKF club e-mail list I got to thinking that because I live so close to the water and as a instructor/guide at Aqua Adventures I have access to an entire fleet of kayaks, canoes, and other paddle craft, there is no excuse for me to not paddle almost every day. So, on January first of this year I set out to paddle something every day. Not necessarily always a kayak, because of the nature of our fleet we have open canoes, surf skis, and paddle boards available too. I figured it’d be good to mix it up on a different craft now and then to broaden my skill level in those areas, and just to get a little variety. To keep myself honest I set a minimum time limit of one hour to be sure that I couldn’t just dip a blade and call it a day. By mid March I had only missed five days in the year and was on track to finish my first hundred days within a month.

As I paddled up to our dock one morning before our Southwest Kayak Symposium I eyed the huge fleet of boats and boards that we have pondering what an enormous chore it is to keep all of those boats floating, much less in top operating condition. Then a thought struck me that I could paddle a different boat every day for almost a hundred days just from what we have on the dock. A quick count from water level gave me an estimate of about 85 boats in our fleet of rental/demo equipment. Add a half dozen more demo boats in the store we already have about 90 boats that a person could paddle. After thinking about it for a bit my plan was hatched to try to do just that. – Paddle 100 boats in 100 days -- To add to the challenge I want to rule out any duplicate models of boats we have, meaning that I will be paddling 100 completely different boats (brand, model, material, etc.) during the 100 day challenge.

With so many boats in our fleet it’s a constant challenge to familiarize myself with the specs and performance of each boat. With experience one can predict what a boat will be like by looking at it but nothing compares to putting your butt in the seat and giving it a go. Throughout this endeavor I will be taking note of my experiences in each boat and sharing that info on this blog, kind of a mini review. Before anyone pays too much attention to my reviews they should remember that this is FAR from a scientific study. I won’t be paddling the same course in the same conditions to allow for a truly head to head comparison of each boat. More importantly, because not every boat is designed to fit me (height, weight, strength, experience, etc.) not every boat will perform as it might for a person that is the appropriate size and skill level. The truth remains that nothing, absolutely nothing, can take the place of paddling a boat for yourself. So, take my reviews for what they are (my personal experience and opinion) and use that to gain just a little more info about these boats, then get out on the water and give them a try for yourself. If you have tried out a boat I mention in this endeavor please feel free to share your experience with me via this blog.

100 Boats In 100 Days

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Day 27 - Necky 'Looksha 14'

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What's this all about

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