Training in the Rain

I finally got my "SandyBottom" decal on my kayak, and, I got in my last paddle before the race.

Today was not the kind of day you jump up and say "Lets go paddling". It was grey, dreary, windy, and raining. Luckily it wasn't too cold in the 50's, because the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge is one week from today and I really wanted to get in one more paddle. Tomorrow's high is only going to get up to 35, with sleet and snow predicted, so today was it.

In addition to the paddle, I also wanted to test out my new foot pump, and with all the rain I also got to test out my new Cag, it poured. The Cag is quite toasty, though it did seem a bit silly wearing it over my dry-suit.


I'm very pleased with the foot pump. The foam bulkhead we installed is perfectly placed, and the pump bulb very easy to work, even with a bit of a workout of my calf muscles.


The picture below is inside the cockpit. We removed the footpegs and peg tracks. The black horizontal piece is the bulb that can be pushed from either leg. The hole at the top of the foam is to store my hand pump (just in case). The grey pipe on the bottom is part of the sump, it ends just after the length in the picture, still leaving me plenty of room for my feet when I get out of the kayak.

The red bungies are part of my underdeck storage system where we epoxied some straps with openings to run the bungie through. Under the bungies I store my hand pump, smoke flares (the long ones that don't fit in your pfd), and my cell phone in it's dry bag (which I'm able to make calls through).

I first saw this pump in KiwiBird's Sisson Kayak a couple years ago. It is not available in the US, I ordered it from a very nice outfitter in New Zealand, Trail Journeys. I believe it is primarily used in their racing kayaks.