Finally on the Water

I finally felt well enough to get out on the lake Saturday morning for a short paddle with my friend Joe.  The wind was really blowing creating a nice fun chop (I've got to get that sail mounted).  We paddled an easy 6 miles up to the dam and back.  This past year we've tried to paddle regularly once during the week, early morning before work, paddling fast with some sprints.  

Once we returned we started talking about wooden kayaks, Joe built his own Pygmy kayak, and my Grand Diva will be ready for the water next Sunday so I can start working on customizing the fit inside the cockpit. 

While talking about seats and studying our cockpits, I discovered that the seat of my NDK Explorer had just broken (the fiberglass seat hangs from the cockpit coaming and it appears it has broken off here).  I've heard this is not an unusual thing with these kayaks, though I've not had the problem before, and I've owned NDK kayaks for over 10 years now.   Looks like I'll need to do a quick repair, as I'm planning a day trip to Wilmington on Saturday to assist in a surf class with WaterSmyth Kayaking.

If my new foam seat in the Diva works out well, I might eventually just change out the seat in the Explorer.  Possibly this will help some with my numb toe problem.