Seawave Index Page
Summer Isles Kayaking Guide
Another forecast of calm winds in the Summers. Or is it? The BBC and YR reports are contradictory: the former has too-strong-for-IK winds from the south; the latter shows light winds from the north. Others show light winds from the south. How can they all be so different?
Maybe I should just look out across the water? All looks serene so let’s make paddle while the sun shines. I wheel back down to False Man’s Harbour and set off with two hours before high water.
No side PRVs?
Am I missing not having added pressure release valves in my side tubes, as I did to my original Seawave? Not really. I am running 0.3+ bar in the sides (official: 0.25) but temperatures up here in NW Scotland are hardly tropical. I try and leave the boat in the shade at the house and de-air the side tubes for a couple of seconds after a paddle, effectively manually depressurising the sides to about 0.2 bar, rather than having fitted PRVs do it for me automatically. The more vulnerable stock PRV in the floor purges automatically at 0.25.
On my next paddle I have to top up all three chambers with the K-Pump as I would have to do with all-round PRVs anyway. About 30 kpumps brings the sides back up to over 0.3 bar. The difference now is I use a manometer to check the sides are about right. Before I would just pump until the side PRVs purged. It’s about a minute’s more faffing.
As with a lot of things I do to my IKs: sails, rudders, decks and now, trolleys and headwind weight transfer – it’s fun to experiment. But in the end they’re all largely over-shadowed by the simple enjoyment of paddling. With sides pumped to >0.3 bar I find I can cruise easily in the near-still conditions at 6kph.
What would Freud have made of all this arch-threading.
In the prevailing calm the three skerries to the south don’t look that far.
It’s just over a kilometre to Sgeir Ribhinn (‘Stack C’) according to the GPS. That will take 11 minutes.
Once there, I fail to notice the double-arched cave we found last time. But this is HW. A guard-bird observes.
Two kayakers pass by. Earlier, I could clearly hear them talking behind me across the flat water, long before I could see them.
I recently read that a hazy horizon (Outer Hebrides not visible) means stability; warm, humid air.
Good viz and crisp detail = cold air and wind.
I head to Altandu, near the campervan-packed campsite.
I use the chance to load the bow with 10 litres of bucket-water. It does seem to make a difference: the bow bites better; no correctional paddling needed, unlike the other day. A good trick to know (I’d brought the drybag up front for that purpose).
How easy IK-ing is without wind. As is portaging with a trolley.
Inflatable Kayaks & Packrafts 
Thank you for your indeed amazing posts.
I am looking forward to receiving my first inflatable boat Gumotex Sewave in a few days.
I am very interested regarding the fact related to pumping a side chambers on the higher presure 0.3.
I would like to know, do you now maybe how many exits on the water you have had with you old Seawave with overinflated side chambers, i.e. have you recognized any difference of the material-nitrilon after overinflating for longer period of time.
Thank you for all tour posts. This is in my view the best blog for Seawave.
LikeLike
Hi Nikola, glad you like the posts. You will enjoy your Seawave for sure; for me one of the best do-it-all IKs ever. I did not notice any difference by over-inflating my first Seawave. Nothing much can happen because of the PRVs.
I would try your new boat at recommended pressures and if it works for you (you are not heavy), then good. Get a good manometer then try it at 0.3 and see if it is more responsive. If you live somewhere hot, be careful where you leave the boat.
LikeLike