When we last left Mahalo's kayaks, I wasn't really happy with version one of my new hoists. Luckily we were near Gange's and the wonderful Mouat's hardware/marine/etc store there. I picked up some new bits! For starters I picked up this braided nylon. It's stronger, and matches the kayak colors to some degree. I attached the caribbeaners to the attachment points instead of looping the lines through them. Got a new hook deal instead of the rings. I put some friction tape at the bottom of the snap hook so the line doesn't really shift. Hoists attaching to the seat attachment points. Very clean and can be removed in a flash. Now we can easily stash the hoist under the seat while we are out enjoying the kayaks. But wait, there is more! Now that I have really simplified the hoisting operation, if possible I wanted these same bits to attach the kayak to Mahalo. You see, the most difficult part of the entire process is moving our bodies from Mahalo to the kayak. Mahalo is super steady, and the kayak is like a greased puck on ice! We have found that lashing the kayak to the staple on the swim step as tightly as possible is what makes the process easier. As you see here, I'm able to loop the hoisting line around the staple and simply use the snap hook to secure. Get that butt down in the seat and deploy yourself off for some kayaking fun! The kayaks really add to our boating experience and are great exercise. The novelty of being able to pedal them always delights our visitors.
With the new deployment/retrieval it will be even more fun to use them.
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Last year I didn't have time to put much thought into a nice way to deploy and retrieve our Hobie kayaks. Here's the blog post I did when I first brought them aboard. I have been using the crane, and some nylon straps I had from tying down my previous kayaks to a trailer or car top. The boats are often hoisted at crazy angles, not that it really hurts them, but it looks kinda sloppy. Above is where they live on the deck when not in use and covered up. When we go to use the kayaks, the seat and the pedals/flippers have to be installed. Last year I generally did this on the swim step, with the kayak still attached to the crane. I had the seat/pedals in a closet in the lazarette. The whole process was sort of a pain. Here they are on the table on the flybridge deck. I realized I have a big storage locker under table's seating area that would fit all four pieces nicely. I bought some anti microbial bath mats to keep them from sliding around. And I decided I could do the pedal/seat installed with the kayaks placed like this, now I have lots of working room and a nice surface. Inspired by the three point hoist that came with our tender, I bought some various bits to fashion a hoist for each kayak. First I had to figure out the center of gravity. I measured and tied the lines to the caribbeaners. I had threaded the lines through the same mounting points for the seats, thinking these are very strongly reinforced in the hull. But the caribbeaners are just a little too small for the steel lifting rings I bought, that are large enough for the big hook on the crane.
I put the boats in the water with them, we went paddling/pedaling. I also realized those white lines would get grungy in a hurry. So as I often do, I'll think about this for a few days and come up with a much better version in round two. After taking my first boater safety course I knew I would be taking more, and outfitting Mahalo with a substantial first aid kit.
We first determined that this storage area under the salon settee would be perfect. It only takes about 5 seconds to open it up. Although I put the defibrillator there just for this picture, it is in an even more accessible spot in the salon. Conversing with our son who is an EMT we began with a purchased kit from Amazon. It came in a big bag with a million pockets. In a real emergency with all the stress, it would be difficult to figure out where something is that we need. After we got the kit, we took his recommendations of items to add, which we did. Then last year my brother, the surgeon, came on board for a week. One morning we pulled everything out. His suggestion was to separate them by the kind of treatment required. I.e. burns, bleeding, fractures/sprains, general sea sickness, this kind of thing. So we have the bins and boxes organized that way now. And he suggested about 25 additional items. We acquired those. My brother suggested various meds we ought to have, but he can't prescribe them because he's not a WA resident. I went to my own GP with the list and was ready for the discussion that these aren't for personal use (!), unless medically necessary. He was understanding and helpful. I know I should have a complete list of everything in there, hopefully I'll get to that. Debbie and I took a CPR/AED class, along with several first aid classes, that were boating oriented. We have also been briefed on how to work with the CG and other first responders in a medical emergency. Did you know the CG has a flight surgeon at the ready 24/7? If you can get VHF to your local CG, they will set up a relay with the flight surgeon. Of course I hope we don't have to use any of these items, but hopefully we are ready if that time comes. One of our local artists is Patti Brown. She does a type of art we find very appealing. In addition to wall art she creates a variety of trays. When we saw this beauty at a recent show of hers, we knew it would be perfect for Mahalo.
Here is her website: liquidcells.com/ Mahalo has an induction cooktop. Cooks fast and is a breeze to clean up. But I often find myself needing to start a generator just to use the cooktop. So I got this nifty portable induction cooktop, which can be powered by the inverter. There are smaller, low profile units. But reviewers said they had loud fans. And I don't want one where a pan is going to hang over or cover the controls. This would also be useful for people with smaller inverters. You can set the wattage used!
Another bonus is being able to take it up to the flybridge, where I have plenty of electrical sockets. Like if I want to boil some corn to go with whatever we are bbq'ing, it's very convenient. Like most things, got it on Amazon! |
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