Fri - August 5, 2005

Lonetree Reservoir, Boyd Lake, and Beaver Pond - Recent Paddling and 5 Mile Time Trial


Lone Tree Reservoir: Sea Wind Lone Tree Reservoir Lone Tree Reservoir - Alden rowing shell
7/30/05. Lonetree Reservoir with Canoe Colorado. I paddled Sisson Nucleus and Connie - Sea Wind. We paddled for about 1 hour before the rest of group showed up. Eric brought two Alden rowing shells (17' Alden Horizon on the picture above) and also Epic Endurance 18 kayak. There was still a lot of water but the best time to paddle Lonetree is spring when the reservoir is full of water and it is possible to explore some cover.

After paddling one more circle around the lake I tried Epic 18. I could accelerate this kayak to 8mph without desperate efforts as it is required in my shorter Sisson. I am not sure what speed I could maintain for a longer distance but the seat, and, especially, backband were very uncomfortable for me. Probably, I could be more comfortable without the backband. I paddled the same kayak in the race around Chatfield Lake a year ago - the same torture with the backband. However, I remember that the kayak behaved quite nicely in a confused chop and wakes from numerous motorboats there.

Eric also posted some pictures from the Lonetree Reservoir trip on the Canoe Colorado site together with some practical information.

Boyd Lake - Patuxent 19.5 Sisson Nucleus 100 Lone Tree Reservoir - racing Sisson Nucleus
7/31/05. I haven't paddled my stitch-and-glue Patuxent 19.5 for a longer while. After paddling recently Epic Endurance kayak I wanted to try my sea kayak just for a reference and took her for an evening paddle on the Boyd Lake. After paddling Sisson kayak and trying Futura Blade surfski, Patuxent felt very stable and somewhat slugish. I could easily maintain speed around 6 mph but, probably, I couldn't accelerate to 8 mph like in Epic 18.

I am thinking about upgrading a seat in my Patuxent to the bumfortable seat from Steve Gurney as in my Sisson kayak. Patuxent also needs a new paint and varnish.

8/4/05. Beaver Pond. I took my Sisson Nucleus for the 5 mile time trial. Five loops on a small shallow lake with some sharp turnings. Light wind. I finished in 00:48:50h (6.14mph). It was my best time so far, but I cannot make any dramatic improvements. There was not much activity in my virtual race lately, although I got a couple fast of 10 mile surfski runs.

8/7/05. Lone Tree Reservoir. I decided to repeat my recent 5 mile run in Sisson Nucleus on a deeper lake without "U-turns". It was calm but still pretty hot (88F) at 7pm when I started. The result: 00:48:24h (6.21mph) - a little bit better than on Beaver Pond.


Posted at 10:43 PM    


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