Winless @ Wimpy's

Tried out a eastern section of the Delta today on a report of double digit strippers being caught on fly. No love and even the Fly guys were having no luck. the temp dropped 5 degrees in just one day, could be the culprit.  I "Pedaled" up to just short of Sondgrass slough and found some marks, but pretty dead water for most of the 4 mile or so trip. Little trouble on the way back with wind/rain picking up. " Kicked" the Mirage drive in to high gear and my " Flippers " came apart..." Oh !@#$%!!!, This is going to be a Monster paddle with a Outback , wind/rain, 3 miles to go and Dark coming fast. Pulled the drive and I was able to " Shove the fins back into place and took it slow home, making it back just before dark. haven't had time yet to see what exactly the problem is, will post tommarrow, I'm dead, we were up all last night with a apartment fire to boot. On the brighter side, Easy launch out of Wimpy's for 5 bucks, but if anyone knows of a good launch site close to snogdgrass slough, could be a place of interest in a few weeks............Danglin

That is a major bummer when your drive goes out.  I had a set of fins on my old mirage tandem poop out two years ago out of Limekiln.  It was a cotter pin that broke and there was no way to jury rig on the water.  Add that to the gear checklist before going out.  Tough paddling the outback - that thing is a barge!

thats a good tip,  Thanks ...............Danglin

Alfredo and others have a Delta launch thread here:

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=5443.0

It includes Delta Meadows launch in Locke for Snodgrass Slough.

Here’s a Google Maps link to the area:



Have fun!

Bummer Don, Sorry to hear about losing your drive. Hope your not too sore today.

It still works, I do need to find out why it came apart. Thanks for those links dwest, Hey Alfredo!!! I think it's time to meet out there,,,Danglin

I lost my drive a few years ago, but the Doctor prescribed something that took care of it for me.

allen

Don't " Bogart " Do tell!!! Help a Brother Out!!!!!.....I needs my Drive!!!!...........Danglin

thats a good tip,  Thanks ...............Danglin

Another good item to bring is a carved piece of minicell foam to press into the drive slot so the drag is minimal. It weighs almost nothing too.

Danglin... did the little split ring holding the flipper in place with a pin fall out?

It happened to me at Mendo once.  I used a ziptie to hold it in place.  It worked so well that I removed the other pin/ring from the other flipper and replaced that with a simple ziptie too.  It also made the drive much more quiet.

Those drives are pretty durable if you take care of them.  Just get in the habit of rinsing them off with fresh water and spraying with WD-40 every couple trips.

Ever considered switching to or adding a Hobie Adventure to your fleet?  The one thing I really like about it compared to the Outback I owned is the fact that it's easier to carry and paddles great.  You could leave your drive at home and still have no problem keeping up with the paddling clan.

Come on Danglin, don't you have some duct tape, gum, ball point pen, paper clip and shoe strings to MacGyver those types of "issues".

Maybe somebody sabotaged your ride at the ISE.

Danglin... did the little split ring holding the flipper in place with a pin fall out?

It happened to me at Mendo once.  I used a ziptie to hold it in place.  It worked so well that I removed the other pin/ring from the other flipper and replaced that with a simple ziptie too.  It also made the drive much more quiet.

Those drives are pretty durable if you take care of them.  Just get in the habit of rinsing them off with fresh water and spraying with WD-40 every couple trips.

Ever considered switching to or adding a Hobie Adventure to your fleet?  The one thing I really like about it compared to the Outback I owned is the fact that it's easier to carry and paddles great.  You could leave your drive at home and still have no problem keeping up with the paddling clan.

I am obsessive when caring for my outback. I've even put a blanket on it sometimes if I think it's going to be to cold, and definitely clean it up and stuff post adventures. Speaking of Adventures, I guess I'll have to try one, I tried Franks Revolution and was surprised how different it felt from my outback. I really like the stable ride and the trays and just a wider deck. But looking @ what happend last night, it would be nice to have a option to paddle when I need to without feeling like I'm moving a Barge.

On the MacGyver Stuff, well if firemen are anything it's resourceful:

What really happend was when I realized my fate was grim, I had to act fast, The Rain and wind where only going to get worse with Darkness on unknown waters looming.

I ducked into a cove and pulled the drive out to see my flipper " dangling ".  I wrapped it with reeds and Hydrilla and jammed Sardine bones into the area where the fins plug into the drive. It needed something more. Just then I spotted a half sunken house boat with a " River Rat " living on it downing his last bottle of Thunderbird 

He saw me and he began to explode with laughter. " I used to work for Hobie and that contraption your screwing up was my idea!" he bellowed. He came and took a look, said some incomprehensible words, threw it the air, and when it landed on the ground. he knelt down closed to it and let out a huge "Bletch"

He gave it back to me and it seemed to be working well. I gave him a 10 spot and peddled home wondering about Hobie's retirement plan.....With boot's up high.............Danglin 

if anyone knows of a good launch site close to snogdgrass slough,

The Meadows is the best launch and it's free.

Al

Thanks for all those launch sites Alfredo    Going to try out of the Meadows next........Danglin

He saw me and he began to explode with laughter. " I used to work for Hobie and that contraption your screwing up was my idea!" he bellowed. He came and took a look, said some incomprehensible words, threw it the air, and when it landed on the ground. he knelt down closed to it and let out a huge "Bletch" tongue2

He gave it back to me and it seemed to be working well. I gave him a 10 spot and peddled home wondering about Hobie's retirement plan for it's employees.....With boot's up high............

That guy wasn't retired that was a Hobie Service Center