06-11-2006, 04:39 PM
Well I wish I could say it went went well and was fantastic and all that, but it wasn't. I went out to Tarryall Res. on Friday afternoon and was lucky enough to get a campsite that was a mere 30 feet from a sandy, beach type area that I knew would be good for my first launch.
Just getting myself on the seat without having the craft float away from me was a learning experience. Once I managed to get into paddling depth I could not seem to get control of the thing and most of the time I seemed to be fighting to not turn in a counter-clockwise circle.
At one point I did manage to propel myself in a fairly straight line, and was feeling pleased until I realized that the mild breeze and current were pushing me farther from my launch point than I really wanted to go.
Anyway, back to the main issue, the fins! I could not figure out how to go whre I needed to go; mostly kept turning in circles or going sideways!! I don't know what I was doing wrong. Do I need to keep the fins as level as possible? As parallel to the desired direction of travel as possible? As you may be gathering, my experience as a waterman is zero. If it helps any: the fins I was using are the [url "http://www.creekcompany.com/indivdisplay.php?primaryAutoID=110&Department=Boat%2FTube+Accessories"]basic fins[/url] from Creek Co. and I did notice at one time that they were getting loose so I put in and tightened them up, which did not seem to make much difference.
I'm very frustrated... very disappointed. Any help is appreciated.
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Just getting myself on the seat without having the craft float away from me was a learning experience. Once I managed to get into paddling depth I could not seem to get control of the thing and most of the time I seemed to be fighting to not turn in a counter-clockwise circle.
At one point I did manage to propel myself in a fairly straight line, and was feeling pleased until I realized that the mild breeze and current were pushing me farther from my launch point than I really wanted to go.
Anyway, back to the main issue, the fins! I could not figure out how to go whre I needed to go; mostly kept turning in circles or going sideways!! I don't know what I was doing wrong. Do I need to keep the fins as level as possible? As parallel to the desired direction of travel as possible? As you may be gathering, my experience as a waterman is zero. If it helps any: the fins I was using are the [url "http://www.creekcompany.com/indivdisplay.php?primaryAutoID=110&Department=Boat%2FTube+Accessories"]basic fins[/url] from Creek Co. and I did notice at one time that they were getting loose so I put in and tightened them up, which did not seem to make much difference.
I'm very frustrated... very disappointed. Any help is appreciated.
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