Swish, Swish

I have an 8 foot, 25 pound Pelican Burst sit upon kayak.  When I purchased it, I owned a Ford F-150 pickup truck with a shell over the bed, and could load and lock it into the bed area.

When I went looking for a new vehicle, one of my requirements was to purchase a vehicle that would allow me to load, store and transport the kayak, locking it in the vehicle.  The Saturn Vue I purchased allows just that.

It is the peak of kayak season in Lubbock:  I have no interest in doing white water kayaking (if I did, I would have purchased a sit in instead of a sit upon kayak.)  I like lake, pond and slow river kayaking.  The first year we purchased the kayaks, April was unseasonably hot and we were out frequently in April... This year, it was May before it was warm enough to get in the water, by my standards.  The month of July was so filled with storms or the promise of storms, that I did little kayaking.

Yesterday, a friend and I went to Lake Allen Henry http://www.lakealanhenry.com/  to kayak.  We had a good day.  I got lost, but my friend saved us from being lost.  And midday, the clouds gathered.  I was very concerned about the rapidity with which the clouds gathered, and I do not  like being on the lake with storm clouds around.  We saw rain and heard thunder.  Graciously, my friend conceded to my weather concerns, and we did not kayak any more.  We might have been safe, but I sure hate to take a chance.

When we loaded the boats into the back of my friend's pickup, we acknowledged they had taken on water.  The kayaks are self bailing, but do gather water, and have drain plug to relieve them.  Since the kayak did not feel very heavy, I thought the water it held was minimal.

This morning, when I drove to work, I had the disconcerting experience of hearing that water slosh around in the kayak. I swished forward when I braked, it swished backward when I accelerated.  I drove to work, and to and from a meeting, and then home.  I went to a social event tonight, and decided enough was enough, and emptied the kayak on my lawn.  If there were 2 cups of water that came out of the kayak, that was a lot.  But, it does not take much water to swish around in the kayak while driving....