KayakerChuck

another occasional update- I've been practicing as I can, usually just about 15 minutes sessions, hopefully twice/day. I hit 30 miles on the odometer today, and like a switch, I relaxed. It hit me when my phone rang and I pulled it from my pocket, saw it was an unknown number, then stuffed the phone back in my pocket. It never crossed my mind that I was riding around the neighborhood and should maybe stop first. I had forgotten all about the mechanics of riding. Fun! I'm gently pushing the envelope and am pretty confident starting, stopping, & turning at various speeds up to about 15-17 mph. I've had two wipeouts- both full Superman! Both at about 2 mph. The first one was a couple weeks ago and was 100% target fixation. "Don't hit the curb. Don't hit the curb. Don't hit the curb" I side swiped the curb. Duh! Knowing better & doing better are different :-) Second Superman was today. I was playing on a piece of road in poor condition to get accustomed to our typical Michigan roads/trails. Full splat- lol. I'm hoping all the years I spent falling off of things when I was younger & bouncier help me to land more gently now that I'm older & crunchier. Full moto gear + wrist guards, too.

I have owned boats my entire life. One "boat buck"= $1000. EUC's, and the things around them, are not expensive.

Yesterday, about an inch of frozen slop fell from the sky, so I did responsible work stuff. Yuck. Today I was able to go to the park & play a bit. I got in some good practice at various speeds up to about 10 mph. Anything above 8mph seems easy, so I'm trying to keep things between about 6 and 10 mph. I had what I'll call a low speed death wobble, which I'm pretty sure is caused by me over compensating my lean. On a motorcycle, I'd throttle out of it. Is this appropriate on a wheel? I just abandoned ship & ran it out. Running out is a solution, but probably not the best. Other than my first start, I didn't use any assistance for getting going. My success rate for an kick start seems to be about 30%, which I'm happy with, for now. I can practice starts inside on nasty days. I didn't plan to be out long and only had my light work gloves to keep my hands warm. Total fail- my hands froze. The good thing was when my hands got cold, I held them together. It took me a few moments to realize I was no longer waving my arms for balance. Win. Cold hands, but I'll take a win ;-) No issues with leg fatigue today. ~3.5 miles today. I'll dress warmer next time.

Yesterday I was able to practice a bit. I had a few rides of about 400 yards. Today I went to a local park with a much bigger and very lonely parking lot. First attempt was about 400 yards. My second ride was about 1.5 miles! Just mowing the lawn, with gentle figure 8's. I was trying to keep my speed about 8mph, give or take. Faster is easy, but if it's easy I'm not learning as much, right? After 1.5 miles, my legs were getting tired. I've not yet learned finesse. I came to a stop, and had my first attempt at a start without using something for support. My first try was successful. I quit on a high note. :-)

It's been a few days of short, 5 minute practice sessions in my shop. As RayRay said, I'm holding on to things for support. Probably good for initial learning, but it is a crutch. No more. Today I was able to sneak a bit of play time at the marina- in an open parking lot. Lots of short, 15-30' rides, a few in the 200' range. I can almost feel the little marbles rattling around my head falling into place. Fun stuff!

Wow- thanks for all the info! I work alone, so I can sneak 5 minutes or so every hour or two to play with the wheel in my shop. I'm gaining comfort on the thing, and occasionally making it the ENTIRE 20' to the other end- lol. (I'm a former Windsurfing instructor- I'm weird enough to like steep learning curves.) Foot gear- Thanks for the reminder. I've been wearing either my big work boots or my adventure m/c boots. If I'm outside, I've been wearing my full m/c gear+ wrist guards. I own 3 sets of gear. If I get hurt while not wearing it I'll be able to live with the pain, but not with the feeling of being dumb ;-) I'll have to look for the red light. She's pretty well wrapped in carpet for now, so I'll never see it unless I specifically look.

Thanks Tawpie! Yup, I teach "look where you want to go", but knowing & doing are different- lol I agree with the small bites & short sessions. Especially since last week was a bit too much of carrying heavy things up & down ladders. My legs (OK, all of me) are not 20 anymore.

A few days ago I bought a used 16x. I've only been able to rock back & forth a bit in my shop- no really attempt at anything other than getting comfortable standing on it & gently rolling around while holding onto things for support. Today I had a bit of time, so off to the local tennis court. Sheila & I watched several videos about learning EUC. She was NOT impressed, but agreed to be my mobile support. I donned my full motorcycle gear. I found rolling around holding on to her shoulder to be mostly easy. As long as I could not think about it. Thinking = bad. (Both of us mentor kayaking skills like rolling. We are the ones who say "Turn your kayak over, get comfortable underwater, and RELAX. Thinking doesn't help." As if any beginner can relax while hanging upside-down under water. Still, that's what it takes.) After about 10 minutes, I was ready to try solo flight. I got in a few 20' ish rides, dropped the wheel several times, and had no crashes or falls. I'll call that success for a first try. Sheila even tried, and did about as well as I. With a few hoots and big smiles. There might be hope!

Update- Yesterday I bought a used KS 16x. I'm stretching both my $$ and weight budgets a bit. I've not had any time yet to do more than rock back & forth a bit in my shop. It will take some learning and practice, but I think I can make friends with this thing.

No fun hidden in the dishwasher. The past month or so has been expensive- about $10K in unplanned expenses. The fun fund has been raided and depleted- temporarily. I'll have to see if my want of a new toy outweighs my body's screaming need for some rest. I'm thinking I don't want to store these below deck. VikB is right- the risk of fire is small, but the consequences are dire. Essentially, it's a small, enclosed, confined area down below- most any fire will reduce visibility to zero and immediately fill the area with toxic gas. Even with a tether, I can't think of a way to get something the size & weight of an EUC out of the cabin, up the stairs, and over the side with one breath of air. I think I have a nice protected and sheltered place on deck- I'll have to get out my tape measure to see if an EUC will fit. Thanks for the "Cruising off Duty" channel. I've done LOTS of SCUBA diving in their cruising area. Thanks for the help & ideas! I'll get there.

I bought an EUC today! If you look carefully, you might notice it looks more like a dishwasher than an EUC. It costs about the same, so it's got to be about the same amount of fun, right? Ahh- the price of keeping the other household inhabitants happy for the holidaze. Back to saving pennies....

Mr MeepMeep- Thanks! I was researching fire blankets and boxes last night. I run a marine canvas shop- sewing is no problem. It even looks like Nomex thread is pretty inexpensive.

Thanks! The MCM5 DOES look interesting. A above linkies help! The little MTen looks fun, and is wonderfully compact, but I fear I'd use it for 2 weeks before buying a bigger wheel. The fire thing SCARES me. I don't think fire is a huge risk, it just has huge consequences. If we have a fire aboard, we'll likely lose the boat- which would be inconvenient in the middle of Lake Huron. Of course, we have lots of "fire" things aboard- a stove, an oil lamp, some Li-ion tools, and a 100 A/H Li-ion battery. We already have many more ABC fire extinguishers than required, a couple of fire blankets, and a couple of buckets. Did I mention fire SCARES me? (I've been involved with several boat fires- If lucky, the people live. The boat dies.) My other half is a chemistry professor and I can cobble together about anything. We'll figure out something.

OK, It's really me who wants a wheel, my first. I want an EUC to give me a bit of mobility to get away from the Sailboat. I'd rather have a folding bike, but I have a small boat and don't have room for even a folding bike. It will be much easier to find space for an EUC, and they look like WAY more fun than a bike, too! Space is a concern, as is weight. I'm 150lbs and will be passing this thing on & off the boat and I'm pretty such EUC's don't swim well. Let's call the weight limit 40 lbs or so. I'd like to be able to go at least 20 miles between charges, and be irresistible to women. Top speed is not much of a concern- I'm more of a cruiser. Used is good, but new is possible. I'm looking at something like a KS 16S, 14S, or InMotion V8. It looks like the Gotways might be a bit less durable, so they might not be well suited for boat life. Or I'm just getting a wrong vibe about them or channeling ancient history. (In truth, probably 90% of use will not be from the boat. Still, this is the niche it needs to fit. Please let me maintain my illusion of not buying multiple EUC's. Yeah, yeah- I own 5 Windsurfers, and a bunch of sea kayaks- enough so I don't know the number. ) Do these EUC's seem like a reasonable fit for my wants? What others should I add to my list? Thanks! Chuck