Venture Ranger 14 Open Canoe Outfitting

Back in October 2011, I blogged about what I intended to do with my new boat.

Now that Christmas is gone and today's weather forecast was dry and sunny all day, I decided to work on my Venture Ranger 14 outfitting in preparation for white water.  The job is fairly straightforward, the only frustration was in not being able to fit the new, and very nice, wooden seat hangers.  The seat hangers are sold as a kit with four 6" stainless steel bolts with washers and nylock nuts.  What should be a simple swap for the ready fitted alloy hangers is an impossible task.  The bolts are about 2" too short.  Taking the depth of the gunnel and seat frame into the equation, the ends of these bolts will not extend through the seat frame!  This is absolutely absurd, these kits are widely sold by UK canoe suppliers and a bit of searching on the right canoeing forums revealed that the problem is well-known.  What is worse is that the same bolts in a longer length (I need 8") are not available, and yet this kit is being sold when it is clearly unfit for it's purpose.

The only work around that I can see is to buy threaded bar and cut it to the required lengths.  This will mean using nylock nuts above the gunnel and below the seat frame.  This is not what I want, aesthetically it would look silly and four nuts protruding above the gunnels would be waiting to skin knuckles and damage clothing and equipment.  No thanks, I'll have my money back.  If anyone reading this is thinking of replacing their seat hangers with these wooden kits, beware.  Make sure that the supplied 6" bolts are long enough!

So, back to Seat Hangers Plan B.  As this is to be a solo boat, the as-sold bow seat will be the seat.  This seat is angled for tandem paddling.  It was a simple job to unbolt the alloy hangers and turn them around to angle the seat in the opposite way for solo paddling.   The existing bolt holes through the gunnels miraculously lined up with the reversed hangers and no drilling was needed.

The front seat assembly was removed and stored away as it is not needed.  I made up a new varnished ash thwart to retain the structural integrity of the hull and fitted this, using the 'wider' pair of seat hanger holes.

Next was to drill the deck plates and pop-rivet 0.25" 'P' clips underneath to tie-in the airbags.  I have used a 60" airbag in the bow and a 48" airbag in the stern.  This leaves a good mid section available for carrying kit and camping gear.  I found it best to attach the pointed end of each bag first and then partially inflate the airbags to work out where the two wide-end eyes would be.  This is quite important, you need to work out where the last pair of 'P' clips should be to match the eyes of the airbags.

Once I had determined that, I pop-rivetted 'P' clips along the underside of each gunnel at 4" apart.   Although more common in practice and probably less fiddly, I am not a fan of drilling the hull and threading line through the holes to lace-in airbags.  I think it spoils the aesthetics of the boat and to drill multiple holes in an otherwise perfectly sound and seaworthy hull seems silly to me.  I prefer lacing the bags in by using 'P' clips under the gunnels because they are out of sight, despite the added work of riveting the clips.  Each to their own!

Seat hangers apart, I've turned the Ranger 14 into something I wanted to get back into paddling white water again.  A little heavier and a little slower than other canoes, the Venture Ranger 14 in polyethylene is more durable and a more reasonable cost option.  I'll probably have to play around with the seat position, it may need moving forward a couple of inches.  If so, the yoke will be removed as it is as close as I want it with the seat in it's present position.  Time will tell.

Seat assemblies removed.

'P' clips for airbag lacing pop-riveted under the gunnels, out of sight.

Seat hangers reversed and seat assembly re-fitted, new ash thwart fitted and airbags laced-in: 60" bow, 48" stern.  Good to go!

An Ideal Buffalo Day

I had planned my traditional pre-Christmas walk around Kinder Scout for 23rd December, but the forecast was bad with warnings of severe weather.  I've spent too many days on Kinder in the past when the weather has been so bad that any real enjoyment gained by being there only comes later with the satisfaction of beating (surviving, even) the elements over a pint in the Nag's Head in front of a roaring fire.
The forecast for Christmas Eve was better, mainly dry but with strong winds.  The forecast was spot on.  It was mainly dry and the wind was steady all day.

Two new items of kit went with me for their maiden outing.  The first and most interesting was my new OMM Cypher smock which didn't get used at all, so I can't comment other than to say that it is a very close fit in comparison to my old Berghaus PackLite smock.  I'm 5'11" with a 46" chest and my XL size Cypher is a good fit for me across the shoulders.  The sleeves are a perfect length but the body is only just the right length for me.  For anyone a couple of inches taller, the XL might be a touch too short.  Try before you buy!  The volume adjustable hood is good and deep to allow a cap or beanie to be worn underneath, has a wired peak and is shaped to give good all round vision.  The Event laminated fabric is quite stiff and noisy.  After using a Paramo Velez smock the Cypher feels a bit like a crisp packet but it is very light weight, so I'm happy with the trade-off.  It goes well with a pair of Kamleika pants to provide a comfortable, close-fitting and lightweight waterproof outer shell. I was a bit sceptical about the Lycra-bound thumb loops in the cuffs, being more used to conventional Velcro adjustable tabs to close the sleeves around wrists and gloves.  The thumb loops worked really well and the sleeves are cut for a close fit.  Time will tell if the Event material and Lycra edge binding is durable enough to last the course, especially when the wearer also uses walking poles.  I would be a bit miffed if the jacket was eventually let down by any such weakness in the thumb loop design.  The last thing I'd want in a £150-£190 smock would be worn-through baggy sleeves that cannot be closed down without using duct-tape! As said, time will tell.  

Half way up Crowden Clough at 8.30am, I pulled on my 25 year-old Buffalo Big Face DP shirt!  The fact is, it didn't rain so I didn't need the Cypher.  Dry all day but that wind coming from the south was bitingly cold, so this was an ideal Buffalo day.

The other virgin item of kit worn all day was my new Montane Bionic long sleeve zip neck top.  Close-fitting and combining merino wool on the inside with polyester on the outside, the Bionic top was a runaway success.  I never thought I would get enthusiastic about a base layer.  Let's face it, they are all pretty much the same: tight in the body and short in the sleeve even if they aren't meant to be, and invariably smelly after a day or two.  One day isn't enough to be able comment on the stench factor of this top, but in every other way the Bionic did all as claimed by Montane.  It's warm, well-fitting, wicks effectively and actually feels good to wear.  Combined with the geriatric Buffalo it kept me comfortable all day, from sitting on a rock watching the Kinder Downfall become an upfall in the teeth of the gale to working hard when putting Crowden Clough behind me, the Montane Bionic is a top quality base layer and can be had for around £29.99 if you do a bit of Googling.

Strangely, on a day when I expected to see plenty of people, I saw only 10 people all day: 6 fell runners and 4 walkers but not one other person along the entire length of the northern edge.  I felt that I had Kinder Scout to myself on Christmas Eve!  My descent back into Edale was via Grindslow Knoll, a tactical move thus allowing Kinder Scout to spit me out straight into the Nag's Head and that pint in front of the fire. Better still, there were no hyperactive children in the bar for once!  A mellow and cosy end to a perfect Christmas Eve.

Good old Buffalo.  Good old Kinder Scout.  Good old Nag's Head.  Good old 2011.  Life is good!

Not as much water coming down Crowden Clough as I expected.  The torrential rain of the previous day seems to have been soaked-up by the peat above.

 This fall just below the short scramble to the top of Crowden Clough always fascinates me

Not a lot of water going over the downfall, either.  The blow-back was nothing like I expected.

Above Fairbrook, reflecting on 2011.  An amazing year for me.  Becoming a grandfather and building on the successes I've created for myself over the past two years. Those who know me well know the full story.  Not smug, just happy!

Low sun drops under the cloud layer as the day draws to an end. 

I'd never noticed this holed rock near Ringing Roger before.  Mental note to self: go back and photograph it properly next time!

From Peak Forest: Dam Dale, Hay Dale, Peter Dale, Monk's Dale & Miller's Dale

Very nice circular walk from Peak Forest taking in 5 dales.  Dam, Hay & Peter Dales merge seamlessly into Monk's Dale to swing left at Miller's Dale in order to make the return to Peak Forest.

Parking is limited in Peak Forest, so arrive early.  It's a walk that is at it's best in early summer when the wild flowers are in full bloom.  It's an idyllic northern White Peak landscape!  So, coming into Monk's Dale out of a bitterly cold NE wind, there was a good snowfall in late afternoon the first this winter.  I was captivated by the atmosphere in the gorge.  It was quiet, no wind blowing down here. A wren and a robin close by and then a flock of long-tailed tits passed through with their musical calls and then all was quiet again.

These were moments for standing quietly and alone.  Moments that must be absorbed and carefully held in the memory.

I managed to make a couple of images and then my lens steamed up.  Even the micro climate is unique here!

Quiet in Monk's dale.

Top 50 Backpacking Blogs!

I follow my website and blog traffic fairly regularly, I'm always interested to see where the hits come from and how they arrive at Hard Light: Steve Walton's Blog.  One entry caught my eye this morning, the visitor is in New York and had followed a link to Hard Light from the following very interesting website: http://www.veteransbenefitsgibill.com/top-backpacking-blogs/

The Mission Statement is impressive and I wish the Owners, Editors and Contributors every success in their endeavours. I also thank them for the honour of being listed as one of the top 50 backpacking blogs, especially as Hard Light is listed in the company of some of the most interesting, widely-read and successful outdoor blogs, such as Andy Howell's http://www.andyhowell.info/trek-blog/, Hendrik Morkel's http://www.hikinginfinland.com/, Martin Rye's http://summitandvalley.blogspot.com/ and  Stef's http://beardedgit.com/

Dew Ponds in the Peak District

A couple of day walks around the Ashbourne, Biggin, Hartington and Alstonefield areas in the southern end of the Peak District has enlightened me to something: 75% of England's ancient dew ponds have been destroyed in the past few decades.  Britain is home to over 50% of the world's population of newts.  Newts, such as the great crested, need these ponds to breed and survive.  As they are now globally endangered there is a project underway to restore dew ponds within the White Peak.  That's a fascinating project.

Part of today's walk took me along Wolfscote Dale by the River Dove and it was good to see a pair of peregrine falcons stooping near Peaseland Rocks, dipper and herons along the river and buzzard overhead. It's heartening to see these species recovering.

Making my way back to Alstonefield late this afternoon, I stood by this dew pond for quite some time watching the light come and go, hoping it isn't too late for the newts.

Inov-8 Race Pac 2 Chest Pouch

I have a high regard for Inov-8 products.  Lightweight, innovative and minimal whilst retaining very practical features, I first got into Inov-8 with my fist pair of Terroc 330 shoes a few years ago.  Next came a Race Pro 12 hydration pack, a Race Pro 4 waist pack followed by a larger a larger Race Pro 22 pack,
all of which I am very pleased with.

These lightweight packs are compatible with the Inov-8 H2orizontal Hydration System, which for me is the best hydration bladder system I have used.  Up to 2 litres of water can be carried with ease around the waist and the bite valve does not leak.

From 2011, Inov-8 pack shoulder straps have been redesigned to take the Inov-8 Race Pac 2 chest pouch. The addition of a couple of plastic tabs to the pack shoulder straps allows the Race Pac 2 to be mounted by clips and it's own adjustable straps in front of the chest.  The chest pouch is then stabilised by running the main pack waist strap through a tab at the back of the chest pouch.  There is a plastic clik-lok fastener on the left strap of the chest pouch which releases it on one side to help getting the pack on and off.  In use,  a pack with a full hydration bladder and the chest pouch attached is no more fiddly to use than a pack without either of these attached to it.

The Race Pro 2 has three generous zipped pouches that will take items that might be needed on the go without having remove the pack, such as a hat, gloves, camera, gps, compass, mobile phone, loose change, keys, cereal bars etc.  Behind the three zippered pouches is an elasticated pouch that will take a guidebook or OS map, with an elasticated clik-lok fastener to keep things in place.

Once adjusted, I found the Race Pac 2 to be very stable and a very useful addition to my pack.  Accessories like the H2orizontal Hydration System and Race Pac 2 Chest Pouch are only usable with Inov-8 packs, which is a clever marketing move by Inov-8.  This means I am now effectively locked-in to using Innov-8 packs for day walks, but as I said at the beginning I like these packs very much and the chest pouch at only 110 grammes with an additional 2 litres capacity means the practicality of a compatible Race Pro pack is increased significantly.

I got mine from Pete Bland's website.  Cost £15.

Inov-8 Race Pac 2 Chest Pouch attached to an Inov-8 Race Pro 22 backpack

Venture Ranger 14

A busy summer forced a 6 month break from outdoor blogging, but you can't have your cake and eat it,  as they say.....

It's always good to see Dave Crooks from Endless River, especially when he turns up at the door with a new boat on the car!

Since most of my former paddling buddies of many years are now divorced, retired or too old and knackered and I myself am officially now a grandad (!),  I am determined to continue to grow old disgracefully and take every opportuntity to get outdoors and have some fun.

To that end, I have been considering a shorter boat for paddling on white water up to G3 for a while (think Dart Loop, Wye or the Tees, etc).  Tempted as I was with either the Nova Craft Supernova and Wenonah Argosy, the Ranger 14 is a boat I kept coming back to.  There is something about this boat that sets it apart from the rest of the Venture (Pyranha) canoes.  Try as I might to talk myself out buying a Venture canoe for no better reason than paddling snobbery, over 40 years of paddling experience on all classes of water from salty and lake to G4+ rivers told me the Venture Ranger 14 made more sense the longer I thought about it.  It's short enough to manouevre around and between obstructions and is quite responsive.

I wanted a boat that is light enough to car-top on my own (I cannot do this with my Birchcreek 16') and  reasonably stable yet will perform in moving water.  It also had to be durable, definitely more durable than Royalex Lite.  At a fraction of the cost, heavier polyethylene is a price I am more than willing to pay.  It will bounce of most 'mistakes' and I don't have to worry about wrecking a £1300 boat on the first outing.

If it moves reasonably well on the flat, can carry camping gear, can be poled, sailed, paddled and portaged and is fun on white water, then it has to be worthy of consideration.  Having tried a Ranger 14, it hit me that this is a boat that can really do all of this and keep fairly dry through standing waves and surf waves at around half of the cost of the other options.

The Ranger 14 is a bargain in the world of open canoeing, it can do all I want.  The only drawbacks are the obvious ones of weight (it is heavy for a 14 footer) and speed (it is slower than my Birchcreek, but then you would expect it to be!).  I decided to bury the snobbery and go with the common sense and I saved myself around £700 at the same time.

Dave dropped the boat off this morning and this is where the outfitting starts to transform my new Venture Ranger 14 into a solo whitewater boat (as soon as I've shifted my current workload, that is!), this boat is going to spend most of it's time travelling backwards.

The bow seat (the seat nearest the centre) will be removed along with those horrible alloy seat hangers, turned around to face the opposite way and refitted with a nice pair of wooden seat hangers to improve the aesthetics.  The seat will not be moved from it's position as it is well placed just behind the yoke for solo paddling.

The existing rear seat is superfluous and will be removed along with it's alloy hangers.  A new ash thwart will be fitted in it's place and the two remaining unused holes in the gunnels will be blanked off.

Outfitting for moving water will be completed with a 60" airbag lashed into the front with, a 48" airbag in the stern.  There will be ample room for kit behind the front airbag.  Contrary to popular practice, I am not drilling and lacing the hull as I dislike the resulting visual aesthetic effect of this.  I know all about the current wisdom of risk of the gunnels being pulled off by airbag and water pressure in the event of a pinning, but I don't really subscribe to that opinion.  Instead, I will be pop-riveting 'p'-clips out of sight under the gunnels and running parallel lacing across the airbags to retain them in the event of a capsize.  I am undecided at this point whether I will be drilling holes in the bow (stern!) and stern (bow!) and fitting grab loops for the same reason.  I realise many open boaters will disagree with this, but that's just me.

Who knows, all that canoe snobbery may well be turned on it's head when the work is done!  Stay tuned.......