Arenal Kayaks Tours on Lake Arenal, Costa Rica

We seem to be emerging from the rain into our summer season here finally. Getting some sunny days. Several in a row this week although yesterday was back to rain and wind all day.

Today is day 1 of the 2-day Vuelta al Lago, an annual bike ride around the lake. Seeing cars loaded with bikes going by on their way to the start in Tilaran. Riders spend the night in the El Castillo area and will pass by here sometime tomorrow morning. This is a 75mile ride that begins and ends in Tilaran and draws something over 2,000 riders. (They normally put up a website but for some reason it's never at the same URL from year to year and I didn't look for this year's page)

There is a fiesta going on over in Rio Piedras this weekend. Bull rides, dancing, and general partying going on. Didn't see the flyer so I can't say if there are other activities like a cabalgata or celebrity appearance.

Several kayak tours have gone out this past week taking advantage of some nice weather. Photos are being posted on facebook on the arenal kayakers group. Join us there if you're a facebook member.

Repairs to the Great Auk are necessary again. My braces didn't work out so the weak spots around the cockpit and along the shear started splitting when any force is applied. I'm assuming there was too much flexing in the hull where I had installed the bracing and they both broke free. Went ahead and used some of the heavy cloth I had left over to try and add some strength to a couple of spots. Thinking that I'll build up different brace out of fiberglass that doesn't extend as far down the hull to avoid possible flexing and subsequent loosening of the bond. I'll try to get some photos of this problem and my solution for the kayak builders out there. Maybe somebody can learn from my mistakes and avoid this situation from the start. Especially with the Great Auk since it appears to be either a weak point in the design and/or there should be an explanation of a technique for avoiding the problem during construction. Additional layers of cloth, more care in lofting this section, or something to help a builder compensate for an obvious problem. Of course not all people are 240lbs or more so maybe I'm the only one in this situation.

One thing I've realized with strip built & fiberglass boats is that there is maintenance involved. Makes me wonder about other builders and whether they have boats coming back for repairs or have to deal with failures in any way. From my experience so far I'd have to believe that any wood and glass boat will require touching up or patchwork as part of normal usage. There is certainly no way to prevent scratches in the glass and it would be near impossible to use a kayak without ever pulling up onto a rocky shore and gouging the bottom. Also transporting a kayak around, lifting up to the rack, taking it down for use, storing, and whatever is going to end up banging or scratching the finish. I think the bottom line is if you're going to have a boat like this you either need to be good friends with the builder or expect to learn how to do some fiberglass work to keep your boat in good shape.

Okay, well that's the news from Lake Arenal...