Surgery is always serious:

Seeing a loved one go into surgery is always hard and how one feels at that moment depends a lot on the faith one has in the operating surgeon. So, as I wished my beloved Romany well, I was a bit worried by the organization and level of sterilization of the operating room. Then, I reminded myself that my HMO wanted it done in my garage, a poor second choice.

Dr. Leslie seemed to have the fine surgical instruments needed for such delicate surgery and, when I peeked into the OR, she was using the most delicate of techniques to gently remove one of the Romany's organs...its seat (seatectomy).

All went well and Romany is fine. The seat was sent to the pathologist for diagnosis. We have yet to learn whether we need to try and repair the seat (stem cells anyone?) or get a closed cell foam donor. More to follow.

Paddle safe...

DS

Going into the (kayak) hospital...

I took the old, often patched, Romany to the pool Sunday and was enjoying the easy to roll boat when something wasn't right. I set up to roll and did not feel the paddle was parallel to the hull. Well, it wasn't. The seat had broken from its port anchor under the rim of the cockpit tearing away a thin layer of glass. The seat was turned on its axis.

Then there was the day hatch. It has been cracked for some time and I actually have a new one yet to be installed. The old one was doing fine with a duct tape repair. It seems that the cold garage followed by the warm pool water was enough to end that Rube Goldberg arrangement.

Now, I have something to do if I can find heated space. I have had kind offers and advise regarding repair and am leaning toward replacing the seat with a foam one. I need to really look hard at the repair needed to be sure it is within my skills.

I still prefer the higher speed Cetus MV for group paddles; but, for teaching, you cannot beat the maneuverability of the Romany along with an easier boat to perform a paddle float self rescue. It all balances out.

Paddle safe...
DS