Hello Glades People

[Roger Hammer]

Hello everyone. I thought I'd join the discussions about hiking and paddling the glades on this site. My first trip to Everglades National Park was in 1969 after a 3-year stint in the Army. Since then I've paddled the 99-mile Everglades Wilderness Waterway three times solo and once with a friend and, in 2010 to celebrate my retirement, I paddled solo from Flamingo up the Gulf coast to Highland Beach and then returned via the inland bays and rivers. That was a 10-day, 129-mile excursion. For those who don't already know me (HI VIVIAN!!!) I'm the author of Everglades Wildflowers, Florida Keys Wildflowers, A FalconGuide to Everglades National Park and the Surrounding Area, and Florida Icons: 50 Classic Views of the Sunshine State.

My paddling fleet includes a carbon fiber 15' 10"  Kaskazi Dorado II fishing kayak from South Africa and a custom-made kevlar 16' 2" Swift Shearwater solo canoe from Toronto that weighs a mere 32 lbs. soaking wet.

[Flex Kayakfari.com]

Hi Roger, welcome 

.. c u on the water! :)

[Jay]

Hi Roger  - welcome to the group.

[Dallas]

Hi Roger

[Gary M]

There goes the neighborhood!

Its about time you crawled out from under that rock.

You gonna start paddling / fishing now?

Gary M (aka Mangrove Cuckoo)

[Roger Hammer]

MC...I've been fishing and paddling but staying way too busy working on the 2nd edition of Everglades Wildflowers followed immediately by a new book for University Press of Florida entitled Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies in Tropical Florida. Just last week I pressed SEND and off went the manuscript. That was like taking a big dump after dinner at Taco Bell on all-you-can-eat burritos night.

Now I'm spending time spiffing up a 1988 aluminum 14' 5" Grumman rowboat/skiff that my wife's dad gave us because he never uses it anymore. Yesterday I dropped it off at a guy's house who builds aluminum airboats so he can replace missing rivets, paint the bottom of the hull with steel-flex, and paint the interior of the boat with epoxy paint. After that I need to replace the transom and buy a new 4-stroke 20hp outboard. Probably a Honda. Now I'll be able to fish areas that are way too far to paddle in a day and go terrorize the tripletail offshore of Cape Sable.

Life is good!

[vivian]

Roger you are working harder in retirement than you ever did in your working life! The big snook surely miss you and so do the makers of the Boone castana :-) I had a similar aluminum skiff in a deep v hull and ran it with a 30hp. This was back in the mid '80's and that thing would get me all around flamingo including the Florida bay flats. I did reinforce the transom, added a floor and casting deck plus trolling motor and push pole. Perfect light and cheap little boat for exploring and fishing. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I did mine. Congratulations on all your new success!

[Roger Hammer]

Now that I'm retired Viv I don't know how I ever had time to go to work. Well, if you call what I did "work." This Grumman V-hull boat is rated for a 25hp outboard but it was built in 1988, long before the advent of heavier 4-stroke motors so I've decided to go with a Honda 20hp 4-stroke with a tiller and electric start. Honda is the lightest in the 20hp class, it has the most torque, and is the most fuel efficient when compared to Yamaha, Tohatsu, Mercury, and Suzuki. Plus Honda offers the best warranty. Of course though, Honda is the most expensive.

The cool thing is that Michelle's dad used to take her and her younger sister out in the Everglades in this same boat back when they were just wee children. Now I get to take her back out there in her early 50s! I've even named the craft after her...the S.S. Derelictress. I figure she'd have to be a derelictress to marry ME!

[vivian]

That is very cool! You guys are going to have some fun. Camping gear fits in that boat too should your derelictress feel like spending the night out there sometime.

[1rxstdfpj9pr5]

Roger, roger, roger....nary a I'm back! Hope u are well, will be down in three weeks. No yak, J 16 in tow

[Kim Gass]

Welcome. The Shearwater is pretty seaworthy and will haul lots of water without getting sunk too low!

We were supposed to start today for eight days but I backed into a palm tree and mangled the rudder attachment on my Monarch. Spent the day running to Tractor Supply..twice.

[vivian]

Sorry to hear you damaged the monarch :-(. Not a good day to start a trip on with all this rain, everything happens for a reason. Have a great time on your trip Kim!

[Kim Gass]

Pretty glad at the last minute I grabbed my town fleece.The camp fleece of course is packed.The only downside now is that launch tomorrow at GCVS is at low tide  :)