The mist on the lake this morning made for a couple of great pictures, and I really liked the way the light was working on our kayaks. The mist had coated everything with dew adding a touch of sparkle to an already magnificent start to the day.

Dragging our kayaks over the very rough and sharp rocks that make up a lot of the shoreline of this part of the Harry S Truman Lake, I was reminded just how thick and tough the hulls on these boats are. I’m not convinced that some of the more flimsy models we looked at would have coped without needing patching. Some of the gouges we’ve accidentally collected give testament to how sturdy these things are, and also the need for a fairly thick hull (or a great deal more care than we’ve taken) when working the lakes in the Ozarks.

My advice, think about where and how you are going to use a kayak, what if any damage is it likely to take, will it cope, and will it be easy to repair? The down side of that nice thick hull on the Ascends is the weight, 50lbs without any extras.

Before setting off on a seven mile paddle around the lake to the East of Berry Bend, I took a few close-up pictures of some of the fittings I’ve added to the kayak, and I’ve added them to my Ascend FS10 kayak fitting out post.