I’ve been busy with some training but I’ve also been able to do a little tinkering.
As I have commented on before, the transportation of a kayak can be a nightmare if you don’t have a car. So I have used my time, since the water persist being under 10°, making a bicycle trailer.
Here’s a picture of it attached to a borrowed bicycle. It works surprisingly well but it need to be fine tuned. Of cause it’s illegal in Denmark since the total length of the bike + kayak is more than 3,5 meter. Typical...! Denmark is the land of prohibitions. It’s legal in all other countries including the close neighbor to the east, Sweden. Well, I’m gonna use it if I need it ‘cause I’m a rebel :)
As the previous post, with comments, illuminates, transportation of your kayak can be tricky even if you have a car. The point A to A scenario is what you are most likely to use.
However the A to B scenario is possible if you employ an extra mean of transport like a bus, train, second car or a bicycle.
As an example I wish to sail the coast from Aarhus to Ebeltoft (two danish cities):
I drive to Aarhus harbour and unload my kayak at a safe location. Safe places can be hard to find, but if you can find a rowing, kayaking or yachting club you can always ask them for a place to temporarily leave your kayak. People who sails usually help each other.
Then I drive to Ebeltoft and leave my car in the area I wish to sail to, and take the extra mean of transportation, in this case a bus, back to where I left my kayak.
Annoying but doable.
I can leave my car at the beginning also, but if I don't already know a safe place to leave my kayak at the end of the trip, it’s better, in my opinion, to do it like described above. Just so I don’t end up with no place to leave it.
Gray day outside, temperatures are going down and evil weathermen are talking about snow.
This is the time to reveal the inability of today's transport system to transport kayaks and the like. Very troublesome if you don't have a car.
Long time ago:
In the fair Kingdom Of Denmark the postal service is privatised to better the service and lower the cost. Same thing happens to the cargo transport by rail. And there is much rejoicing.
Present time:
In the same Kingdom, a man makes an inquiry about the cost to send his 5,2 m. and 30 kg. kayak by ‘Post Danmark’, the semi private postal service. ‘No can do’ is the answer, ‘it is longer than 2 m.’.
‘No problem’ the man think ‘Post Danmark has competitors because of the privatization so maybe UPS can do it’. But they can't, and DHL and everyone else involved in parcel service cannot either. Not that they don't have the vehicles to drive it, but it’s too big for their scanning devices (they obviously haven't heard of hand held scanners).
‘Then the rail system must be able to do it’ he thinks, but alas, the cargo by rail is now on german hands, and they are only interested in dealing with companies who needs to move a lot of goods.
The freight companies moving cargo by lorries won't do it either. ‘It’s the insurance’ they say. ‘It only cover damage if you are a company, and you are a worthle.., umm, private person’.
One place a nice logistic assistant by the name of Kenneth say yes. ‘We, The Blue Water, will lift your kayak from our terminal in Albertslund (Denmark) to our terminal in Göteborg (Sweden) if we have spare room in our truck. You will deliver and pick up your kayak at the terminals yourself’. ‘For that we will charge you 1250 DKR. (220 US$, 139 GB£, 168 EURO) each way’ (It’s a 4 hour drive).
So: Only one company in Denmark seems to be able to transport a kayak, and with that in mind, no competitors at all, their price is almost fair. But I have a sneaking feeling of living in a developing country transportation of cargo wise.
