Malone System

Where does one begin raving about a product that makes their life much easier?  Since we’ve been living in our RV full-time, one issue we’ve had is how to transport our kayaks on the roof of the truck, while still making sure there’s adequate room over the bed of the truck for the RV to be connected and to pivot for turns.

Originally we mounted some Thule brand bars to the roof and would carry the kayaks flat, using kayak padding and swim noodle foam to pad the kayaks against the bars.  We then had a myriad of ratchet lines, one front and one rear on each kayak and a fifth line to pull both kayaks together. To load the kayaks we’d have to climb up and in to the bed of the pickup, lifting the kayak each step.  It was a long and tedious process and we discovered that we were warping one kayak when we’d cinch it down.

During our travels thru Maine this Spring, we thought about going to L.L. Bean to purchase some Thule J Bar carriers for the kayaks.  Because we were spending the night parked in Cabela’s parking lot, we went it to see what they carried.  They had Thule products, but they also carried a less expensive line by Malone that would fit the Thule bar.

On researching the Malone product, we found them for an even lower price at a truck accessory store in Portland we had shopped at many times during the 10 years we lived there (Yankee Custom).  They only had one set of J Bars so we decided to get them and try them on one kayak.  If we liked them they could have another set within 36 hours.

We tried the Malone rack and really liked them, so we requested the shop order another set for us.  When we went to pick them up and install them, we also looked at an accessory for loading kayaks up to the J bars.  We asked if we could try them before we bought them and got the ok.  What we didn’t know is that they needed some assembly before you could even use them.  Needless to say, once we assembled the Telos Load Assist units to try, we found they really did the job.

The reason the Portland ME truck shop was able to get us another set of J Bars is Malone is based in Westbrook ME, the next community over.  The kayak system was designed and packaged in the US (manufactured in China).

Besides the loading bars; which makes it a piece of cake to get the kayaks on and off the truck, the other nice feature of the Malone Kayak Carrying System is that the J Bars fold down when not in use, lowering our vehicle's overall height.

photos show us taking a kayak off the truck.  a) kayak in J Bar cradle   b) attach Telos Load Assist
c) lift kayak from J Bar into load assist brackets    d) bring load assist brackets down alternating lowering ends     e) remove kayak, then remove load assist bars      f) fold down J Bars

Should we bring them or not

Well it’s about time.  When we left Florida this past March, we decided we would carry the kayaks and bikes with us instead of storing them in the utility trailer with the motorcycles.  That: the trailer and motorcycles, would stay in our friends’ backyard awaiting our return.  The bicycles were mounted on the 5th wheel’s ladder and we rigged some bars on the truck and figured out how to transport the kayaks there, while still having room over the bed of the truck for the 5er.

We’ve not had much opportunity to use the kayaks or bikes yet and had been questioning whether our decision to bring them with us this year was prudent or not.  While passing through Maine in late May we purchased a rack system to transport the kayaks in a better manner than what we had been doing. (read my Malone System Blog). Even with a better transporting system, we still weren't using the kayaks as we had hoped.

In April, we spent a month at a campground in MA that had mostly hard packed dirt roads, but they were always filling in holes, leading to soft patches. Chuck and I would ride our bikes, but I didn’t use the pet jogger we picked up in FL with Rugby too much. No place to kayak there.  May was spent traveling up and down the I-95 corridor.  Between the birth of our first grandchild, location and or weather, we didn’t get in any biking or kayaking.

Now we’re in Canada and have been hoping to get out on the kayaks.  Weather has been our primary deterrent; cold, wet and raw.  Today was the winner.

Our campground has access to the Baddeck River which leads into Bras d’Or Lake, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.  The sun was out, the temps were about 20 C (aboot 70 F to us Yanks).  There wasn’t much wind.  So off we went.

The portion of the lake we paddled was enchanting.  Off in the distance, the highlands region; forest covered, with some farm land clearings was spectacular.  Along the shoreline of the lake, several camps or clearings for future cottages.  Above us, blue skies and white clouds.

We had to deal with some winds while paddling, thus our intentional direction of going in to the wind, allowing us to take it easy on the paddle back.  Shore birds of various sizes flew by, some even squawking at us as we came closer to the marsh they were in.  And above us glided a spectacular bald eagle.  Because of the wind and the waves, my photos of the eagle did not come out as well as I wanted.  My boat was rocking and the wind kept driving me in a different direction, but I still got some images.

Hope you enjoy our day.

Summertime - And the living is easy

We've been in the new RV for just 2 weeks now and I'm amazed to realize it's only been that short an amount of time. It really feels so comfortable and natural. We are still playing hide and seek with things we packed months ago as we prepared for this new chapter in our lives, and many days it's like Christmas as we find items we had forgotten about.

The words from Porgy & Bess which gave me this blog's title are so true for me right now. After a month of fog, wet and cold weather, June is showing her beauty and warming us both from the outside with the warmth of the sun as well as inside as the greens of the fields and forests develop.

Because we're able to enjoy our time in the trailer and settle in to a life, we've unpacked the bicycles, kayaks and motorcycles and have taken advantage of the beauty Acadia and Downeast Maine have to offer. Today was a 50 mile motorcycle ride to Blue Hill Maine and back. I loved feeling the wind as we drove along and there were a few times I could smell wood fires. And at one cove, the salt air smelled heavenly.

The bicycles we're just riding around the campground - it's a mile loop around and we do several passes. Once we get our stamina up we're heading into Acadia National Park to take advantage of biking some of the carriage roads. The other afternoon we loaded the kayaks and went to Echo Lake for an hour's paddle.

I didn't get out on the kayak or biking last year because of my broken wrist, so I'm really enjoying doing those again. However, I've found my next toy to try. A couple at the campground have Hobie kayaks with pedals and sails. How cool is that to kayak and then pedal boat and then sail, all without getting out of your watercraft. (see photo) Where we're still just starting out on the new lifestyle of fulltime RVing, this will have to wait.

The dogs are enjoying this new life style. Moneypenny is forever dancing at the invitation to "go for a walk" because she knows she'll get to see and possibly play with other dogs in the campground. Rugby has been a rockstar (I still think a punk at times, but he's really come around from 3 years ago). His favorite thing to do is fetch - we have a "Chuck-It" stick and ball which allows us to throw the ball a good distance and then allow Rugby to retrieve it. The other day, Chuck took his golf club and a ball to the field and Rugby took to retrieving the golf ball - Chuck thought he might have to walk back and forth in the field retrieving his own ball - he's very proud of his golf ball retriever.

A side note about my title, a facebook friend had posted a YouTube of this song on their page and seeing the song title brought me back to Choir Camp in the mid to late 1970's. The rule at camp was if you were late for a meal, you had to sing for admittance to the dining hall. I remember one lunch, my friend was late for mealtime and chose to sing Summertime. Her voice was so rich and full and this song sounded like it was meant for her voice. I had never seen the musical Porgy & Bess, nor had I heard Summertime before, but for over 30 years, that song has been deeply imbedded in my heart and mind.