» Photos and Stories » Georgian Bay Aerius II 520 Classic Paddling

Georgian Bay & Manitouwadge Paddling + Sailing
1960s Aerius II 520 Classic

John frequently sends us photo updates of his paddling and sailing experiences. He is also now the proud owner of the Klepper brass plaque which is installed in every Klepper (this brass plaque is featured on each of the Klepper kayak pages on this site, see Aerius Classic II 520, the same model as John's Klepper for an example at the bottom of the page...) John took several of the following photos in Manitouwadge or on Georgian Bay & surrounding areas. He created his own solo spraycover for his double kayak, and modified his kayak to be able to control sail and all from the back position. His homemade spraycover follows some of the advice given by Ralph Diaz, but he brought his own ingenuity to the design.

For those of you who like to 'tinker', he also rigged-up a solar panel for his GPS. You'll see details of the solar panel in one of the photos. The home-made mast extension he uses with the Klepper Freewind Sail "... may be a little high" according to John. Notice the windswept trees in several photos, this landscape is a staple in Group of Seven paintings.

Photo above: Pacific Action Sail and Spring Creek Outriggers at
the mouth of Little Pic River at Neys Ontario Provincial Park

Photo above: John's Klepper Aerius II 520 with no sail at
the mouth of Little Pic River at Neys Ontario Provincial Park

Photo above: Pacific Action Sail at Neys Ontario Provincial Park

Photo above: Pacific Action 2.2 sm Sail and Spring Creek Outriggers
(they made John special long arms)

Photo above: Pacific Action 2.2 sm Sail mounting control.
John indicated he "...will try to perfect the mount where the
PA Sail is to one side, I have tried it and it does work."

Photo above: John's Aerius II 520 with a “Lateen Sail”
for which he put a line to the bow to hold it.

Photo above: Klepper Freewind sailing in
Manitouwadge with Spring Creek Outriggers

Photo above: Freewind sailing in Manitouwadge

Photo above: Notice the loons on the right-hand side,
John calls this Klepper Jib "sailing with loons"

Photo above: On Manitouwadge Main Lake -
doesn't that make you want to get out there and paddle?

Photo above: Solar panel on Manitouwadge White Lake. John explains "I use the fold up solar cells from Canadian Tire. These cells put out a nominal 12V so I expect the range is more like 8 to 14V if under cloudy conditions or bright sunshine. The Garmin GPS 76 (no longer in production) and the Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx both can go up to 36 volts external power so I figured that if the unit can be plugged into a cigarette lighter in a car it would be ok to plug it into a small 12volt battery which is what I did first, then I thought about eliminating the battery and the solar cell idea surfaced, I had no idea if it would work, but it did. Between the solar cell and the GPS I use a cable obtained from GARMIN that allows the GPS to be plugged into the cig socket in a car. The GARMIN 76 is fine even on cloudy days but the GARMIN MAP 76CSx although the voltage required is the same the power is not enough." John's solution is the perfect example of an explorer enjoying his summer on the water in a Klepper...

Photo above: My favourite photo in John's album... Sunset on Lake Huron.
John mounts the British Flag and other flags on his sail mast.

Photo above: John with his boat and Georgian Bay in the Background.

Photo above: Sailing on Grand River, Cambridge

Photo above: A closer view of the console and his homemade spraycover.