Recent content by kona

Similar spot to last shot I posted, skim not yet there. Fortunate to live here. Ready for snow

Today I managed to get out on the Mississippi River and spent most of my afternoon paddling with a Moore cue that I believe to be in the grand classic construction. It is light and well balanced, stiff, and about an inch shorter than I’d probably prefer for the shaft but still a joy to use...

Mississippi River in St. Paul. Happy to catch some warm sunshine while it lasted on a leisurely afternoon with some good friends.

If that were in Minnesota …

I acquired two or three of the Bob Mann estate paddles. One of them is, I believe, the straight symmetrical Barton gripped ZRE paddle he acquired from you Gumpus. It’s a gem. And it means a lot to me that it was yours. I’ve been using it A LOT. I have four Moore paddles. I can post more...

For posterity, I’d be remiss not to link to the Moore Cue page on Archive.org’s way back machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20010203165900/http://moorecanoeing.com/cues/index.html

Glad to hear from Gumpus on this. I don’t know of another single paddler (in person or on the internet) who has a more astute preference on paddles, and I get the impression his take has been developed through experience over the past few decades. He generously sold me one of his medium blade...

I visited that part of the world this past July during the CCC Week of Rivers event. We caught a rare ish release on the Upper Nantahala and had some fun, low key afternoons on the Lower. I liked the NOC store. Bought a reprint of this classic book by Nealy, and photos the company photographers...

I have a royalex YS and a composite wildfire. Im comfortable heeling both and do, much of the time. The YS is maneuverable but less so, even when heeled appreciably. This is particularly evident in eddy turns and upstream facing rock garden play.

Thanks for this write up and the story. Sounds like an adventure! I’d love to run that section. Some day for me maybe.

The current model of the swift deluxe seat pad with straps is the most comfortable of the four types I own.

I’ve been eying the specs on the vagabond for years, mainly because of the symmetrical rocker profile, which I love so much in my wildfire and in a number of whitewater canoes I’ve enjoyed. Can you offer a comparison to the wild, which I’ve been using for multi day trips lately with a moderate load.

Looks like gel coat? A gel coat repair kit is shockingly easy to use with very nice outcomes. If it were mine I’d use clear gel, which would show the carbon through but still can be built up to preserve the original shape.

Not yet, this was a hatch event for some sort of mayfly or midge. As many as there were I only realize now I wasn't paying attention to what they were, more specifically.

Last week we enjoyed the Straight River near its confluence with the Cannon River in Faribault, MN. The miracle of life was abundant for the entire run