Recent content by yknpdlr

Paddling alone with no other boats in sight in a starting field of 80 or more boats on the Yiukon River races, hopefully with the majority of the pack behind us, is certainly an experience to be had. When we log upwards of 160 miles/day, it can be a lonely but a good and rewarding feeling to own...

As my normal crew position is in the bow, I start at the gun race beginning sprint at roughly 80spm. We keep that up for the first 3-4 hut rotations, until the open paddling space widens. Then, (depending on nearby same boat class competition, voyageur or C4) I back off to cruise at around no...

In the first view, Andy is adding some outside sweep to curve the canoe around the bend next to the trees in the river. He straightens out a bit later. Mary does a little better. Perfect form does tend to suffer a bit during sprints.

I agree with Steve, terrible form. Hip rotation is not as important in canoe racing as some would think. Good form includes an almost constant elbow bend angle on both arms, especially the lower arm which should bend very little, and a box structure with arms, paddle shafts, and shoulders. Grip...

Most racing configurations will use foot strap loops attached to a foot bar. I made them using tubular nylon/poly webbing, with flexible metal pipe straps inserted inside to hold a rounded shape around the front of my foot. The straps and webbing are slightly longer than what is needed to go...

Years ago, Charlie Wilson told me this is because, if you imagine the shape that a heeled canoe presents to the water, it is the shape of a curved banana. That explains the tendency to turn away from the lean. i find that to be very true with my solo canoes especially My PB Rapidfire and Shadow...

Congrats on the new Blackwater. You will love it. This was my second season with mine, which I absolutely love. Fast and highly stable, much more stable than my PB Shadow, both with a 125" higher than standard custom elevated seat. Even without any rocker, it turns tight in buoy turns with an...

After my daughter certified to work as a camp waterfront director at BSA National Camping School, the first thing she did upon arrival at her BSA camp was to inspect all of the PFDs. Those that did not pass or were marginally serviceable were cut in half with a box cutter so they would need to...

Other than my Hornbecks, each of my solo canoes was ordered with a 1.5" riser above the highest available stock high seat. All are paddled with a single blade paddle, single side. I had to argue with Joe Moore when he did not want to do it with my PB Shadow because he has had three previous...

Looks like the Paddlesports trainer that I use during winter months. Beginning around Christmas time I start with 20 minutes at 60 spm, increasing to an hour as time goes on. it is a good machine for building up power strokes and timing. Unfortunately it does not replicate doing buoy turns very...

Is that a profile of a bison on photo #2? I was working a SAR incident a month ago in the Adirondacks. i have never seen so many and so many varieties of mushrooms as I was walking through then. Unfortunately, no time to stop to photo them while on the search. Wish I knew off hand which ones...

Right. My focus is race training. I strive for a smooth quiet catch to a powerful initial stroke where it is most effective for the first 16-18 inches followed by a very slight back off to reach my hip, then a quick twist of the paddle to a slide slip out exit to a feathered recovery in air. On...

i haven't paddled the Yukon River races in a while. My last Yukon River Quest 440 mile race was in 2017, my fifth race in my series of Yukon races, including two 1000 milers. As my Yukon team has aged (I am 75 this year and am not the oldest crew member), we tend to focus more on local closer to...

Campsites on Grass pond: Site 29,with old logging trail to the abandoned jeep road and map/compass bushwhack up the ridgeline to the summit of GPM. Site 30, at a small bay with a trail past the privy to the jeep trail below the trailless bushwhack (90 degress mag) to the rock face exposure...