Dead meat does not complain. It stays in the bottom of the boat. It does not bark. It is a good listener.
But not much company.
But not much company.
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Happy National Audubon Day! 🐣🐦🦅🕊️
Bow ballast for solo paddling: the more unusual, the better
- Thread starter Glenn MacGrady
- Start date
I normally move seats before trips to ensure I can trim with gear. I don't like carrying extra weight.
When the kids were younger it was sometimes difficult to get enough gear and kids forward. We sometimes hung a pair of gallon water jugs across the bow the canoe, dangling on either side, in front of the carry handle. I don't have any pictures. It's about as far forward as you can get the weight.
I prefer to kneel. My solo doesn't have a fixed seat, so there's no trouble adjusting trim. I paddled a tandem with no seats for a while, that worked great in rivers with real white water. I could slide back to make sure the nose didn't plunge over drops, then slide forward to trim flat in the pools.
When the kids were younger it was sometimes difficult to get enough gear and kids forward. We sometimes hung a pair of gallon water jugs across the bow the canoe, dangling on either side, in front of the carry handle. I don't have any pictures. It's about as far forward as you can get the weight.
I prefer to kneel. My solo doesn't have a fixed seat, so there's no trouble adjusting trim. I paddled a tandem with no seats for a while, that worked great in rivers with real white water. I could slide back to make sure the nose didn't plunge over drops, then slide forward to trim flat in the pools.
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Around here, if you're a DIY kinda guy, those are not terribly hard to acquire if one isn't just laying around.
IME, company is over-rated and the lack of companionship is overshadowed by the other attributes. On the other hand, live animals are easier to portage and many get upset when you start roasting "companion" animals.
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That looks like quite a bit of flexibility in ballast weight. Is each specific to a certain canoe or type of trip?
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Oh yes, of course. Coonhound mutt no longer with us but ideally suited to warm weather paddles of 2 hours or less in roomy solos. She fit especially well in deep boats that let her lay fore-aft. Aussiedoodle is a loaner and not really into paddling so ideally suited to leave at home; only 37 pounds of actual dog under that curly hair. Latest adopted 18 pounder fits in even low volume solos and can be happy in a sitting boat where your legs intrude on dog space...but doesn't like cold. My former black lab didn't mind heavy rain or snow and she could jump from canoe to canoe to visit friends so well-suited to group outings. She was ideal for trimming my Bell Northstar solo or tandem. She could easily handle long day trips but if I paddled three times in one day she'd avoid eye contact to try to skip the third paddle. There were several times that my lab jumped into an empty floating solo canoe behind my back at the put-in...which is basically impossible. She had a calming effect on people and wildlife so ideal for close encounters with critters.
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For hunters, the goal is to come out heavy.
My all time favorite canoe a Sawyer Charger at 18 1/2 feet was advertised with two hunters packing out a bull moose and their outfit at the end of a trip.
The best way to adjust ballast is to move your load around. The second best ballast is to move your body and your dog around.
My all time favorite canoe a Sawyer Charger at 18 1/2 feet was advertised with two hunters packing out a bull moose and their outfit at the end of a trip.
The best way to adjust ballast is to move your load around. The second best ballast is to move your body and your dog around.
I like to use a dry bag full of water and a Chiweenie.
I mostly use ballast for sailing canoes. My current favorite is a couple of exercise weights. I have used water jugs, in five or one gallon capacities. Also a plastic shopping bag full of wet sand dug from the beach at launching.
bow-ballast-for-solo-paddling
Why should I carry “useless” stuff with me?
then rather 6.5 kg full of possibilities
For minor and / or major injuries, there is of course a generously sized first aid kit in a waterproof roll bag on board! With some important additions for me such as Resuscitation masks (in two different sizes), velvet splints and elastic wraps. Head torch, knife, scissors - three rescue blankets and four different sized heat pads.
Hypothermia is no joke!
Two different plastic tins full of everything you might need for repairs to the boat and materials are included. Of course also a roll of T-REX-TAPE
A large poncho and a small tarp are packed ready to hand for “bad weather situations”.
and now for the worst-case scenario par excellence.
- The boat is pinned to a stone, tree or rock.
OK, you need a lot of material to build a Z-drag ...
webbing, loops, 30m rope, Prusik loops, karabiners, pulleys, clamp pulleys, possibly gloves
Contents of my pin or safety kit (4:3:2:1:1) all designed for 20kN
4 screw-lock carabiners (PETZL William Screw-Lock carabiners)
3 pulleys (ALPIDEX rope pulley pulley)
1 clamping pulley (Petzl Microtraxion rope pulley rope brake)
1 clamping pulley (PETZL prusik pulley)
2 Petzl TIBLOC
4 pairs of Prusik slings (Dyneema, Dacron) of different sizes/thicknesses
1 webbing 5m
1 throw bag line 10mm / 30m
This rescue bag is then stowed in the front of the Wilma, under the buoyancy chamber.
and also serves as a counterweight to trim the Wilma
Why should I carry “useless” stuff with me?
then rather 6.5 kg full of possibilities
For minor and / or major injuries, there is of course a generously sized first aid kit in a waterproof roll bag on board! With some important additions for me such as Resuscitation masks (in two different sizes), velvet splints and elastic wraps. Head torch, knife, scissors - three rescue blankets and four different sized heat pads.
Hypothermia is no joke!
Two different plastic tins full of everything you might need for repairs to the boat and materials are included. Of course also a roll of T-REX-TAPE
A large poncho and a small tarp are packed ready to hand for “bad weather situations”.
and now for the worst-case scenario par excellence.
- The boat is pinned to a stone, tree or rock.
OK, you need a lot of material to build a Z-drag ...
webbing, loops, 30m rope, Prusik loops, karabiners, pulleys, clamp pulleys, possibly gloves
Contents of my pin or safety kit (4:3:2:1:1) all designed for 20kN
4 screw-lock carabiners (PETZL William Screw-Lock carabiners)
3 pulleys (ALPIDEX rope pulley pulley)
1 clamping pulley (Petzl Microtraxion rope pulley rope brake)
1 clamping pulley (PETZL prusik pulley)
2 Petzl TIBLOC
4 pairs of Prusik slings (Dyneema, Dacron) of different sizes/thicknesses
1 webbing 5m
1 throw bag line 10mm / 30m
This rescue bag is then stowed in the front of the Wilma, under the buoyancy chamber.
and also serves as a counterweight to trim the Wilma
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That "kit" make me feel so inadequate.
You don't need a huge river or a raging mountain stream to get into trouble with a canoe.
Sometimes a navigable water level of 70 cm at a leisurely flow speed is enough to get stuck on a stone, or you can't avoid a tree trunk lying in the water, or the current pushes the boat into a bush hanging over the bank.
Plop - before you know it you're already in it, and off you go ...
Whoever plays with risk ... can perish in it. Life is just a risk.
Not that I'm an angel who has only ever watched from the sidelines ... or even one of those who would have liked to point a finger of accusation and rebuke from the outside or afterwards. God forbid, no!
In many things, preparation is the measure of all things. If I play with fire, I will burn myself at some point - of course.
It's good if I know that I have a first aid kit with burn plasters with me.
If I'm playing with water, it's also advisable to have dry and warm things nearby. Or lines, pulleys and carabiners.
If you are playing with cold, snow and ice, make sure that you keep your fuel container for the stove absolutely tight. Because if not, it can be fatal. Frostbite and freezing to death can happen quickly.
Anyone who handles sharp, pointed objects should know how to apply a tourniquet ...
The best thing is to have a partner nearby. Someone who also has the necessary know-how to be there if the worst comes to the worst, ready to jump in and help without saying much. Why? Because he can.
Sometimes a navigable water level of 70 cm at a leisurely flow speed is enough to get stuck on a stone, or you can't avoid a tree trunk lying in the water, or the current pushes the boat into a bush hanging over the bank.
Plop - before you know it you're already in it, and off you go ...
Whoever plays with risk ... can perish in it. Life is just a risk.
Not that I'm an angel who has only ever watched from the sidelines ... or even one of those who would have liked to point a finger of accusation and rebuke from the outside or afterwards. God forbid, no!
In many things, preparation is the measure of all things. If I play with fire, I will burn myself at some point - of course.
It's good if I know that I have a first aid kit with burn plasters with me.
If I'm playing with water, it's also advisable to have dry and warm things nearby. Or lines, pulleys and carabiners.
If you are playing with cold, snow and ice, make sure that you keep your fuel container for the stove absolutely tight. Because if not, it can be fatal. Frostbite and freezing to death can happen quickly.
Anyone who handles sharp, pointed objects should know how to apply a tourniquet ...
The best thing is to have a partner nearby. Someone who also has the necessary know-how to be there if the worst comes to the worst, ready to jump in and help without saying much. Why? Because he can.
decades ago I simplified my rescue kit to 2 locking carabiners and about 20' of 1/2" kevlar pulling (mule) tape in combination with the 50' main line for my tarp (12mm static line), I've never needed more in dozens of pins (some intentional for training) The tape allows me to do everything from quickly making prussics to wrapping a boat for a inverse roll to break suction, and I much prefer tying a double figure 8 to adding a carabiner to the mix when attaching to a canoe, I also find the amount of friction eliminated by a pulley to be negligible compared to the bare anodized aluminium or stainless of a good locking "beener". I find throw ropes have far too much stretch for a good pull- they're designed to absorb the impact caused by hard tugging or snagging on obstacles which can pull a throw line right out of a swimmer's grip.
I also never seem to run out of pulling tape because there's always hundreds of feet around for the asking anywhere conduit is being used, so don't sweat cutting it for loops or tree wraps.
my first aid kit, or what my former students called my "trauma kit" is a different story....
I also never seem to run out of pulling tape because there's always hundreds of feet around for the asking anywhere conduit is being used, so don't sweat cutting it for loops or tree wraps.
my first aid kit, or what my former students called my "trauma kit" is a different story....
This is what I've been using lately. It includes a lighter and fat wood in a waterproof bag, a small tarp and a small piece of a pad and about 20 lbs of split firewood.
thats the thing
the 10 mm throw line from the rescue bag is being replaced.
The new rope arrived today.
Static rope Tendon Salamander 10.2
Diameter: 10.2 mm
Floatable: Yes
Strength: 23 kN
Minimum strength with knots: 12 kN
Elongation in use 50-150 kg: 2.6 %
Number of standard falls: 20 (55 kg, factor 1)
Specific sheath weight: 47 %
Sheath displacement: 0 mm
Shrinkage: 0 %
Material used: Polyamide / polypropylene
Weight per meter: 60 g/m
Length: 30 m
Color: Yellow/Red
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