Recent content by pblanc

I suppose that would be one solution if you really didn't want to glue anything into your canoe. Ankle support definitely helps and I wouldn't paddle a canoe kneeling without it. But for whitewater I don't want anything loose in my canoe or loosely attached to my body. I make ankle blocks out...

5.11 sells knee-pad ready pants that have inner pockets for foam pads that are much cheaper than the above options. These are intended to be "tactical" pants and shooting pants that allow the wearer to take a knee or kneel more comfortably and quickly. The Taclite Pro pants are made from a...

A few, of many. Rico and Buddy loved canoes.

Pelican cases come in many different sizes.

I bought a fiberglass Dragonfly from Mark that belonged to his brother. I have not paddled it down the Lower Youghiogheny but did paddle it down Slippery Rock Creek.

Yes, you are correct. I was interpolating the graph incorrectly. Not that less than an inch and a half is likely to make much difference in most cases.

The graph you are looking at shows the stage, not the discharge (flow). Not all USGS gauges register discharge data and this one does not. Unless you know the river at the location of the gauge well, the stage does not have any concrete meaning and cannot be readily converted to discharge...

For USGS gauges the discharge (flow) datum is a derived value based on the stage height in feet and inches at that particular gauge, not a real-time value. The accuracy of the discharge value is affected by changes in the volume of the streambed which can result from bank erosion, silt and...

I paddled one once, about 1/3 of the way down the Nantahala River (Class II-III) which would amount to roughly 2 3/4 to 3 miles of whitewater. This was now quite a few years ago. It was a demo boat belonging to NOC which I had checked out to try for the day. The reason I didn't wind up...

My answer to the "zipper or buckles" question is "neither". These days I use pullover type PFDs that have adjustable side straps on either side that can be tightened, but not completely released. I have used zippered PFDs in the past made by Extrasport and found them to be quite comfortable...

Upper Clear Creek in the Obed/Emory watershed is a good Class II (with one Class III) overnight trip in the Spring when there is enough water.

I would use a short length of PVC pipe instead of the vinyl tubing shown in Black_Fly's thread. That allows the ends of the PVC pipe to be cut off at a taper flush with the surface of the canoe hull so that nothing stands proud. The ends of the PVC tubing are then epoxied to the hull and the...

Yes, I have used that basic style of table for some years, primarily on downriver camping trips on which I will be cooking on uneven gravel bars or sand that makes using a stove somewhat precarious. This type of table has been around for a while. The GSI branded version, which I have, can...

Tom has a Facebook Page although I don't see any entries on it since his birthday last June. For a while after he sold OCNE he was doing some private instruction is canoeing in the area of Billerica, MA. More recently he seems to have returned closer to his old haunts at Greenfield, MA. Last...

The WWC1 is not a bad dog canoe if properly trimmed. As others have said, it is/was a Gene Jensen downriver racing design. As emphasizes straight ahead efficiency with enough depth to remain reasonably dry going through waves or over small drops. It is also a reasonable flatwater tripping...