Winter paddle and poling through ice

I took my first paddle of the year a few days ago. The lake, which had been frozen since the end of November had just thawed out from a warm spell with lots of rain and wind. From what I could see the only ice left was in a cove at the windward end of the lake. Although I didn't need to cross any ice for my paddle I decided to take my ice traveling gear with me. This included an ice hook and my setting pole. After my typical 3 mile paddle around the lake I decided to cross some ice to check the water level of a beaver pond and to complete my circumnavigation of the lake.


The pole, ice hook and paddle. I also put in extra ballast for stability because of the cold water and air temps.


This is the ice that I just broke through by pushing myself up onto it with my pole and letting the weight break through it in ice breaker fashion. This ice was about an inch thick. According to Garret Conover it should have been thick enough to get out and push the boat over. To do this you keep as much weight as possible on your hands placed on the gunnels and be ready to jump in if it starts to break. I didn't feel that sporting so I just broke my way through.


There was some open water between ice patches.


In this photo, on the bow seat you can see the shoe that broke off my pole. I think the screw that was used to hold it on was too long causing a weak spot. I wasn't happy that it broke, but I was glad it was recoverable and didn't happen in a rapid where it would have been lost.


There were a lot of interesting ice formations caused by the spray of waves.

I'm glad I got out when I did because the lake froze back up the next day. It was good to get out for a paddle and it's hard for me to pass up an opportunity to travel on ice. It's exciting and keeps you on your toes.

Looks almost magical. Too bad about your pole but the shoe was saved and can be refitted.
Jim

Thanks Jim, I don't think I'll miss the six inches that broke off. Here is a picture of the break. The screw was almost as long as the thickness of the wood. I think it is overkill for what it does, and I'm thinking to cut the screw in about half. Also, do you think the black color indicates rot?

I admire your winter canoeing. Winters here in Virginia are usually mild, and there are few opportunities to practice maneuvering through ice. This week is an exception: 8 inches of snow Sunday night and temps predicted below freezing all week. Where did you find the ice hook?

IMO the dark color indicates that water has leaked into the wood next to the screw, weakening the wood. To prevent this in the future, first drill your new hole oversize and fill with epoxy. (Not "5 minute" epoxy, which is not waterproof.) After the epoxy cures, drill a normal size pilot hole, then install the screw.

Threads all the way up the screw shaft suggest that you have a sheet metal screw rather than a wood screw. A wood screw has a plain shank immediately below the head, before the threads start. The plain shank would help somewhat to prevent water ingress.

If you can install the screw perpendicular to the annual rings, the pole will be less likely to split. I don't think the length of the screw is a problem. Is the hole in the shoe countersunk to match the flat head screw?

Hope this is helpful.

I don’t think I would call the rot, Al. It just looks like reaction in the wood from the steel screw. The rest of the wood looks in good shape even though it broke.
Jim

Don't those bronze shoes come with a brass or broze screw? Mine did.

Part of the problem here is that the wood has to be tapered to fit the conical shoe, and that weakens it. I left one such shoe somewhere in the bottom of a rapid on the Weiser River. After that, I built a whole new aluminum pole with delrin plugs to fit two such shoes. Gets around the rot issue, and it's a great pole for pushy water

Al, interesting trip report and pictures. I'll be sharing my frigid paddling exploits next week. I'm curious what canoe that is. I recall your w/c canoes and Seliga but not this one.

UCanoe_2 said:

I admire your winter canoeing. Winters here in Virginia are usually mild, and there are few opportunities to practice maneuvering through ice. This week is an exception: 8 inches of snow Sunday night and temps predicted below freezing all week. Where did you find the ice hook?

IMO the dark color indicates that water has leaked into the wood next to the screw, weakening the wood. To prevent this in the future, first drill your new hole oversize and fill with epoxy. (Not "5 minute" epoxy, which is not waterproof.) After the epoxy cures, drill a normal size pilot hole, then install the screw.

Threads all the way up the screw shaft suggest that you have a sheet metal screw rather than a wood screw. A wood screw has a plain shank immediately below the head, before the threads start. The plain shank would help somewhat to prevent water ingress.

If you can install the screw perpendicular to the annual rings, the pole will be less likely to split. I don't think the length of the screw is a problem. Is the hole in the shoe countersunk to match the flat head screw?

Hope this is helpful.

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I found the hook on eBay. I had been looking in local antique shops w/o success, which surprises me because the Poconos were the ice harvesting capital of the country at one time. Many (maybe even most) man made lakes around here were made for this purpose, including the one I live on.

I think Jim was right about it not being rot, as the wood wasn't soft at all. Although the plug that came out of the shoe seemed pretty light for ash, so maybe there was some dry rot starting. The shoe is closed at the end, and I'm not sure that's a good thing.

The hole in the shoe is countersunk and I assume it's stainless steel. I also noticed that the grain orientation could have been better so I'll consider that when I remount it. I'll also soak the end in BLO for a couple days before I mount it also.

Steve, I also think that the taper weakened it, but the shoe weighs 12 ounces and is thick. If the wood weren't tapered it might be too fat and rise to much over the 1.25" pole and get stuck more.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Al, interesting trip report and pictures. I'll be sharing my frigid paddling exploits next week. I'm curious what canoe that is. I recall your w/c canoes and Seliga but not this one.

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It's a royalex Winona Spirit II. It was the first boat I bought after I acquired my Pa. lake house. I think it's a good hull. I plan to change out the tractor seats and use it for white water.

I look forward to reading about your winter paddling exploits.

lowangle al said:

Steve, I also think that the taper weakened it, but the shoe weighs 12 ounces and is thick. If the wood weren't tapered it might be too fat and rise to much over the 1.25" pole and get stuck more.

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Exactly. It has to be tapered, and that is its weakness. I suspect that most people who use these shoes are not stressing their poles as much as we are.

The bronze shoes have a major advantage when it comes to wear - they don't. And I've found that the shape of the shoes works better on some river bottoms than the spikes on my other poles. Along with that, that heavy shoe does help to find the bottom quickly in pushy water. I have an aluminum double ended pole with these that weighs about 5 lbs, and it gets to the bottom fast. The diameter is a perfect fit with my aluminum tubing. Making a delrin plug that's tapered perfectly on the shoe end and a press fit on the tube end was a bit labor intensive, but I don't have to worry about water damage.

Speaking of winter poling....
I need to get back out in the shop. Got the Coho down to refit it for 60" bags. I'm taking out the 32" bags to put them in the Wildfire. The 60" bags came out of the Prospector when I sold it. Gonna get back to some serious poling, and mid to late winter is always a good time to get practiced up on the local river.

My first time polling, I used a borrowed pole that had an iron shoe. I've never used a pole with a shoe since that time. I recall that iron-tipped pole did get to the bottom fast. And all I had to do was drop the pole, and the shoe pulled the pole down quick. Other than that, I don't see the advantage of carrying the extra weight of the shoe. I did a lot of polling after that. Never again with a shoe. I didn't miss having a shoe.

What a treat to get on a lake on a lake in winter. I'm dependent on rivers in winter. We live in a lake-effect snow area and so far January has been unusually dry and not terribly cold. Saw a little bit of shore ice for the first time yesterday. Kind of strange to live in Michigan and see another winter storm miss us to the south!

Chip said:

My first time polling, I used a borrowed pole that had an iron shoe. I've never used a pole with a shoe since that time. I recall that iron-tipped pole did get to the bottom fast. And all I had to do was drop the pole, and the shoe pulled the pole down quick. Other than that, I don't see the advantage of carrying the extra weight of the shoe. I did a lot of polling after that. Never again with a shoe. I didn't miss having a shoe.

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Around here, we have a lot of river bottoms that will eat a pole without shoes. I've always wondered though if bare wood or bare aluminum would grip better - or even better than my spiked poles.

Steve, we have rocky rivers in the east, too. But I agree, a bare wood pole will quickly wear out. I have copper pipe end caps and hanger bolts on the ends of my wood pole. Here's a photo, and it tells you the pole hasn't been used in a while. The copper is bright and shiny after use.


I think soft metals might actually grab rock better than the steel bolts on my poles. Consider the way aluminum canoes stick to rock. I found a copper sleeve on the end of a hiking staff gets excellent grip on rock. The copper will wear down, and the wood inside it will, too. So it would need to be maintained. Here's a photo of the tip of the hiking staff.


When steel hits the rocky bottom it only grabs when the tip of the pole engages a crack or indent in the rock. A softer metal might engage the grain of the rock and stick, whereas the steel would just slide off.

So, I think aluminum, being a softer metal, would grab better than wood. Of course, this is just Chip talking, it there's any science behind what I'm saying, I don't know about it.

I like the "bottoms that will eat a pole" expression. Way to turn a phrase.

Chip said:

Steve, we have rocky rivers in the east, too. But I agree, a bare wood pole will quickly wear out. I have copper pipe end caps and hanger bolts on the ends of my wood pole. Here's a photo, and it tells you the pole hasn't been used in a while. The copper is bright and shiny after use.
View attachment 144922

I think soft metals might actually grab rock better than the steel bolts on my poles. Consider the way aluminum canoes stick to rock. I found a copper sleeve on the end of a hiking staff gets excellent grip on rock. The copper will wear down, and the wood inside it will, too. So it would need to be maintained. Here's a photo of the tip of the hiking staff.
View attachment 144923

When steel hits the rocky bottom it only grabs when the tip of the pole engages a crack or indent in the rock. A softer metal might engage the grain of the rock and stick, whereas the steel would just slide off.

So, I think aluminum, being a softer metal, would grab better than wood. Of course, this is just Chip talking, it there's any science behind what I'm saying, I don't know about it.

I like the "bottoms that will eat a pole" expression. Way to turn a phrase.

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My first pole was the famous Home Depole, with its copper cap and hanger bolt. Looks just like yours. Once I started using aluminum, I quit using it so much, but I have had to replace the bolts a few times. I eventually made poles from ash, but that's a subject for another thread.

Now that my new bags are installed, if the wind doesn't blow I think I will go stand in the Coho today.

I have two poles, one is the heavy one that broke. It was made by a guy in Maine, Don Merchant of "Pole and Paddle" He had some good traditional stuff, but I haven't been able to find his website recently. The other pole was made by Jerry Stelmok and came with a boat I bought. It's much lighter and has a shoe like the one on Chips walking stick above. It has exposed wood that contacts the river bottom and not the metal, so it is more quiet. It's basically like using a plain wood pole, the shoe keeps it from brooming out. It is the one I prefer to use. That being said I take the heavy one for higher volume moving water. Both poles work, but I think there are drops that I wouldn't be able to get up with the light pole that I would with the heavy one. The weight does make it sink quicker, and that little difference matters.

As far as shoes go, Pole and Paddle offered two types. The one I have is the closed option, it has a blunt tip. The other was an open option. I'm not sure what the difference is, but my guess is that the open one would be more grippy, especially if you filed it down to a sharp edge. I'm also not sure why someone would want one over the other. My guess is that a very grippy pole may lead to a lot of abrupt stops, potentially causing injury or fatigue.

I think there is a difference between how Steve uses his pole and how I use mine. I use mine in more of a tripping context and I think Steve uses his more in a WW play type of thing. From the videos I've seen of Steve he is using it in a more aggressive manner. In the future I plan to get my floatation bags installed in a Royalex boat and up my game. At that time I may decide I want an aluminum pole and use both ends.

One big concern with poling in cold weather is that the drips potentially can freeze on the bottom making for a slippery surface. If I can't prevent this, it's time to get off the water or sit down. I wonder if using the pole windmill style puts more water in the boat.

Windmill style puts a lot of water in the boat. And a lot in on your hands. For me, windmill style is for summertime. In the winter, I try to keep my end of the pole dry.

lowangle al said:

I have two poles, one is the heavy one that broke. It was made by a guy in Maine, Don Merchant of "Pole and Paddle" He had some good traditional stuff, but I haven't been able to find his website recently. The other pole was made by Jerry Stelmok and came with a boat I bought. It's much lighter and has a shoe like the one on Chips walking stick above. It has exposed wood that contacts the river bottom and not the metal, so it is more quiet. It's basically like using a plain wood pole, the shoe keeps it from brooming out. It is the one I prefer to use. That being said I take the heavy one for higher volume moving water. Both poles work, but I think there are drops that I wouldn't be able to get up with the light pole that I would with the heavy one. The weight does make it sink quicker, and that little difference matters.

As far as shoes go, Pole and Paddle offered two types. The one I have is the closed option, it has a blunt tip. The other was an open option. I'm not sure what the difference is, but my guess is that the open one would be more grippy, especially if you filed it down to a sharp edge. I'm also not sure why someone would want one over the other. My guess is that a very grippy pole may lead to a lot of abrupt stops, potentially causing injury or fatigue.

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Sometimes an abrupt stop is a good thing.

lowangle al said:

I think there is a difference between how Steve uses his pole and how I use mine. I use mine in more of a tripping context and I think Steve uses his more in a WW play type of thing. From the videos I've seen of Steve he is using it in a more aggressive manner. In the future I plan to get my floatation bags installed in a Royalex boat and up my game. At that time I may decide I want an aluminum pole and use both ends.

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I learned poling mostly from Harry Rock's book and video (also a few others' videos - such as @eckilson's), so I use all the techniques he teaches. I do use the aluminum poles mostly for whitewater and play. When I'm just playing around and practicing upstream travel on the local river, I use mostly aluminum. But I've done some upstream tripping on nearby mountain streams, and I prefer to use my wood poles for that because - as has been mentioned - they're quieter. My avatar picture was taken by my son as we headed up the roadless North Fork of the Boise for some camping and fishing. But I've done a couple of overnight whitewater trips where I used only aluminum poles.

lowangle al said:

One big concern with poling in cold weather is that the drips potentially can freeze on the bottom making for a slippery surface. If I can't prevent this, it's time to get off the water or sit down. I wonder if using the pole windmill style puts more water in the boat.

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Yes, yes, and yes. I try to rely less on the windmill in those conditions, but going upstream often requires it. Pool cue recoveries leave fewer drips in the boat. Eventually, I have to give it up and paddle back down. But I don't go out much when it's that cold.