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  1. Will Derness

    ​Cheat Sheet of Used Canoes for solo downriver CL II daytrips

    For what it is worth, I had the opportunity to spend an hour in one on some moving water and found it to be quite a nice canoe. More rockered than the canoe I was using so it spun a little more quickly than my canoe (OT Cascade). Without some good paddle skills I imagine it could be...
  2. Will Derness

    Coffee Press

    1 cup at a time, this coffee press is my preference these days. Makes a consistently excellent brew. Slightly bulky to pack, but worth it for me...
  3. Will Derness

    And so it begins... (Bell Merlin II Repairs)

    And a third way to set those handles.
  4. Will Derness

    First day out with new boat and new canoe dog

    GPS worked well in that location. The Garmin unit let us paddle a big circle through swamp
  5. Will Derness

    First day out with new boat and new canoe dog

    You can get intimate here to the point of becoming quite lost.
  6. Will Derness

    ​PFD Pocket Contents?

    On the PFD, blunt end Rescue knife, whistle, strobe/SOS light In the pockets - small sunscreen, lip block, about 15 yards of duct tape rolled around a small diameter section of pvc pipe, compass, signal mirror, small waterproof note pad with golf pencili in the spiral binding, one energy bar...
  7. Will Derness

    And so it begins... (Bell Merlin II Repairs)

    I thought about the benefit of xtra wood along the gunwale, but at the end of the canoe is it that important? Drilling the longer hole in narrower stock wasn't an issue for me - I have a portalign drill press guide. I may have dropped down to a #8 machine screw. The feel to my hand when...
  8. Will Derness

    And so it begins... (Bell Merlin II Repairs)

    Your carry handles do look bad and would be replaced if it were my canoe. A number of years ago I added carry handles to an older canoe. Bought the handles from Ed's Canoe and they are shaped much the way yours are, a curve cut into the square stock where you would place your hand. I...
  9. Will Derness

    Thoughts on a Bell Merlin ii (not that I'm looking for another canoe...)

    My understanding is epoxy resin is UV sensitive and w/o a covering will fail on some level. So I've always either added carbon or enamel spray painted epoxy finishes in my interior repairs. I'm not sure how sensitive epoxy is to light, but I don't want to set myself up for another repair some...
  10. Will Derness

    Thwart bag suggestions?

    Here is what I use. It is pretty water resistant, but not totally waterproof. Anything that really needs to be dry, I ziplock or small dry box it. Very well made. I like the d- rings that let me attach my map case to it for easy access. And I have used the cutting board for cutting fresh...
  11. Will Derness

    Thoughts on a Bell Merlin ii (not that I'm looking for another canoe...)

    The clean aluminum gunnels of my new ultralight canoe spent quite a trips on the bare, black metal rack of friends vehicle. Left ugly black marks in several locations. I cleaned it up by usin 220 grit sandpaper on a random orbital sander, and feathered in the edges with 0000 steel wool. Came...
  12. Will Derness

    Big Waves and Pumps

    I know some WW paddlers have installed elec pumps to empty their boats on wet rides. Do any of you lake paddlers have a similar setup? Far from shore, I imagine that could be really useful on a big wave day.
  13. Will Derness

    Bell StarFire rebuild. Lots of questions and hopfully a few answers.

    A nice matte enamel paint could be a solution. The hardest part is the taping job; a wheeled shop stool really, really takes away a good part of the effort. I chose brush/roll on over spray. Thought it might be more durable and touch ups are easier. I went to my local paint store and they...
  14. Will Derness

    ​3rd party hosting photo site suggestions?

    Yup, take control of your images and buy an external hard drive. Here is a 2 terabyte HD for about $70; get a 3T for a little over a hundred. If you are paying $25/year for cloud storage you'll recover your investment in 3 years, plus you have control...
  15. Will Derness

    Bell StarFire rebuild. Lots of questions and hopfully a few answers.

    This thread may help you. I rehabbed a gel coated, aluminum gunnel Swift several years ago. You may want to closely examine the rivets on the aluminum gunnels. Salt marine environments can be tough on metals...
  16. Will Derness

    Tent screen repair

    Tenacious Tape has worked for me. Cut your shape, apply to both sides...
  17. Will Derness

    Taking the wife on her first trip

    It sounds like you are keeping your gal's interests in mind. That's good. Make sure her first trip is is one she enjoys, not endures. The second trip is at risk if she has to endure the experience. In my early days, I would get excited about a trip I wanted to do. My partner didn't fully...
  18. Will Derness

    I like wide racks and I cannot lie

    You'll make a lot more canoe friends with bars wide enough for two canoes. If all you can carry is one boat, you're nearly useless when planning shuttles. Keep on going on, you're headed in the right direction
  19. Will Derness

    Center Console Upgrade

    Prescient words. The hot summer sun of the Carolinas, softened the Velcro adhesive and the magic carpet began its ride. It has floated around the console top, staying put when the console is opened, but you cannot say it is held in place. The rug moves. And now....... Center Console Upgrade...
  20. Will Derness

    Seat height?

    My practice to to have the seat positioned high enough off the bottom that I can easily extract my legs from underneath when kneeling - about 10 inches from the floor for me. Foot entrapment is what I'm looking to avoid. My tradeoff is sacrificing some lower center of gravity that a lower hung...
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