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Folks in the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas (NY Capital Region, western CT, western MA): would you be interested in getting together at Lake Taghkanic on May 18—similar to the gathering that @coldfeet, @Tsuga8, and @Curlymoe held last autumn? I’m thinking that May 18 would be ideal so that...

Is anyone here planning to participate in the Roe Jan Creek Boat Club’s annual canoe race this coming Saturday, April 27? I’m interested in participating and am seeking either of the following: A) Someone who already has a team or who plans to paddle solo and would be willing to shuttle cars...

If I'm not mistaken, the Curtis Northstar was the predecessor to the Hemlock Eagle. Here's a link to the catalog page for it on Hemlock's site. It's 6" longer and a touch narrower than the Morningstar, and has symmetrical rocker. It sounds pretty comparable to a Mad River Explorer or Swift...

Welcome to the site, @miss katie! I agree with the suggestions that a relatively wide solo canoe in the 15–16' range, such as the Northstar Northwind Solo mentioned by @Alan Gage or Hemlock Eaglet mentioned by @Bob B., might be ideal for you. Another model you should consider is the Wenonah...

I’ve heard folks say that a paddle finished with varnish is more likely to give you blisters than one finished with oil, but varnish is lower-maintenance! I usually wear gloves when paddling to protect myself from blisters, and my one oiled paddle is pretty different from my varnished paddles...

I agree with the folks who suggest moving the thwart. Replacing it with a curved thwart also sounds like a good, creative solution. Either sounds both easier and better than moving the seat because a) it means drilling fewer holes and b) it keeps the seat closer to the middle of the canoe. And...

Congrats! The canoe looks sharp! Varnish will protect the paddle just fine (though if it’s nicked you may want to touch it up), so no reason to sand it off and apply oil unless you prefer the look/feel of an oil finish.

Just writing to second what @yknpdlr said—totality only lasts for a few minutes, but it is a unique, rare, and awe-inspiring experience that makes for a lasting memory! Looking up and seeing blackness where the sun should be, and seeing the strangeness of the light, it touches something inside...

Looks like a Discovery 119 to me—they look pretty similar to the Pack, and definitely were/are available in camo.

That Tripper doesn’t exactly look pretty, and the damage is definitely not just a scratch, but I’m not sure the canoe’s damaged beyond usefulness. I personally would wait for a canoe to pop up that hadn’t had the hull creased like that, but I’m a little pickier about looks than I probably should...

When I learned to canoe and, later, led wilderness trips, we carried one spare paddle per canoe, and I have always followed that guideline since. Besides the obvious benefit of having a spare in case a paddle gets lost or broken, when paddling with beginning canoeists it is useful for the spare...

I agree that the Old Town Penobscot, Old Town Camper, Old Town Tripper, or Mad River Explorer all could make an excellent first canoe. Indeed, given your use case, just about any decent Royalex or composite tandem you find would probably be great! However, I also agree with @MrPoling that if you...

Welcome! I’m one of those folks nearby in NY.

@Alan Gage This is all really helpful—thank you! That gives me lots of ideas, and it's neat to see the various permutations you've come up with. And those Bloodvein canoes are so cool, too!

That is very helpful info—thank you! I had been thinking of using U-bolts, and was wondering what the best way to keep them from protruding would be—I like the way your solution sounds. And that is generous of you to offer to show me in-person—thank you! Perhaps I’ll take you up on that—and at...

That looks beautiful!

I’ve been thinking about DIY-ing a set of wooden crossbars—may I ask how you like yours, how you attach them to the rack, and whether you ran into any problems/challenges when designing and building them? I love my Outback and hope/plan to keep it for a long time, but starting from ~90,000...

Welcome! I’m a little ways northwest of you in the Hudson Valley.

I always transport a canoe bow forward—as @yknpdlr said, it is bad luck not to. It’s also the only orientation that makes sense for loading and unloading my solo canoes with my car/rack (my crossbars don’t stick out past the rails, so I can’t easily load the canoe from the side of the car as...

Mine comes from one of my other hobbies: photography. I have a couple of vintage camera lenses that focus using an unusual sliding mechanism (rather than the typical helicoid or cam mechanism), and when I joined a photography forum and needed a screen name, I was inspired by those lenses to call...