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I'm most impressed by the carry to the put-in.

I love the irony of that article having links for sharing it to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest right at the top. And according to my browser's built-in ad blocker there were 10 advertisements. It's just another example of media peddling outrage instead of information. And it works because...

My wife and I are in Florida for the winter and I reluctantly brought kayaks. Last year we paddled in very tight mangrove tunnels and also out in the open in the Gulf so I thought a kayak would be more appropriate. We did some tight mangroves a few days ago where I'd have struggled in a solo...

For many years I worked at a company that had offices is Michigan/Indiana and Mexico. It wasn't unusual to have to loan jackets, gloves, and hats to engineers visiting from Mexico. They simply didn't own any and had no concept of cold. I had to rescue more than one who put a rental car in a...

I thought snowfalls had decreased over the past few decades so this morning I looked at historical snowfall data for a few Midwestern towns I've lived in and found there's very little change. The year to year variation is much higher than the variation in 5 or 10 years averages. In other...

I'd like to understand the different vacuum methods. When I looked at Swift and Northstar canoes side by side at an outfitter the difference was stark. The Swifts were perfectly smooth and flawless. The Northstars varied from boat to boat but they all had ugly folds in the interior. One...

We live in the Midwest where it gets brutally cold and windy but there's rarely enough snow to get out and do something active like cross country ski, snowshoe, or ride snowmobiles. I don't mind cold as long as there's snow so I can get out and do something. Since we don't get snow I'd rather...

Who needs a canoe?

I'll give you cozy. And it does have an undeniable "neato" factor. But besides the obvious issue of water in the boat it seems like it would have an annoying side to side rock as I tossed and turned at night. I suppose you could wedge some branches along the bottom to prevent rocking. It...

That was my first thought too. I've never seen a canoe that was dry inside after a day of paddling. What would the advantage be of these over a regular tent on the ground?

2024 was my typical paddling and fishing on local rivers and our annual trip to the Ozarks. We're heading south for the winter this weekend so it'll be mangroves, keys, and gulf paddling for the first few months of 2025. I've been going down a whitewater rabbit hole on Youtube for the past few...

Good job getting a consistent chamfer on that curved rectangular cutout. I'd have to give that setup a lot of thought. Did you file it or machine it? Rotary table on edge?

My brother was a guide on the Zambezi river out of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Imagine trying to goad tourists in a raft to paddle for their lives when a hippo didn't appreciate their presence. They did occasional overnight trips where keeping crocs at bay was an issue.

One group I paddle with is mostly older folks in recreational kayaks. When they get stuck in a shallow spot they'll put an inordinate amount of effort into trying not to get out. They'll jerk themselves front to back to try to get the kayak to slide forward and abuse their paddles trying to...

I have a Bending Branches straight shaft paddle with an asymmetric grip but symmetric blade. It makes no sense to me.

It'll be interesting to hear how it paddles with a double blade. :cool:

Probably in the range of 0-25F. Below that and other parts of me are too cold to enjoy it and above that I'd be a bit warm in those pants. As an example, it's hovering right around 32F with no wind today and I wore jeans for a 3 mile dog walk. The fleece lined pants would have been OK but...

My favorite for casual activities in the cold like a dog walk are some fleece lined polyester pants I got at Costco. They're warm enough that I have to take them off when I get inside the house. I think the brand is called Vintage. They're too warm if I'm really exerting myself on a hike...

If that's their market then they're targeting some awfully wealthy young couples. When my wife and I were just starting out and had young kids there's no way we could have afforded a Swift canoe.

Yes, back at that time I'd check everything with a meter unless it had been in my shop for a long time. I think maybe the stiles and rails warped and locked the panel so it couldn't float with seasonal moisture changes. Or maybe there was just a lot of stress in that board. I'll prep some...