Search results

I agree with Alan and Robin. I assume the indentation/rip is through into the foam rib or core. You could try pulling it out to level, and if that works, you could fix it by first sanding through the gel coat inside the crater and a half inch around the perimeter. Then add several layers of...

Cooke and Northwater offer spray covers as mentioned above, and Cliff Jacobson details a nice spray cover design in his book 'Solo Canoeing'.

Yellowcanoe, I asked Mike Yee about this in an email, and he agrees with you. While he accepts my premise for sizing the moving water shaft, he thinks it would yield a paddle slightly too long too. For sizing the shaft from an on-side duffeck, he suggested gauging from the chin (perhaps 2 or 3...

Here's how I select my benchmark shaft length for my 'reaching' paddles-- moving water and FreeStyle: From kneeling with max spread I plant a comfortable on-side duffek with the blade forward about 30 degrees, open 30 about degrees, grip hand on my forehead, and blade fully immersed. For me, the...

Here's an interesting article on paddle selection by John Winters. http://www.greenval.com/buy_paddle.html

Hi Canotrouge. All of my paddles have different overall lengths-- the variation is in the blades. I buy strictly by shaft length, and of course that's how I make them.

My 32" 'cruising' shaft-length equates to the distance between my shoulder and the water. With my torso erect and the paddle planted vertically, the blade is fully in the water to the throat, and my grip hand is straight out in front, parallel to the water. That's how I size it. As it turns out...

Mac, it's looking very nice. The flat-sawn pieces can be a problem in sanding because they give up the soft grain easily, and the harder ridges remain. Perhaps the best one can do with flat-sawn boards is hand-sand them at 45 degrees (alternating), using 100 grit paper on a stiff but flexible...

I work with two shaft lengths (grip to throat): 32" for cruising paddles (Chieftain, Ottertail, Beavertail etc), and 35" for reaching paddles (moving water, FreeStyle, and most 2-seaters). I'm about 5'-11".

I have some neoprene paddling-shaped gloves for cold weather, and some lightweight 'paddling' gloves from MEC for warm weather. Mountain-fed streams and rivers are usually on the cold side, so I use the outside air temperature as a guide around here. The Bow River around Calgary is near 0C in...

The cherry Chieftain (opening post on page 1) that I have been using for many years is about to get a sibling-- a Beavertail in Sitka Spruce. I like the Chieftain a lot, and I find it to be a predictable and dedicated deep-water blade-- it feathers beautifully, draws respectably, rudders...

Slogging around the Nitinat Triangle-- on the 'Apocalypse Now' portage trail.

Here's one I made. It quickly disassembles for storage in the boat. It has 12" BMX plastic wheels, Delrin bearings, pneumatic tires, and a chrome-moly axle. The triangular frame is ash, the overal height of the cart is 18 inches, and it all weighs 7 LBS. The nominal weight limit is 200 LBS.

This is a nice looking cart-- looks sturdy and light. Linder makes a ton of aluminum boats, including some nice canoes. Many canoe carts are best-suited to short trips on flat terrain-- like transporting the boat from the car a short distance to the water. Canoe carts tend to be built fairly...

What paddles do you like to trip with? For solo tripping I take 2 paddles and sometimes a pole. For deep water cruising I use a one-piece Chieftain style cherry paddle, and for the rest I take a store-bought carbon fibre river paddle. The carbon fibre blade split a couple of days after I...

It's interesting to see the variety in seating configurations and paddling styles; I didn't know the two-bladed (kayak-style) paddle was so popular. As yellowcanoe said, the two-blade makes for a quick brace on either side in big water. I too applied skills learned in FreeStyle to solo...

What is your seating setup for your solo canoe? Here are some sample conversation-starters: Do you sit low with feet forward; do you kneel on a pad or in kneeling trays; do you sit high and use a foot brace; or do you use some combination of these? Do you prefer to heel the boat and paddle from...

Playing at the foot of Bow Falls on the Bow river; it's very near the Banff Springs Hotel. Caribou S.

Yes. Mountain run-off is significant in spring. By August levels are getting lower. The following link is a page that reflects the annual flow where this photo was taken. The flow on the photo is perhaps 50 cms (cubic metres per second). This section of the Bow has a nice flow between 40-70 cms...

Between Banff and Canmore on the Bow River in Alberta. Bell Wildfire.