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Gumpus, are you sure that isn’t a scarf joint in the gunwale? I scrub off mud after a canoe trip. I bring a small push broom and a 5-gallon bucket. With the bucket, I dump river water into the boat, then use the broom to swish it around and loosen the mud, then flip the boat over to drain...

I always wonder about ocean crossing paddlers. The scenery doesn’t change much each day. Different conditions, maybe. But it sure seems like it would be monotonous. The kayakers must be real loose screws. Where do you take a dump in a kayak? At least in a canoe you could move around.

I have a ZRE paddle I enjoy using for flatwater paddling. The edges of the blade have become jagged. There is no identifying information on the paddle to tell me if it is a power surge or anything else, just a ZRE sticker. I have no idea if the paddle has the magic curve at the paddle tip. I...

I’d contact Hemlock and discuss. No doubt you could slap some FG and epoxy on the damaged area and it would be strong and watertight. Those are the main things, I guess. But I expect the wrinkles are there to stay, which could possibly change the way the boat handles. Maybe there is a way to...

My Wenona has spider cracks in a couple places. I applied Capt. Tolley’s to them last summer. It is supposed to penetrate and seal the cracks. Did it work? Capt. Tolley’s dries clear, so the cracks are still visible. The cracks didn’t seem to be hurting anything before and don’t seem to be...

Two EZ pass stories: Roll back the calendar to pre-pandemic years. Remember, paying cash for tolls was an option? Maryland used to charge us to maintain an EZ pass account, so my wife and I shared a transponder. Our local travel patterns didn't have tolls, so we'd just grab the transponder if...

I got some laughs out of your responses. We have some under-appreciated comedians on this site! I forgot about GPS/Spot tracking for off network travels. In the context of "share your spot with me", it slipped my mind that I had used a Spot device when traveling on the Missouri, the Green, and...

I do a lot of solo canoeing. My wife asks "where are you going, so I know where to tell them to search for your body?" The other day she learned of somebody who tracks their kid by iPhone, came home and announced "you need to share your dot with me." I told her, "That's' no good because then...

I had to do similar acclimation activities when I paddled my Encore with foam saddle. I sat on a basketball while watching TV. Best of all, if you have indoor space big enough for your canoe, was bringing the canoe in. I'd place a board across the gunwales, put my laptop on the board and sit on...

Silly question. Climate science is pretty clear: it's warmer. I'm an old-timer, but before I was, I remember the then old-timers saying it was colder when they were young. They were right.

Most times, the wind is not much of a factor in the river gorge here. But the put-ins all have snow on them. My Connect van has 5.6" ground clearance and a good snow berm will lift the wheels off the ground. We are usually pretty lucky in Maryland to be able to paddle all year. But I can't get...

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.

I have never slept in a canoe. Under a canoe, yes, but never in the canoe. I've considered it. Mostly, as a bailout option when you can't find a place to camp. I thought I was going to have to try it when I got driven ashore by wind and waves on Lower Hoopers Island. But I lucked out and found...

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...

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...

I don't think it is unusual, but I've used "wet bags" as ballast. That's a dry bag with the water on the inside. The beauty of the wet bag is that it weighs next to nothing when empty, so you can portage with it if necessary. Strap it to the carry handle after filling to hold it upright.

Question for you wool pants guys--Many of the wool pants described in the above-linked vendors' sites are to be dry cleaned. Do you take your wool pants for dry cleaning? That's probably a deal breaker for me. I've been wearing summer weight pants all year. They are fine for walking down to 30...

Thanks for the info on 3-seat canoes. Sounds like they are not that uncommon, I once had, on loan, a 15' Dagger Reflection with three seats. I paddled it solo and thought it pleasant to paddle, but I didn't think I'd like it with three full-size people aboard. I believed that biased my thinking...

Swift calls it a three-person canoe. I’ve seen three-seat canoes before, but always thought them tandem canoes with a middle seat for when you want to paddle them solo. Swift’s description of the Lavieille makes it sound like they intend the boat to be paddled by three people. Is that something...

I have a Bending Branches 260 double blade I got to use canoeing. It weights 2 lbs, 9 oz. I only found it useful in headwinds, and truthfully, I'm just not strong enough to swing that blade. You sit higher in the canoe than in.a kayak or pack boat, so you need a longer paddle. At 260, the blade...