clearing leaves from your bow

[gumpus]

Tis the time of year in Michigan when my Merlin II tries to collect leaves under the bow stem during the daily paddle with the coonhound. First I'll try to dodge the leaves, then I'll look for sticks or lily pads to run over to clear the leaves. I also have a technique where I lean forward and just clear the bow with my paddle. I do not like to stop and back up to clear leaves.

Do you have any cool techniques for clearing leaves from your bow? Folks with Prospectors or other boats with lots of rocker may not know about this.

 

[Canotrouge]

No Title

You're right I don't ever have that problem... Anymore lol... Use to when paddling marathons canoes solo or tandems!!

 

[Guest]

Nothing you didn’t mention, but I am always surprised by how much gurgle even a single leaf trapped against the bow can make. And why it still takes me a minute or two wondering “WFT is that noise?”

 

[yellowcanoe]

Not usually a problem. Our usual paddling haunts in fall are big enough. But when you do pick up a leaf it makes a racket.
Rock weed is just as bad

 

[Guest]

My Savage River Wee lassie had a real sharp bow that caught leaves all the time. Sometimes I stopped and backed up to clear them other times I used my paddle. The paddle worked on this short boat, but might be a reach(ha ha) for a longer one.

 

[Alan Gage]

I lean forward and rock back quickly trying to lift the bow enough for the debris to slip off. Learned that from marathon racing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Alan

 

[yknpdlr]

As a marathon race bow paddler, I simply slide my paddle along the bow to push the debris away. It costs me a single stroke.

 

[Mason]

I lean forward and rock back quickly trying to lift the bow enough for the debris to slip off. Learned that from marathon racing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Alan

Same here. Works less frequently than I'd like......

 

[Jim Dodd]

Sharp turn, might help, destroys forward momentum though. It comes with Fall paddling, just look at it as a water song.

Jim

 

[gumpus]

Well I tried leaning way forward and bouncing the bow up and down and it seemed to work so I'll definitely try this technique again. Best part is that the coonhound didn't freak out.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Guest]

There seem to be two kinds of canoe stems that collect fallen foliage; sharp bowed composite hulls at fold and trap leaves in a perfect vee, and plastic hulls with rough kevlar felt skid plates that grab and hold detritus near irremovably, even if you bounce up and down in removal effort.

Another demerit for poorly installed kev felt skid plates.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Collecting fallen foliage. The canoe is the least problematic
Colors at peak. It's all warfare from now on

 

[BWCA66]

I use the wind blowing past the roof rack as I drive home!

 

[Guest]

My Colden Nomad does this also and is a long paddle reach to clear. I guess it's one of the prices to pay for the wonder full efficiency of this hull.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Turtle. Easy to fix. Reverse axle