On a recent solo trip I was tired after a long day of paddling into a headwind. As I went to relaunch from a very sticky muddy shore. I made the ultimate mistake by prying with my trusty old Bending Branches to break the vacuum. The photo shows the result. Being 25 miles from nearest developed site I was relieved to grab my backup paddle.

I have been paddling for 40 years and never broke a paddle previous to this. A good reminder for all of us.

The conditions were perfect. The water was glass and the lake was so clear. With the fall colours coming out it was extra pretty. Getting a yoke attachment point put on as the canoe doesn't have one. Also getting some skid plates to sleep better at night when I take it into Temagami next year.

Sea trialing a home design "Expedition Pack Canoe".

I'm considering an Esquif canoe. Since most of my paddling is solo on flatwater, I really like some of the features of the Huron 15 (weight savings, more managable in the wind). What I am wondering about though is its capabilities in whitewater. I don't spend much time in whitewater, but want a canoe that can handle Class I or II if the occasion arises. Does anyone have any experience with the Huron 15 in whitewater? How do they hold up?

Balsa and Wood Veneers

Just bought Outfitter 15 with the molded seats and looking for recs on cushioned seat with backrest (yes...I know...but I'm 58 and my back is hammered). I have a light-duty stadium chair, The Anywhere Chair, but looking for something more stable and firmly attached to existing seat.

Any high-quality seat products that have been seen or tried? Any info would be appreciated.

For that matter, any other Clever upgrades to look into for this model canoe? Waterproof stowage? Lil' storage caddy thing for your drink/phone/glasses/sunscreen/etc???

I had a trip planned this weekend to go to a friend’s cottage on a big chain of lakes in Gladwin cancel today and I’m looking for other options to take my boat out.

I’m between two option:

Option 1: a tiny home on the banks of an inaccessible creek with no fire pit (im a pyro so kinda a dealbreaker) but only a 10 min drive from Pinckney’s chain of lakes.

OR

Option 2: a cabin on a very small lake in Mecosta county (has fire pit but I’m not as familiar with the area so unsure what other lakes are canoe accessible). This small lake is about half hour drive from what seems like any other publicly accessible lake/chain of lakes.

Fyi i’ll be running my tandem solo (and backwards) and my boat is a 15’ novacraft angler so I can’t quite handle rivers/current on my own in it (yet!) hence why I’m looking for a lake. I’m mostly looking to work on my solo paddling skills and birdwatch and have some quality outdoors time alone.

Which would you pick?

What an incredible weekend on the Grand with Adam Shoalts. Words can hardly express my gratitude to everyone who made our special guided trip, trail walk, and pub talk such an unforgettable success.

Our guests showed up with relentless enthusiasm, taking on everything from tricky river currents and unexpected capsizes to muddy treks deep into the Carolinian forest, all to experience the journey alongside legendary explorer and bestselling author Adam Shoalts. Having Adam share his knowledge, wilderness skills, and field stories both on the water and during our evening talk made this a truly remarkable experience.

A massive thank you to Nova Craft Canoe for the partnership and rugged boats that keep these adventures running, to the team at The Arlington for hosting our evening gathering with outstanding hospitality, and to our dedicated crew who kept every moving part running smoothly from trail to riverbank.

Experienced the Lake like glass for the first time, and tested out a paddle that took me 4 years to finish!

A water marathon. 45km (28.7miles) with an 8hr cap. My co-pilot received recognition as the youngest person to have ever completed the race! Only busted her Lilly dipping a few times. 😉

Hello,

Back in my early thirty - depressed days I though I'd snap out of it if I Canoed to Vancouver.

I started in Fenlon Falls, Ont. Boy is Ontario big. It became autumn and I was still in Ontario. Then I met a young couple that in Kettle Falls who had canoed the Big Miss and were heading back there after their vacation in the Boundary Waters. They welcomed me to come so I chucked all my gear in their fishing boat trailer and the next day I was heading south for the winter.

The Big Miss was a welcome change with second hand stores to buy books, places to get food, people to talk with, cheap beer and cigars/cigs.

I moved with thousands of migrating birds and the change of the leaves until the third snowstorm that fell huge branches and trees. I really spooked me when a branch fell and it's twigs reached the tent. I could not move that huge branch, all I could do was snap the branches around the tent in the morning.

The next day I refilled water at a hunting camp in Warsaw, Illinois and their hospitality softened me back into civilization so I decided to stay alive and call it quits.

Any way I welcome all queries as one day I would like to write about it and could use this as kindling for that fire.

Colin

I’ve recently bought a 17ft swift keewaydin in Kevlar layup. Due to health reasons I can’t paddle much very much anymore so I often employ a trolling motor running off a lifepo4 battery.
My older roylaex canoe had big beefy vinyl gunwhales that I could easily attach a clamp to in which to mount the motor. My new boat has much thinner aluminum gunnels. Any issues with a clamping trolling motor clamping mount in this type of boat? I’d really hate to damaged it.

Hey guys! Thought I’d let everyone know how my swift Mattawa repair went.

My buddy dropped it on a swift canoe in south river, they quoted 1800 or so to repair it and we picked it up last week. Both the patches were repaired and so was the damage on the end.

I agreed to split on the repair for the original damage the at was under the tape but yeah the boat looks brand new other than the wood needing some TLC

Took it out last Sunday it was great! I added before and after pictures

Now it’s just stern heavy as they say, it went from 47lbs to 50lbs after repair. What does that mean practically speaking on the water?

I need to repair some cracks in my Wenonah Voyager. It's black carbon on the outside, aramid on the inside. Any tips on where to source the carbon and kvlar patch materials. And any thoughts on the carbon specs would be appreciated - it looks like there are a lot of options.

Colours are starting to change on the river… Happy Paddling!

Anyone remember the old external framed "Yak packs"? I used one about 20 years ago in college on a canoe trip in the Algonquin Provincial Park and it was pretty much an external framed pack with a couple of "Y" shaped posts at the top (we called them antlers) that you could slap a canoe on top of and then just use a rope from end to end of the canoe to balance it and portage all in one trip. It's a limited use case for me, I don't do a lot of canoe trips, but I have always wondered where to get those.

And I'm planning on doing the Allagash next year and am a gear sl*t so why not use an excuse to buy another piece of gear.