Since now it's official...

[FartherWest]

Hi Everyone,

I've been around a bit on the site, but waited on introductions because, well, I didn't actually have a canoe. PortlandBCS is correct, there isn't much out here for canoes so I ordered a little We-no-nah Prospector 15. Four months later, it arrived just in time for the ice, wind, ice and then snow. Since patience is not one of my finer virtues, I waited until I at least had sun and a good friend could join me on my maiden voyage.

After 10 plus years of sea kayaking in lakes, rivers and the ocean, I think I'm going to like this canoe thing. It's difficult to appreciate until you do it several times, but I'm hooked.

Thanks to Robin for hosting this site and to all of you for your posts. They are educational, inspirational and oftentimes hilarious.

To anyone on the west coast, please reach out. I'd love to add you to the short list of friends (read that as enablers) I currently paddle with.

Cheers!
Kathy

 

[sweeper]

Welcome to the Board and canoeing. Nice looking canoe.

 

[Alan Gage]

Welcome aboard, Kathy. It's not easy for people to make the jump from kayaks to canoes. Glad you did it and I hope you continue to like it. It took me about 4 years of mixed canoes/kayaks until I finally ditched the kayaks altogether.

I spent part of a summer a few years back working in Portland and other areas in the PNW. Really beautiful area and Portland in particular is nicely placed geographically.

Alan

 

[Robin]

Nice looking canoe, I think my Argosy was the same color. Too bad about the timing but good to see you out there with the snow.

 

[redoleary]

Welcome from exciting and exotic Michigan.

 

[Boatman53]

Welcome Kathy!
Jim from Long Island.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Hi from near the Other( Real) Portland.. You don't have lots of snow.. We don't either right now.. but you do have onesies up.. You got open water.
I went down on the Kennebec River today near its mouth.. the guys were ice fishing!

 

[memaquay]

Oh my goodness Robin, the masterplan we devised sitting around the campfire on Grip Lake is coming to fruition! We are bringing the Kayak crowd over to light! All hail Canoetripping.net, making canoeing great again!

Ah, just kidd'n. Beautiful canoe! I hope you get lots of enjoyment out of it!

 

[sweeper]

, making canoeing great again!

Beautiful

 

[Jim Dodd]

Enjoy the solo. I've always said, anyone can paddle a kayak. Once you learn to paddle sol, you've learned something !
Enjoy !
And Welcome !

Jim

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Welcome.

You can't kick up your feet quite that easily in a sea kayak. If untaught, it takes most people quite a bit of practice to properly control a rockered canoe like the Prospector with a single blade paddle. Now that you've invested in a canoe, invest the time to learn single blade technique. HERE is Bill Mason's classic basic solo canoe instructional video.

 

[Odyssey]

Hi Kathy, and welcome. You're gonna love canoeing; judging by your photo #2 you already are. There's all kinds of fun and mischief you can get up to in your canoe, but I'll let you discover that for yourself. Some of it might even be appropriate to share here in trip reports.
And then some of it won't be, but feel free to share that too.
Cheers!

 

[FartherWest]

There's all kinds of fun and mischief you can get up to in your canoe, but I'll let you discover that for yourself. Some of it might even be appropriate to share here in trip reports.
And then some of it won't be, but feel free to share that too.
Cheers!

LOL, yes that was rather the point! Things get dicey when I get bored - I have a tendency to find my own entertainment.

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Glenn - please keep the links coming. I'm a visual learner and get quite a lot out of videos. Also, please feel free to send me book suggestions. I followed a thread awhile back where folks were recommending books and picked up “The Complete Wilderness Paddler” by Davidson/West. Loved it, thoughtful, fun to read and if I can just waterproof some of the pages about directional control in current...

Robin, I demo’d a lightly used Argosy and probably looked like a drunk woman on a skating rink, my hats off to you. I went with the Prospector knowing I will occasionally have a second paddler, but the length because I also know that won’t be for long stretches (and I want to do small WW). And since I prefer the characteristics of ‘dancing partners’ to ‘race horses’ with respect to boats: investing the time and effort in technique will be worth it.

Yellowcanoe: You will always win with respect to weather! Our entire city shuts down with 2-3 inches of snow. Much more than that will require the assistance of the National Guard and the Red Cross. I’m happy to be in a boat in about any weather, the notable exceptions being high winds and lightening/thunder. My being stuck in a house for days on end isn’t healthy for anyone involved.

And yes, I aspire to posting trip reports here – if for no other reason to give you folks a good chuckle (she did what!? Oh Lord – is anyone headed that direction, she needs HELP).

Thank you all again for the welcome and please keep sending me ideas for reading/watching. I look forward to sharing the trials and tribulations of the learning curve…
Cheers!

 

[yellowcanoe]

No need to ditch the double.. These guys here are pretty much boreal forest inland paddlers where the canoe shines
You have two worlds.. the sea and inland and with the addition of single stick skills are well on the way to becoming a compleat paddler.
Kathy we can paddle and camp year round in the Gulf of Maine.. Having 3500 miles of coast line and some two hundred islands that are for camping and for free but in the ocean.. no way will I give up my double blade.. and sea canoe ( hubby has a yak). A Prosepector in ocean swells is the stuff of dreams or nightmares.. The issue is that boat ramps are sometimes not plowed.. requiring crampons to get the gear to the water...and the joy of stuffing oneself in a drysuit.

LOL I am still perfecting my double blade forward stroke. After 30 years it looks unlikely. Canoeing is harder to start honing skills on but after some water time becomes so much easier than that darn double blade.

 

[frozentripper]

Best wishes for your time spent enjoying the new canoe... take off your shoes, put your feet up on a thwart and sit on the bottom with your back against the seat. Can't wait for those lazy hazy days of summer, goofing off doing nothing and enjoying time spent on the water.

 

[Iskweo]

Welcome to the Light Kathy...lol. That is a super nice canoe you have. We are more hooked on the old w/c boats but the sad reality is that we trip with kevlar....Swift Mattawa.

There should be some good paddling out your way, take advantage of it all. And let us have a look when you can.

Christine

 

[yellowcanoe]

Kathy my husband has visited all the states except Hawaii and Oregon.. I told him that he probably will never get to Hawaii. However Oregon is on our summer list and we will have a canoe.. I'll watch Pacific surf from the shore..
I don't think we will have swimsuits.. I read in Oregon you have to wear a sweater over it.. So do we . Do you ever have warm days?

Plus we have to see the other Portland; the big one. We will have bikes..our Portland is pretty small 60, 000 people not 600,000 people. Don't know if you live around there but in some ways the two are similar.. Microbreweries, coffee houses, and bike friendly. And an art walk! First Thursday!.. We have one First Friday and nosh and drink our way down Congress St.

 

[Mihun09]

Nice to have another woman on board here, are we taking over yet? Nice little canoe and since you have that you likely won't be coerced by certain members to build some stemless cedar boat full of staple holes. Not that there is anything wrong with that...

Karin

 

[FartherWest]

Kathy my husband has visited all the states except Hawaii and Oregon.. I told him that he probably will never get to Hawaii. However Oregon is on our summer list and we will have a canoe.. I'll watch Pacific surf from the shore..
I don't think we will have swimsuits.. I read in Oregon you have to wear a sweater over it.. So do we . Do you ever have warm days?

Plus we have to see the other Portland; the big one. We will have bikes..our Portland is pretty small 60, 000 people not 600,000 people. Don't know if you live around there but in some ways the two are similar.. Microbreweries, coffee houses, and bike friendly. And an art walk! First Thursday!.. We have one First Friday and nosh and drink our way down Congress St.

Let me know when you head our way, we are blessed with a variety of water out here. With respect to swimming in the Pacific, it is all a matter of perspective. I watched a coach from Scotland teach classes in our surf, in October, in about 50 degree air/ 55 degree water and he was perfectly happy. Made the rest of us cringe and watch for hypothermia, but those folks are simply made of stout stuff. Mortals, and those of us still likely to swim if we dump in surf, opt for drysuits (I sort of live in mine) or heavy wetsuits. The exertion can get you toasty, and a quick swim in the surf for self-rescue practice cools you right off. There are a few places to surf that aren't horribly intimidating and offer some shelter from the winds if that is needed. They are also great places to go check out the rocks offshore and a few caves. Rivers are fun too, but can be occasionally be more heavily occupied that I like. Some gorgeous high mountain lakes are also not far away. Not sure about the fun available downtown, we rarely ever go there. Might be a good excuse to explore it (finally)!

The Prospector is a Tuffweave, thought I might need a bit more durability than the kevlar and budget was also an issue. Can't wait to spend more time in it.

Think I'll always have the kayaks, the San Juan Islands beckon on a regular basis. Perfecting the forward stroke, not likely. But if I get efficient enough to do my touring I'll be happy.

 

[FartherWest]

... some stemless cedar boat full of staple holes. Not that there is anything wrong with that...

Karin

LOL, nice visual!