Recent content by jdeerfoot

Andy Baxter, RBW owner, was at Canoecopia while many other Canadians skipped the show this year. He is a very entertaining guy, who serves as the straight man in Kevin Callan’s video. My main paddling group, the Friends of Wabakimi, had a good turnout of US members but none of our Canadian...

Canoecopia 2026 purchase. I decided to gave this pack liner a try after years of using plastic bag pack liners with my #2 Duluth Packs. It cost about $40.00.

On the canoe boards a sure sign of spring is the reoccurrence of this topic every year. In terms of gyms, the only thing I thing they offer that I have stuck with has been the lap pool. I realized I enjoyed distance swimming way back in the early 1960’s when the Boy Scouts offered the Mile Swim...

I have to say I have a sense of foreboding regarding the future of both the shop (Rutabaga) and the show. How long before Darren just closes the shop, which was his original intention, and maybe gives up on the show. As I have mentioned before, the whole North American paddle sports industry...

In the early 1970’s I had one which I purchased from REI. I liked it for back packing and with gaiters it would keep you quite dry. A nice feature in mine was the ability to tie up the garment at your waist. Another benefit or drawback, depending on your perspective, would be the puddle of rain...

Canoecopia 2026 observations: 1) Both Friday and Saturday appeared to have light attendance. I have attended the show annually since the early 1980’s and this really stood out to me. I didn’t attend Sunday due to the coming storm; 2) I was through the checkout 3 times on Saturday and there was...

Yes, complacency nailed me. I have tried to get out as soon as ice out each year for many years without any problems. At Ieast I was wearing wool under my paddling jacket so my 4-5 minutes in the water weren’t too brutal. And I did not respect the stronger than usual current after 1.3 inches of...

Went out for my first paddle on the local river this morning which was enjoyable until I went for my first outdoor swim of the season. Got a phone call and while digging out my phone drifted into a small strainer and the rest is sodden history. My stupid mistakes were: no spare paddle (mine...

As a long time user of Sylvania (my first trip was May 1975 as I recall), I can tell you that the fishing regulations are specific to the area. Even though it is located in the Ottawa NF, the fishing regs are set by the State of Michigan. Also, the enforcement is strict. You don’t always...

Jerry Dennis, one of my favorite authors. I remember being fascinated near Ann Arbor MI when, as a 7 year old, I saw a w/c canoe paddled out of the gloom of the forest on a river. The lady in the bow waved to me and I was struck by the silence as the canoe went past. My only other experience...

I am a real long time Yakima user. My experience was similar to yours. Check with customer service but put the time in experimenting on your own.

Some good ideas above to try out. Let us know what you work out.

As I noted in another Canoecopia thread, almost all stock at the show is Rutabaga stock. Or at least it used be that way. I worked at the show four different years (2019 being the last time) and that was how it was explained to me. One year I bought a pair of Piragis canoe pants which I had to...

Kate Prince, the coordinator of the Friends of Wabakimi Caribou Monitoring Project, is one of the new co-owners of Headwaters Canoe. She will probably be at Canoecopia.

Yes, there are a few out there but those family members aren’t on this board - lucky me. I remember introducing some nephews to gunnel bobbing - two people balance one on each end of a canoe and bounce the canoe up and down until one of them falls off. I quit doing this after I fell onto the...