Recent content by eckilson

My Outrage (outfitted by Millbrook) has a thin piece of composite material as a deck plate. The back is screwed down to the handle, which wouldn't work on your boat. p.s. - I have beat up the leading edge a little. ;)

Wow - it looks great - nice work. I kneel feet flat, toes pointed back. People think that the pressure point on your body when kneeling is the knees. I agree that it is actually the ankles that get uncomfortable first. I've tried pads under my feet and pool noodles under my ankles and it didn't...

Here is the 2"/1" seat drop on my Yellowstone Solo with vinyl gunwales. Seat ends up being 9.5" in the front and 10.5" in the back. Here is the same view in my Wildfire with wood gunwales. Seat ends up being 9" in the front and 10" in the back. It is hard to make comparison measurements...

I assume it was an Explorer. I looked at the boat and had the same question, but I never asked him.

I almost always bring a cooler. I’d think twice if there was a long portage, but I haven’t done a lot of those trips lately. For short tips I bring a Polar Bear 24 soft side cooler – keeps things cold for a day or two, and cool for 3-4. Nice thing is that it fits perfectly behind the seat in my...

This was us running the "new" rapid. Amy (who is in the video) asked me about it, and I had no idea what she was talking about. Looks like it has been there forever.

That's true - I can tell you about the one that I have - Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1 https://alpsmountaineering.com/lynx-1-person-gray-navy-mesh-tent.html I hope to do some sea kayak camping sometime, and this tent packs up smaller than my usual canoe camping tent - an old Eureka Expedition. I...

Thanks Glenn - that works. The White is a classic New England river. Not wilderness and not remote, but very pretty running through the hills and farmland of central VT. At the right level there are miles of quickwater and easy rapids that are great for paddling or poling. This was not a club...

I don’t know if this post should go in the Poling section, the Solo section, or the Tandem section, so I’ll put it here. We had nine canoes (1 tandem, 3 solos and 5 polers) running the 11-mile section of the White River from Stockbridge to Bethel in VT. The river was a little low for the...

I spend two-weeks each summer down at the beach in Narragansett, RI, so I have done a fair amount of saltwater paddling in my Yellowstone Solo and Wildfire. It's a lot of fun. Unless the sea is really calm (and it happens on occasion in Narragansett Bay) I tend to stay in protected areas (salt...

The royalex looks like it is in nice shape - you are going to love the boat. I have a royalex Yellowstone Solo (green like yours) and a white gold Wildfire. I love them both, but for rocky rivers around here my go-to-boat is the Yellowstone Solo. Bell sold two sets of seat hangers - 4" for...

Yup - the “Three Types of Fun” definitely applies to paddling/tripping. My wife often asks me why I do these trips, and I’ve never really had a good answer other than its “fun”.

I can put 60" bags in my RX Yellowstone Solo that I occasionally take on easier whitewater - fills up most of the boat. A friend of mine does put small end bags in his tripping boat that still leaves room for gear. I always bought Mohawk float bags - too bad they don't sell them anymore...

I'm sure I would - especially on the Yellowstone Solo - but that's not the way they were designed to be paddled. I was talking about the subtle difference in rocker between the Wildfire and the RX Yellowstone Solo. With its symmetrical rocker, I'm not sure the Wildfire turns any easier or is any...

That was years of paddling in lots of different places - don't know why I didn't replace it sooner. You can always tell the dominate paddle side by the wear on the blade. I'm a lefty. Looks like recped is a righty - always looking for a good tandem partner. ;) Of your two boats I'd try the...