Recent content by tketcham

I just purchased a Tensa pole to set up single-tree hammock hangs for just this reason. The pole is a bit heavy but for camping and canoe tripping I think it'll be worth the extra weight. I tried using a collapsible tarp pole I had and it worked for a quick nap but I didn't feel confident using...

I was doing some web exploring regarding heeling and turning/carving (to make sure I'm not totally confused) and this article on the FreeStyle Canoeing website popped up: Heeling vs Carving by Marc Ornstein It has a good description of turning with a heel vs carving with a heel plus some good...

Interesting because from what I've read and experienced (but I'm not a marathon racer) a heel to the paddling side in a fast, zero-rocker solo canoe induces a turn (carve) to the offside, not the onside. That's why a post or wedge works well with those hulls. Maybe modern marathon canoe hull...

Maybe the Packer, a Gene Jensen design. Wenonah Packer 14'

Paddling yaw turns the canoe. Heeling slightly turns/carves the canoe. But if I use those two factors to my advantage I don't have to use as much correction or switch sides as often. I like that. I'm not racing so speed is more of a relative thing than an absolute. Luckily paddling clears my...

I knew that was going to come back to haunt me. In my defense, I was trying (and failed) to point out that you can get leverage from either leg and I should have emphasized that the technique I mention requires foot straps to be effective. It's the push/pull combination that makes it work for...

I think you'll like the addition then, especially in the Solitude. The straps are cheap and easy to test out so you won't be throwing money away.

Yes, I push against the brace on the offside and pull against the brace on the onside to heel the canoe slightly away from the onside. It tells the canoe that I want to exert a bit of pressure against the yaw. And I changed my post to subtly heeling (semantics, I know). It's not that the push...

Yup. I mix it up between pushing into the bar or pulling away from the bar to help balance/heel the canoe depending on what's going on. It's handy keeping the hull heeled away from the waves when broadside and when you're wanting to turn. One thing I've changed is that I had learned that you...

The foot brace loops are something I read about in "Canoe Racing" by Peter Heed and Dick Mansfield; 1992. I've seen similar straps set up in marathon canoes. I tried them many, many years ago and didn't like them but thought I'd give it another try. Now I like the foot straps a lot because they...

I'll dump my GRB Newman when you can pry it from my cold... :D If I was younger and owned a (mini)van I just might consider an outrigger canoe, especially if it was set up for lightweight tripping. And what I like about them, even more so than how fast it can fly along is that it can handle...

Now THAT'S a geo-cache! 😃 Great story.

Went back up to Chittenden Reservoir this afternoon to give the new Classic a good test paddle with mild wind. A breeze from the south rippled the surface and created small waves but no white caps this time so I didn't have to slow down much when broadside to the waves and I wasn't fighting a...

My new GRB Newman Classic canoe on our Subaru Crosstrek. I'm really enjoying this canoe. I'd forgotten how satisfying it can be to fly along with an efficient canoe using a lightweight bent shaft paddle. Especially on a nice fall day on a beautiful lake. Good workout too.

The upper part of the blade on their whitewater paddle does look like it would gurgle when doing an in-water recovery (stealth mode paddling), but shouldn't affect the plant/catch or release/recovery. Like Alan says, the ZRE paddles are very quiet, even my straight shaft paddle. For stealth...