Recent content by tketcham

So everyone else's pits were hairless and smelled like rose petals? :LOL:

It's a unique stretch of the Columbia. The reminders of our development and use of nuclear warfare give it an almost surreal backdrop. I recommend stopping along the way and climbing to vista points to better see what's out there on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. I feel fortunate to have...

I got busy and then was traveling for a bit so haven't been working on it. I may try to visit the Newman's shop so I can try one out before I buy.

Having grown up south of the Province of Quebec I learned to pronounce 'portage' like the Quebecois do, no matter where I lived. But now that I routinely canoe in the Adirondacs I refer to moving my canoe and gear as a 'carry'.

Hi, Daisy, My advice? Take canoeing lessons. I read books and watched videos, which helped, but it wasn't until I took a two-day canoeing lesson that I really felt comfortable and more confident paddling a canoe. I've been paddling for 35 years and still take lessons now and then. :) Ppine gave...

Washington state produces some very fine wines, both red and white. If I'd just bought a piece of land around Walla Walla back in 1980... I never did paddle Lake Roosevelt, mainly because of the power boat and party barge traffic, but there are some beautiful places along the reach. And you...

That fiberglass and gel coat combo is pretty tough. Does a good job of repelling tree trunks. 😃

Saturday 22nd outing. Leicester River flooded forest. Earliest I've ever been canoeing before, at least in Vermont. I was with a group of avid kayakers that do this each spring. My 13' 8" Lady Bug was the longest boat there but still managed to bob and weave through the trees just fine. Fun day.

I've had mixed results removing grips but maybe I didn't let it get hot enough.

Great idea. I think if ZRE and GRB offered paddles with reinforced blade tips they'd sell a bunch of them. I know I'd buy one.

Did you have to cut the shaft and end up with a shorter paddle or were you able to disconnect the blade and shaft with heat/pressure?

I think you're right, you just don't see them around very often. I can only think of one that I definitely knew was a Whisper. One came up for sale in 2018 that I almost called about, but it was further away than I wanted to drive. This is a section from the Wenonah catalog (mid-80s?). I noticed...

I know what you mean but that can also be a good thing if the charging effort is fairly consistent and maintainable over time, like peddling a bicycle up a moderate hill with the right gear ratio and cadence. It doesn't seem like much effort considering you're going uphill. Plus, the feeling of...

I kneel almost exclusively in the Firebird, mainly because I use the canoe more for functional freestyle and twisty streams than for touring, although I have done some tripping with the Firebird. I preferred to kneel even then. In the Kestrel it depends on what I'm doing at the time, functional...

Thanks for the reply. I have a Northstar Firebird for twisty streams (if that's a big part of the trip) and the Hemlock Kestrel is good for lakes and ponds and negotiates streams fairly well. But I'm wanting a canoe that is more for fast day tours; the ability to do multi-day trips covering lots...