Recent content by tketcham

I don't think that a half inch of rocker difference will affect heeled maneuvers all that much with the Cirrus (2.5/2.0 inches), especially if you pitch the canoe forward a bit to release the stern. I've followed paddlers using a the Bell Yellowstone, with an inch of rocker difference (2.5/1.5...

My trapezoid Northstar pad has the textured rubber on the bottom but it started to peel off in bits and pieces along the edge so I tore the whole layer off. I didn't want small bits of plastic getting into the water or on the ground. The top surface lets my knees and feet move around just fine...

Thanks for the list, always good to have books to read. I didn't realize that Robert Perkins had canoed in Labrador (1979) and written a book about his travels. His film "Into the Great Solitude" (1987) is a favorite of mine. I revisit the film every few years for a renewal of spirit.

I thought of this canoe when I saw the photo of the discovery... Mike Galt's Lotus BJX and below is the ancient canoe...

Oops. Photo moved to previous post.

Well, I picked up my GRB Newman Classic canoe a couple of weeks ago and have taken it out four times so far. It rained most of last week so I didn't get out much. I was getting used to the canoe the first couple of times but added seat risers, padding, and foot brace loops and yesterday and...

There's also this one... https://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=real&r=nj

We use the USGS hydrograph web sites. Below is the one for New Jersey. It helps to have a good idea of the location of the stream reach you're interested in. The map is very simplistic. You can also select from a list of reaches. They don't all have monitoring gauges...

Should be interesting this year given the drought. Fortunately, water levels in the Pine Barrens are doing better than here in New England.

I try to maximize strokes per side with hit-and-switch because I think that unless you have a pretty refined switch it's more efficient; my switches tend to be a bit leisurely. I don't have to focus on not hitting the gunwales and my first catch on each side is cleaner. But probably the real...

I can relate to that advice. I'd been intrigued by the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River in Washington and years ago asked a friend if he'd like to canoe that stretch. He agreed so we tried to find out more about it. We discovered there was almost no information on paddling that stretch and...

Chip, it sounds like everything is starting to work for you. Enjoy that Advantage. Alan, your observations are basically what I was finding while out paddling in my Hemlock Kestrel yesterday using a bent shaft paddle and hit-and-switch technique. I was really paying attention to what worked and...

I have a Hemlock Kestrel but it's very similar to the Trillium. I actually purchased the Kestrel because I wasn't using the Advantage as much as I used to and we wanted something more like a sport canoe to complement our Lady Bug. Plus, we didn't want to add to the number of canoes in the...

Sort of, they use paddles with a double bend so I'm not sure how that effects the catch and power phase but it seems like what he's describing is how it feels when the canoe is flying along. You have to keep the blade close to the hull and the shaft fairly perpendicular to the water or you'll...

I've tried foot straps and have mixed feelings about them. A buddy of mine just sticks his toes under the bar when he wants to heel the boat or wants extra leverage in rough water. I haven't decided which I prefer.