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Yes, you are correct. I misspoke from memory. The watershed duffels are designed to have the top closure fold over itself one time (one 180 degree fold) and then fold another 90 degrees to lay flat under the top buckles as the photo below shows. Watershed Duffel I think that folding the...

The forward/stern pry stroke can be done quite smoothly and if the blade is feathered as it reaches the hip at the end of the power phase before the stern pry there is no "lifting water" with the paddle blade. The J stroke is more efficient than the forward/stern pry combo, but not by a large...

A Blackgold Bell Wildfire is definitely a desirable boat and the price of high-quality used canoes like that one have gone up dramatically in recent years. A couple of years ago I would have said price it at $1200 to $1500 but in today's market perhaps the $1500-$2000 range is a better starting...

Yes, my experience has been the same as for the last two who posted. Some folks pick up the J stroke relatively quickly but many do not. A good example was when I introduced my brother-in-law to solo canoeing a few years back. He hadn't done any canoeing for years and that which he had done...

Per Google maps it is about 4 miles from Robious Landing, where the women planned to take out, to Bosher Dam. It is kind of hard to imagine that the pair was unable to get to shore within 4 river miles assuming they recognized they had passed the landing and knew the dam was there.

Wildlife recently spotted on a Missouri Ozark stream.

Some instructors emphasized feathering the paddle blade vertically as the blade reached the hip, then carrying it farther aft before executing a stern pry. I have never heard of anyone recommending lifting the paddle clear of the water and reinserting the blade and that strikes me as absurd...

Much of my canoeing in recent years has been on streams in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks. Wildlife is fairly common there and includes bald eagles, very occasional golden eagles, osprey, kingfishers, blue heron, an occasional green heron, river otters, mink, muskrat, turtles, snakes, an...

Prior to November of 1972 there was no requirement for hulls to be certified with the US Coast Guard using hull identification numbers. Manufacturers often did apply serial numbers to boats but these numbers were unique to each manufacturer and followed no uniform format(s) so they really...

If you look at those "best of" lists they are different every year even when published by the same magazine. I think they like to spread the kudos around as widely as possible and no doubt receive some type of reward for doing so. If you really needed a soft sided dry bag/duffel for a camera...

If there is enough air in a bag or case to displace a weight of water greater than that of your camera then the bag and camera will float. In most cases the air contained within a dry bag or dry box will be enough to float the contents. For a camera I would suggest a Pelican box instead of a...

The Watershed duffels that I own have held up fine so far but Watershed does recommend lubricating the closures periodically and include a small packet of 303 Protectant to use for that purpose. The duffels have a male fastex side-release type buckle at each end of the closure that meets with...

The Watershed duffels I own (four in different sizes) do each have a pair of straps that secure over the seal at the top, but the top does not have a roll closure like the common dry bags do. The top simply folds over and the straps secure it in place. The Jacks Plastic welding bags are indeed...

The best waterproof bags and duffels I have used are made by Watershed. A variety of sizes and models are available. They are made of tough fabric and when the closure is properly sealed they are completely water proof.

There are lots of composite canoes designed for whitewater these days. In fact, most larger whitewater canoes are composite since the death of Royalex. The strength of a composite boat will vary considerably depending on how much and what types of fabric are used in its construction...

In a rescue scenario you have to consider the weight of the water that will be occupying your swamped canoe if your gear is not in it. Usually that water is going to weigh a lot more than your gear does. If your 150 lbs of gear displaces only 18 gallons of water that would otherwise be in the...

Bill Mason did at one time recommend securing packs to the canoe with a tether rope when paddling whitewater and described doing so in Path of the Paddle and in one of his videos. But he later changed his mind on that. In Song of the Paddle he writes: "In Path of the Paddle I suggested...

I have not had great luck repairing dry bags that have seams bonded with some type of adhesive as that one has. It is difficult to get a flat alignment of the detached pieces and hold them in position while whatever adhesive you use cures. I am assuming that bag has a cylindrical shape and the...

I can put two 5 gallon polyethylene pails with Gamma Lids in this Granite Gear traditional #3.5 pack.

If you want to get rid of water before doing a repair, you are better off using denatured alcohol since isopropyl alcohol contains water. This can sometimes be important. An example is when preparing a three-layer poly or a Roylex canoe for repair that has exposed foam core. I usually clean...