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A Brazilian Samba Whistle and a mini cheese grater. Try and stop me!

I read the previous comments but am starting a new thread. I bought some sealskins when they first came out but never figured out how to get them off when wet without ruining them. Have they gotten any better? Do the instructions still say not to pull on them when removing them? Do they stay...

1. Late 70's, me and a bud at Fishing Cove, the northmost tip of Cape Breton Island, NS in a $25 pup tent with a cheap tarp for a fly. Rain was pounding, we went out and cut some oversized stakes from driftwood, secured the tarp and went back to sleep. In the morning, the dozen other tents in...

I have 3 going concurrently: 1. Tundra, by Farley Mowat (paperback) 2. Poseidon Adventure, Paul Gallico (Libby books) 3. Pirate King, by Laurie R King (Kindle)

It is about money, but not about ill will. It costs a fortune to remove a dam, and much less to leave it there to decay. In steps the government, who doesn't want to see the destruction when a dam breaks, imposes requirements to either fix it or remove it. Folks who have waterfront on the...

When I go tripping in Maine, I leave the Royalex boats at home and take my MR Kevlar Explorer. High water, low water, whatever. The gel coat takes a beating, but Kevlar always gets a bad rap. It's tough. And easy to throw on your shoulders. But if I woke up one day without the 10 boats I...

I don't suppose there are still stickers like this one available. I might paddle in circles if I only have one on one side.

So many obsolete dams could be removed. They're often private business-owned and the business doesn't want to spend the money. In New England, this would be the low-hanging fruit, and would eliminate so many portages. Not to mention fish spawning.

I completely trashed both elbows snubbing (poling) down the Miramichi a few years ago. So bad I couldn't use a pair of pliers for months. First, those tennis elbow braces do work. Second, my pole was too slippery, requiring a real hard grip (basically mine was an over-use injury). Third...

I just finished reading The Farfarers by Farley Mowat. In it he lays down a convincing argument for a wave of European settlement ahead of the Vikings. It describes the cairns similar to the ones photographed above on many of the landfalls and as guides along routes (ie the Kogaluc River...

I've been going for years. After the covid hiatus, I was amazed at the attendance, and especially the new blood interested in canoes.

I like number 3. The bark is wrong-side-to, her right hand is on backwards, and I'm still trying to decide whether she's wearing anything under that fringe.

I'll be there. The website's not updated but I'll be filling in and teaching one session of the poling clinic in the afternoon.

The only boat I ever named was the Handbasket. An old bone-white royalex Explorer. That thing took me through Hell and back. I gave it away to a friend's kid and it still plies the waterways of the Maine interior.

Best not to analyze too much. I paddle for hours on end without even remembering that I'm paddling. The exception to that is when I have an erratic bow paddler and do nothing but corrective strokes.

Yes, when in whitewater, the bow should lead and the stern should follow. The big decision for the stern is whether to steer the boat in a new direction or to draw it sideways.

So to complete the saga, we met in Yarmouth, I handed over the canoe hull after scabbing the seats and gunwales, Robin handed over a case of beer and $100, as agreed. I kept the beer, but mailed the money off to Penobscot River Paddling Trail, who will use it to build and maintain campsites...

Well, last summer I had to bail out on a trip down the Allagash due to Covid, but it was my 4th trip of the season, so I can't complain. We did have some drama on our way to the Bowron Lakes in BC. Before we left home they closed the whole region due to wildfires. It was touch and go every...

It so happens I have a Wilderness First Aid course on April 22-23 in Portland and will probably be in Yarmouth for most of the week.

Robin, my standard first offer is a case of beer and $100. Completely negotiable. I can at least get it to Yarmouth, Maine and we'll see if I can get someone to bring it the rest of the way. Seeing it's you, I'll leave the thwarts and gunwales on it. I'm taking the seats, but will replace...