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My gut feeling is that for the regular tripper there is no noticeable speed/power difference between a bent or straight shaft. We often hear paddlers say that after switching to a bent shaft they travel faster or that it feels easier to travel the same speed. I don't doubt this. But I surmise...

I thought it would be fun to do a head to head comparison between a single and double blade to see just how much faster and more efficient, if at all, a double blade is. I decided to maintain the same target heart rate for both paddles during all testing. While heart rate is not perfect I can't...

Switching with a bent. I was thinking of doing a 3rd test with a straight as well because I've always suspected there isn't actually a difference at casual speeds. Alan

A lot of this will depend on the hull too. I assume the canoe was a pro boat which, while very fast, is limited by length and width restrictions to keep boats competitive with each other. The kayak may have been in the unlimited category which would mean just that, it can be whatever length and...

I think that sounds like an excellent option. Especially in an application like this with a lot of contact area and relatively low stress. Alan

Well, you can do a 15 mile back to back comparison if you'd like but I'll stick with something a bit more manageable in my evenings. :) I did my first test with the single blade last night. I warmed up for a bit and then did a full out sprint for just over a minute. Then I rested a few minutes...

For 1/2 mile a dedicated racing canoe is way faster than a 16' quick recreational hull. But after 5 miles the average speed is only a couple tenths of a MPH quicker for the racing hull. At least with me paddling. I think I still have a double bladed paddle somewhere in the basement and I have a...

A few weeks ago I removed the grip and cut down the shaft on a ZRE paddle that I'd previously cut down years ago. At that time I would have used RAKA epoxy to attach the grip. This easily softened with heat gun application and the grip came out easily. I can't guarantee this will apply to wood...

My old house, which I'd built myself, was super insulated and stayed pretty cool until we'd get a long stretch of hot and humid weather. Inside the house would be a muggy 75 degrees and outside was a muggy 95 degrees. Normally I would just open all the windows every night to cool it back down...

That was my first thought too but when I looked at the pictures I thought it looked like the seats were bolted directly to the gunwales, essentially making them thwarts. Edit to say: Nevermind, I don't know how I missed the obvious seat dowel in one of those pictures. Alan

I still have my TG-4. I haven't done a trip in a long time and rarely use it anymore but it still works fine (or at least I assume because it probably hasn't been powered up in a year). It's probably got 70 tripping days on it and it was wet on nearly all of those days. On some of those days...

I'm not familiar with that hull but kevlar is not known for being the most rigid material and it's not uncommon for a kevlar hull to flex and twist. Not being there in person it's hard to say what might be normal/abnormal or just how much flex and movement there is but it might just be the...

It's been a hot and humid summer here. It's finally breaking and we have a bit of respite for the foreseeable future. I didn't have AC in the house until a couple years ago and boy am I glad I had it this year. I don't know how I used to sleep through those hot and muggy nights. Actually, I do...

Here I thought I could finally prove that I was once the Minnesota state canoe champion but, unfortunately, it is not in the records. Alan

I don't know anything about Temagami or your proposed route but your daily mileage sounds easily doable. I would usually shoot for 20-32km per day but I like being on the water paddling so I would usually make camp late. Much of it will come down to you in terms of your health and fitness as...

I took my fat b*st*rd of a solo out lake paddling last weekend (similar dimensions to the Raven but don't know how similarly they handle) and struggled in even a slight breeze where I would have been fine in one of my longer, skinnier, and less rockered solos. Assuming a beam wind, in one of...

I would be really surprised if the weight of the boat being carried with a traditionally mounted yoke would be enough to damage the hull. If that was the case then the hull should crumple if, while paddling the canoe, you placed a hand on the gunwales and lifted your butt off the seat. I expect...

I think we're all aware of each others preferences and prejudices. No one is going to convince anyone else that they're wrong. Alan

My only experience with Northern Saskatchewan was starting at Wollaston Lake and failing to make Nueltin Lake (I did make it across the Nunavut border). It was still a wonderful out and back trip in which I didn't see a soul for 40 days. You can drive to Wollaston Lake and there are multiple...

And none of them foreigner communist measurements either. :) Alan