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In the U.S., take some flatwater instruction in so-called "freestyle" techniques, which incorporate many of the Canadian "style" strokes and maneuvers but also use many cross-side strokes in much narrower solo canoes. Marc Ornstein is a master of this style and has posted many informative...

Let's start with some single blade flatwater control techniques that can be confidence building and hence practically helpful in many circumstance faced by day tripping/playing and wilderness canoeists alike. First, take some lessons in or practice so-called Canadian "style" paddling (or...

This topic title is an obvious truism to me, but others seem to consider learning multiple boat control techniques to be optional or even frivolous. Well, I'll just describe my experience and state my opinions, mainly with respect to solo canoeing. Others can do the same, either agreeing or...

I have two Moras. One is a Companion. The other is a Light My Fire, which is basically a Companion with a fire steel in the handle and a secondary bevel edge on the tip. Here they are with my Benchmade Bushcrafter 162: The Moras are a good value for their low price, but I consider them sort...

Paddling is paddling no matter where you do it. 40+ years ago I read some books that advised doing a pry in whitewater rather than a cross draw because lifting your paddle out of the water to do a cross draw is "risky." I don't agree with that, and have always used a cross draw in whitewater...

Four wood canoes on Tully Lake, Massachusetts, August 16, 2025. Big reward for anyone who can identify them.

What was it and what was the price? I'm in a tent in New Hampshire and missed it.

Bon voyage, recped!

I've never heard of a Royalex Starfire, which isn't gospel. They were made by Bell, Placid, Colden and now Swift, but all I ever encountered were composite builds. I can't download to upload your photos, Erik, but (linking) notice how much more freeboard the Hemlock SRT has than the...

Very nice boat and nice paddles to go with it. Good luck with the sale, Woytek.

Re damage: I have pried off both wood and carbon gunwales with both wood and carbon paddles. I've never noticed any damage on any of the gunwales other than a slightly accelerated wearing away of the oil or varnish finish at the contact spot on wood gunwales. Easily restored. A soft wood shaft...

What carrier?

Bents are usually much shorter than straights. What is meant by Dimensional Weight?

For those of you who have bought a canoe paddle recently and paid separate shipping costs, could you report what you paid and what carrier was used. You don't have to identify the paddle or the seller. For example, one member told me privately today that he paid $40 shipping for a wood paddle...

Short answer: Yes, sometimes I pry off the gunwale when correcting. Middle answer: When I do this, I almost always palm roll and do a partial or full in-water return. That requires symmetrical blade faces and, ideally, a symmetrical grip. Most of the correction happens during the in-water...

I doubt the dent could be pulled or pushed out, but I'm not positive. Never tried anything like that. To smooth it back into shape, you could fill it with auto body putty, such as Bondo, and paint it. Plastic end caps (decks) of various sizes can be found for sale on the web if you search. For...

What blade, Alan? I assume an asymmetrical grip.

Yes. You can tell because the hull is a five-layer laminated sandwich of vinyl-ABS-ABS foam-ABS-vinyl.

Brand new REI Halfdome 2+ at Buck Pond Campground, Adirondacks. I liked the tent but wanted more room so just exchanged it for a Halfdome 3. This campground has sites on Buck Pond and Lake Kushaqua. @85dragonfly was on the adjacent site and his red Colden Wildfire is visible in the background.

It seems obvious to me that smokey air would adversely affect the lungs and breathing, as well as irritating the eyes and nose. Forest fire smoke is also carcinogenic, perhaps worse than smog. And smog in city air—Los Angeles being an early poster child—is one of the primary reasons we have air...