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Thanks for thinking of me, Alan. A bit beyond my budget at the moment.

Very sorry to hear it Gerald. Best wishes for the smoothest sailing possible under the circumstances.

It could, but shouldn't, go without saying that all this technology stands on a foundation of thousands of years of indigenous development and innovation. Thanks for calling it out explicitly, RickR. Thanks, Benson for sharing those great resources.

Another late discoverer but enthusiastic fan of this trip report. Great writing and beautiful photos, Alan! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, MyKneeHurt! I would love to try one...not sure it's going to happen before I retire.

Sumac wood? Or is that a brand/model? If the former, I haven't heard of using sumac wood before - presumably it has some desirable properties?

Rats, so I'd have to make a handful before I get a good one.....

Great info, thanks for sharing Robin and Eckilson! And I do always enjoy the photo posts on your blog as well Eckilson. If the water comes up and I can find a free weekend this fall, I'll try to get out there.

Sounds like the proverbial unicorn dream boat that can do it all. Did you work from plans, and if so do you remember the model?

Good reading, thanks for sharing

I'm curious, @lowangle al , would you consider the Bennett/S&T Northwoods to not be a Maine Guide paddle because of the narrower blade? What about my OT paddle that's only 59in with a 6.5in wide blade? I suppose I'm lumping; perhaps you'd split them out and call them something else?

This summer I poled a section of the Housatonic down to Housatonic Meadows - fun! The Housatonic is too low right now but I see that the Farmington is still supposedly runnable at the moment according to the gauges. Wondering if anyone (looking at you, @eckilson ) can recommend sections of the...

Exploring tidal wetlands of the Hudson River. Main Hudson not visible, but the Catskills on the far side were. I enjoyed the weather, better than blazing sun despite the wind.

For the whitewater-ignorant of us, care to expand? Is a 'frowning' hole more likely to be a keeper and catch you in a recirculating current?

So what flow level is recommended for poling that run? ;) Very cool, thanks for sharing.

Very cool paddles with a great backstory. Look and sound like they fit the bill to me (not that I'm any sort of expert). I'm gonna guess spruce on the wood but others here may know better.

That's interesting, Al. I won what was supposed to be a Penobscot paddle from S&T in the NFCT auction. The Penobscot is the same blade as the 1897 but with a pear grip instead of the blockier grip (as you know but others may not), and I asked them for an 1897 instead of a Penobscot, which they...

I was referring to the side of the blade - as you say the spline in the bottom should prevent damage to the tip. I was surmising about the edge but haven't actually had it happen in 3 yrs. Very glad to hear you never had an edge chip either, and over a much longer period.

MyKneesHurt has some merit to their argument - whatever paddle a Maine Guide uses is a Maine Guide paddle. And let's not forget Maine Guides are a diverse bunch in terms of size, preference, waters they frequent, etc. But combining various sources I've encountered, including the article Benson...

As I recall, Mike at Badger paddles claims that a narrower tip is more likely to have a quiet entry into the water, assuming an out of water recovery. I believe the racers among you can get a smooth and silent entry with a flat-bottomed Sugar Island blade, but I'd expect it take less...