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Voile straps are now my go-to for attaching poles to my roofrack (or the inside of the canoe for longer trips) - love em. But, I think they have the same problems at bungees for attaching a pole to a thwart - access is not as quick as I'd like, and then the strap is loose in the boat. If you...

Float bags are a little like PFDs and seat belts - you never know what day you might need them. But, unlike the latter two, I think there are arguably lots of conditions where float bags aren't necessary for open canoes. Paddling my local pond, I'm rarely out of swimming distance from shore...

Nice - good adherence to the KISS rule. I also like that releasing the pole doesn't release the tether from the thwart and risk getting lost, unlike the bungees.

Pre-work paddle on a hazy morning. Now I know the real reason yokes are shaped that way.

Congrats on your recovery Steve! Well done getting back in the saddle - on wait, I don't see a saddle in the Coho. I can certainly attest to this, most recently on a downriver run on the Housatonic last weekend with @Cheeseandbeans . Those boulders sure are good for grabbing a pole out of...

I agree with Al. Both times I took Northwoods stroke clinics at Maine Canoe Symposium, leaning the boat was never mentioned. The clincs were taught tandem. I don't feel like I really have the stroke down yet so take my thoughts with a grain of salt, but to me it feels easier in a loaded boat...

Thank you for those details, that's really helpful. I think I can envision each aspect

@scoutergriz I'd considered running a router with a 1/2 rounderover bit along a 2x4 for new crossbars. Was thinking that's surely not as aerodynamic as factory racks, but perhaps it is. I wonder about rounded over vs a flat bevel/chamfer which it sounds like you went with. 60 deg off...

Has anyone done a direct comparison of fuel mileage on shorter vs longer bars? (same feet and same car) I used to stand boats on edge like eckilson, but I'm on the shorter side and often putting a boat on its side makes the stems difficult to reach, even more so for my shorter paddling...

I thought that's what aluminum canoe poles are for? I was certainly feeling that way when I got caught poling in a thunderstorm last week. Luckily I was on a small creek with a heavily treed shore in easy reach.

No arguments with any of your points, Glenn. I hadn't explicitly considered the interaction between location of correction in the stroke vs location in the boat relative to pivot point before this discussion - very interesting. I was seguing back to differences between the Maine Northwoods...

To your point Glenn, another difference between Kraiker's stroke and the Maine style is the length of stroke. The Mainers advocate a stroke only from knee to hip. Skip to about 0:40.

Another great video from Rolf Kraiker on his version of what I will call this 'family' of strokes. I notice Kraiker sits with shoulders squared to the boat, whereas Conover Bennett recommends sitting facing at an angle relative to the long axis of the boat. I believe Lisa DeHart similarly...

Interesting - I recently saw one of these listed and almost asked the forum about it.

Wild guesses here: either 1) she sometimes sits on the bow seat and so chose her usual position for going from kneeling to sitting or 2) it's a symmetrical hull and it didn't matter (maybe how it happened to be oriented when she got in), or 3) she knows something I don't. It's usually #3 in...

I've heard James is fantastic, haven't gotten to it yet. I really enjoyed Lost in the Wild. I went on a kick reading books like that and Deep Survival by Gonzales several years ago. Worthwhile for anyone who takes back country trips to understand what can go wrong, even for folks who know...

Thanks, all, good info!

Thanks, all. Sounds like the advantages of a guideboat over a canoe are the speed/efficiency of rowing? And stability in bigger water? Other advantages? How does a guideboat compare to a canoe rigged for rowing?

I too just stumbled upon a kevlar Hornbeck guideboat listed for sale and started wondering. I have rowed a single scull/shell a bit and, as @Boatman53 said, I like to see where I'm going - part of the fun of being out there. Can a guideboat be rowed facing forwards? Standing up?

Nice lookin little fella!