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Cross-bow vs. bow pry: I believe the cross bow is the most powerful stroke in canoeing, because you use your whole back and torso. When you need to move the bow a lot, use the cross bow. However, I’m a little slower with the cross bow, it just takes a little time to rotate, do the stroke, and...

I had a Maine guide paddle, never used it, and gave it away. It was huge, at least six ft, heavy and had a big blade. There was a p-net user with the handle pilotwingz. He lived in my area, but I never met him. He gave me some canvas bags and when he posted he was looking for a guide paddle I...

Hah! I live in in the eastern megalopolis, and so do you. It can be a long way to an immersive nature experience. My dad had my little brother and me out on his sailboat one hot summer day. Little brother asked for something to drink. My dad ducked below deck, came back, and handed little...

The thing about a double blade is that you have to hold it up all the time. Unless you are using a Mohawk plastic-aluminum single blade, or the like, the single blade has some floatation. When the paddle is in the water, its flotation helps hold up your arms—you get a little break from having to...

Roger Corbett was the author of Virginia Whitewater, a paddler’s guide to the flowing creeks and rivers of the Old Dominion. I was a novice canoeist learning to paddle whitewater and Corbett became my canoe mentor. He was an interesting character and I looked up to him. It was Corbett who told...

Thanks, Canoe Trip. I’ve sent you a DM.

I just got a 50” bent by Bending Branches. Nice, and the rock guard edge should delay the onset of ragged edges, which my ZRE had. But, it’s heavier than the ZRE by 6 ozs. I’m working on the Advantage, so I haven’t tried it out yet. The canoe shop in Annapolis doesn’t sell ZRE. Does Zaveral...

Thanks forth replies. Snapper, I sent you a DM. yknpdlr, I can assure you, I won't be paddling 70 or 63 miles. I don't know much about the General Clinton and just looked it up. I'm impressed that people do that mileage in under 10 hours. I can only briefly paddle a canoe 5mph. The racers are...

I think one foot in the middle is best, but I sometimes use a method that can be summarized as "aim your arse at the seat." I most often do this when boarding from a muddy bottom when I know my shoes are bringing a couple pounds of mud along with them. With the boat parallel to the bank I stand...

I'm heading for Cooperstown NY in a week. I have often paddled the last few miles of the Susquehanna where it transforms into the Chesapeake. I want to paddle the other end of the mighty SuzyQ, and will try to do so during my visit. It's be great to have company. July 29 or 30 are the likely...

For health reasons, I avoid eating saturated fat. Most meats, many fish, and most processed foods have sat fats. I'm worse than a vegan. Most groups don't want to be on my diet, so group meals are out. I hate pot lucks, where I bring food to share and everyone else brings food I either can't eat...

Thanks all for the comments. Interesting comments on paddle length. In the last few years, I've lost almost four inches of height. I used to be 6'4", now I'm around 6'. It's freaky how people I haven't seen for a while all seem taller now! Probably most of my height loss is due to spine...

I recently lucked into a Wenonah Advantage, a 16.5’ long, skinny-ish, solo canoe. With 0.5” rocker, it is nearly a flat-bottomed boat. This Advantage has a tractor seat. I’ve only paddled it twice, just enough to raise a few questions. Leaning the Advantage has a different affect than leaning...

Alan, that's aood looking van. I have a '21, but the cargo version. Mine is really noisy. Wind noise is probably about the same, but I'm curious to know if the vans that are outfitted for passengers are more quiet. Most of the noise comes from the tires and the road and it reverberates through...

I just got an Advantage. The distance between the gunwales is narrower than on the similarly-tractor-seated Rendezvous and the clamp-in carry yoke I use for the Rendezvous won’t fit. While the clamp-in yokes are way better than nothing, I find attaching the yoke tedious to annoying. I sometimes...

The bike ride was after the river trip. I often wish for a bike I could fit into the canoe. That would streamline the shuttling process.

Potomac River Day Trip: Hancock to McCoy’s Ferry June 2, 2025 Paddled the Rendezvous I stopped on the way from the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous to continue my fill-in-the-gaps trips on the Potomac—paddling stretches of the river between the stretches I have paddled. A big...

You should dig into this thread, which wonders into, at length, soloizing a Penobscot. "Guest" was a user named Mike McCrea and many posts in that thread are from him. The long ones. Also, Canoetripping's "Will Derness" soloized his Penobscot, utilizing some of McCrea's ideas. So, you should...

I’ve paddled many of the adventurous stretches of the Potomac, mostly stretches with rapids, but that leaves a whole lot of river I’ve never seen. Weather and my schedule recently provided a short opportunity, so I went to Cumberland, MD to paddle. I had previously paddled Old Town to Hancock...

Often times I find myself out of step with prevailing opinion. This is the case with the much beloved MR Explorer. I don't like MRE's. I think it boils down to the v-bottom. I prefer shallow arch. I suppose other's can, but I was never able to make the MRE carve the bottom. The MRE readily...