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Is that a portage yoke or just a decorative thwart? Because if it's a yoke it's nowhere near the balance point.

That's beautiful! But I can't imagine not floating it at least once...

Can you even get elm any more, except as reclaimed lumber? I've done a fair amount of work with chestnut, as scraps become available during repair or remodeling of our 100 year old cabins. Beautiful and durable wood, but I haven't found a piece suitable for a paddle yet.

I'm talking about the thwart; with that great big hole for the mast it looks like less than half of the original width is left, which significantly reduces its strength. Think of a hundred pounds of force (my back of the envelope calculation based on a 15kt breeze and a guesstimate of your sail...

The mast base looks good, however, I would be concerned that there's enough material for adequate strength around the hole in the thwart.

I could, but I likely won't; I have far too many projects. This is just an interesting side project that arose out of out of picking wood for the gunwales. Nothing is "wasted", it goes to floors, walls, cabinets, whatever people are making or rebuilding. And the rest is firewood. Although...

Drool, Sitka Spruce is the standard for wood airplane construction, and aircraft grade (specs for ring count and grain slope, no defects at all) spar blanks are getting to be unobtanium.

They used to sell boat nav lights that were basically a 2-D flashlight with a split red/green lens, probably something like that is still available. Canoes aren't allowed on our lake after dark but powerboats aren't allowed at all, so on the rare occasion I break the rules and go out after...

The sawmill is our own, or rather, the camp's... we're in a community of about 60 cabins, we bought the mill when we realized we'd have a lot of lumber available from the dead ash trees. It's only appropriate; the cabins were all built from local chestnut salvaged during the blight of the 1920s...

The park cleared it once this year, took a lot of work. They were using a backhoe on the road and chains, along with guys in a boat. I guess it's not a priority. The lake foreman, who's a friend, told me the next big rain will clear it out, and I know that even if it's clear a major storm...

This is my first attempt at making a paddle... I have an old beavertail paddle of unknown origin, I like it but it's too long for me. So I copied the basic shape onto a plank we milled from a beetle killed ash tree near the cabin. It's the second best plank I could find; the best became the...

Well, we wouldn't need to portage if the tunnel was clear. This is the first year I know of that the beavers blocked it; there were beavers on the lake when I was a kid and the bridge was never blocked, or maybe the Park personnel were more proactive about keeping it clear.

They're definitely busy beavers, had it repaired overnight. This time I didn't have the energy to clear it again.

I've seen that before and it prevents flooding, but doesn't help getting a boat through. Portaging over the road would be a PITA and near impossible solo; it's a steep bank and the guardrails are lined with poison ivy. And the sportscar and motorcycle maniacs on the road, unfortunately it got...

Dam beavers... They've been busy, blocking this tunnel between the first or upstream lake where our cabin is and the lower lakes of the chain. Took about a half hour to move enough sticks and mud to scrape through. The above pic is looking back on the return trip. Of course the next bridge...

There were two sailing canoes on the lake when I was a kid, one wood and one aluminum Grumman. Neither had any stays IIRC; just the thwart and base supported the mast, which is more than adequate for the amount of sail a canoe can carry. The leeboards attached to the ends of the mast thwart...

Wow!

Reminds me of a guy I worked with, he used to drive around with a kayak stuck down into the passenger seat of his Triumph TR-8. But to the OP, it's good for your mental health... years ago I concluded that it's impossible to be in a bad mood with a canoe strapped to the roof of your car. :)

Right now our beaver problem is with them blocking the bridge we paddle under to get into the next lake. As soon as the park rangers clear it they start blocking it again. Raccoon rabies is a problem around here. Some years ago I saw an obviously sick raccoon in my neighbor's yard. If it...

I had a hitchhiker on today's paddle.