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I can't say paddling is a major percentage of my leisure activity but I've probably been doing it for longer than anything else, ~60 years. I spend a lot of time hiking and backpacking, XC skiing when there's snow (downhill skiing just got too expensive). Being well off center on the...

Anybody know a source for the aluminum extension used as a keel rub rail on some older fiberglass canoes? This is an early 1960s vintage glass canoe; the strips run from the gunwale at the bow and stern to a little past where this one is broken at the last screw. The strip is about 3/8"...

My daughter took these on a paddle some years back, I'm posting them in reverse order: It's the bridge you paddle under going from the 2nd Kanawauke lake to the 1st lake (also known as Little Long Pond). Sadly, that beautiful 1930s CCC stonework has since been replaced by a modern ugly...

Well, it's no doubt silly but I guess I have to fix it up, if only for my own satisfaction, even if I end up giving it away afterwards. It's actually very well behaved on the water. So I stopped at West Marine yesterday for some more fiberglass cloth for the sides and some G/Flex for the keel...

Bumping this; like my canoe project life got in the way. Looking at it more closely I now see the blades are made of 3 layers; the center layer is a thin veneer, around 1/16". Each blade face is two pieces, with the center layer tying them together. Then it looks like both the blade blank and...

I'll share meals/cooking with one or two friends, but with a larger group (very rare for me) or people I haven't camped with before, I'm bringing my own food and they're on their own. The few people I travel with frequently, we know each other's tastes and we each have a few "go-to" means tried...

It's solid but heavy; even moving it 30' from the rack to the lake is a struggle. If I can convince my son in law to take it problem solved; I'll help but he can do all the work. ;)

It's not about being lazy, that took a lot of work. As somebody who's well out along the engineering spectrum, I totally get it. It's about the build and making it work, not using it. He'll probably play with it a couple of times and then take it apart and build something else. Like the...

The original "Gorilla" glue was the foaming gap filling polyurethane glue, which was kinda brittle. It has its place, but not for anything critical. Since then they've out with other glues including CA and duct tape (their duct tape is very good). If they have a PVA glue, I'd expect it to...

For years a thin self inflating Thermarest was my pad of choice, until one day I was in Campmor and checked out their NeoAir, my aging bones were sold. Super comfortable, super light, and packs into the same space as a 1 quart nalgene bottle. Not self inflating, but easily filled with the pump...

I'm debating on what to do with this canoe. If I hadn't been paddling it for 60 years, I suspect I wouldn't even be thinking about it... Around 1963, Dad happened on two canoes that were "excess" to a bunch of canoes bought by some unknown camp. He took one and a friend took the other. We...

I've seen similar discussions on a homebuilt airplanes forum. For wooden airplanes, epoxy rules today. In the past resorcinol (Weldwood) was the standard, with hide glue being used in the very early days. Resorcinol requires perfect joint fitup, whereas epoxy is much more tolerant. Propeller...

Now I'm falling down this rabbit hole after 60 years of using whatever paddle was available... I guess finally getting my newly restored canoe in the water makes me want "nice things"... As a recently retired engineer I tend to over-analyze everything. According to the Bending Branches chart...

It floats! Well, it should. Much nicer than my old blue fiberglass beast, which I took out for one final paddle first. It was a breezy day on the lake with swirling winds, but only once in a strong crosswind did I need to leave the seat and kneel amidships to paddle. I was also...

Wow, two years later... life got in the way. But finally this summer, after a couple of years of dealing with family obligations and my own health issues, I retired and finally had time to work on the canoe. First was sanding and painting the hull (7 rattle cans of Krylon Camouflage olive)...

I have two old paddles, I don't remember where I got them... might have been in our current or old cabin when we moved in. The first (no picture) is a conventional beavertail, with a very pleasing shape and comfortable grip... though it's a bit too long for me if I'm in the back. That one I...

Another ad for an Explorer mentions the number written in permanent marker, just like mine. I guess the design changed over the years; that one shows a single thwart and carry handles, which mine doesn't have.

I think we have a winner! Pictures in this advertisement look identical to what I have, so circa 1985. Only the thwarts are different. Although, the ad says 17' and mine is 16'.

I don't think so... almost every detail of my boat is different from the photos you posted.

Slow progress continues. Got the gunwales ripped and scarfed last week. Saturday I glued them together to get the required 16' lengths using West System epoxy reinforced with microfiber (I decided against Titebond as that needs a perfect glue line with no gaps, epoxy is a little more...