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I remember being broke and paddling whitewater in the 1970s in homemade wetsuits. We'd buy rolls of neoprene and glue up our own, including gloves and boots. Right after the ice broke up was some of the best paddling and it was common for our hair and beards to be solid icicles. I'm glad that...

My parents were very active in a canoe club from the time I was a baby so I pretty much grew up canoeing and kayaking. We camped with the canoe club nearly every weekend from Spring to Fall. My brother and I raced tandem canoes starting when I was probably 10 or 11 and my first whitewater was...

No winter projects for me because we moved in August and my woodworking and metalworking equipment is in storage. The new place doesn't have the room or 240V power for my machines. Our contractor just left and he'll be starting my 40x60' shop in mid-February. It's frustrating not having...

Nothing like swimming to get over the fear of swimming. I strongly suggest taking a swift water rescue class. You'll spend most of the weekend in the water. Our instructor had us swim the whitewater course between each exercise. I still don't like swimming, which is why I prefer a kayak for...

I paddle a solo canoe (Northstar Phoenix) and my wife paddles a kayak. She started kayaking late in life and never became comfortable in moving water. Even class 1 intimidates her and she's had a few dumps that scared her. Because of this her preference is lakes. My strong preference is...

My main solo is a Northstar Phoenix in IXP. It's perfect for the shallow rocky rivers I prefer. The only downside is it's badly out of trim when my 60lb dog comes along. She doesn't come very often because rapids stress her out, but when she does the bow plows and it takes on a lot of water...

Every butt is different. I can't stand bucket seats. I want to be able to move around and shift position often. I prefer a flat webbing seat in a canoe. It works well for kneeling or sitting. I feel the same about motorcycle seats. I've put an aftermarket seat on almost every motorcycle...

It looks like they're finding more. https://apnews.com/article/ancient-canoes-lake-mendota-wisconsin-parking-lot-ee9b5f68a9e8c0f9bcf8af7ae9e9fd8d

My kids are in Wisconsin and every time I haul the canoes and kayaks up there the wind is too strong for the Wisconsin River to be enjoyable. We always end up doing something narrower. I assume some day my luck will hold and it'll be a good day for the Wisconsin.

I'm curious why the entire blade is fiberglassed. In my experience they don't need it for strength and only the tip needs abrasion protection.

My brother and I ran the Nantahala back in August. We eddied out above the last drop and formulated a plan that had us working left to right to avoid the hole at the bottom. My brother went first and dropped right over the left side into the hole so I figured "what the heck" and followed him...

I've never built a canoe. Do you really use green wood for the gunnels? I'm taking down about a dozen white oaks next month to make room for a barn. 60-70 feet tall and at least 40' to the first branch. They're right on the edge of being large enough diameter to be worthwhile to mill into...

I sort of get it since I used to paddle a few races each year a long, long time ago. But it holds no interest for me now.

Same for me. I only paddled it once but the monkeys were on shore or in the trees. My wife has become comfortable paddling amongst gators but would have freaked out if it had rained monkeys.

I own both canoes and kayaks and a solo canoe is nearly always my preference. The biggies for me are ease of getting in & out and comfort. Being able to switch between kneeling and sitting saves my knees and butt. But like @adkjoe I use a kayak for coastal paddling because of wind and surf...

My brother was a whitewater river guide on the Zambezi river in Zimbabwe. He said hippos were the scariest followed closely by crocodiles. I've never paddled among elephants but some friends and I were in South Africa hanging out on the roof rack of a Land Rover when a herd crossed in front of...

There are a lot of trees in the water that I assume are from Spring floods. I grew up paddling whitewater so I didn't find any of it challenging but several in the group certainly did. They're a great group of friends who I love spending time with but, despite paddling regularly, they aren't...

Our friend group also does a Fall trip to the Ozarks every year so we were there a week ago. We camped in Eminence and did Jack's Fork from Alley Spring to Owl's Bend and the Current from Aker's Ferry to Round Spring. Like you experienced, it was too shallow to paddle above Alley Spring which...

I hate to see it. My daughter lives in Madison so we visit often and I've bought 2 boats from Rutabaga. Very knowledgeable, friendly, and good inventory. We're normally somewhere warm when Canoecopia happens but will be staying north this year and plan to attend.

In the US it's getting safer.