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  1. yknpdlr

    Bear testing

    In addition to the engineering cleverness of Yellow-Yellow described above, there are others in the Adirondacks. "Cliff", a bear in the High Peaks region was known to steal backpacks and deliver them to his favored spot at a rocky cliff before destroying them. In some regions you are advised not...
  2. yknpdlr

    How to recruit new canoe paddlers?

    That's what you get with cheap materials, unskilled manufacture, near zero necessary skill set to operate, and the generational demand for instantaneous give it to me now.
  3. yknpdlr

    New cars: are they as impossible as they seem for cartopping?

    I have many hundreds of canoe miles carrying canoes overhead with bow tie downs, a 34' voyageur, 23' C4, and a few different solos (only one at a time) on the roof of my 2024 Subaru Forester Wilderness. Never had a problem with the Eyesight system behaving properly any more than otherwise when...
  4. yknpdlr

    How to recruit new canoe paddlers?

    Lke the Hornbeck and similar ilk (no offense, as I have 3 Hornbecks), they are normally propelled by kayak paddles, which is not much of a meaningful transition jump from kayaking to real single blade canoe paddllng.
  5. yknpdlr

    Three Nights on Low's Lake - Solitude + Wind

    Site 18 always catches the worst brunt of the west wind. Because of that it is a very desirable site during bug season, not so much in Autumn strong chilly winds. If you had not figured it out yet, if you stay close to the north (right) side as you come around the sand bar extending from Lookout...
  6. yknpdlr

    Trust at Both Ends: The Silent Language of Tandem Paddling

    Having said all the above, which is mostly relative to bow paddle racing in voaygeur and C4 canoes, I also by necessity and favor being more of a solo paddler. All season I paddle in one of several of my solo canoes as my primary way to train before the 90 miler. Most of my race partners are not...
  7. yknpdlr

    Trust at Both Ends: The Silent Language of Tandem Paddling

    I began family canoe tripping in a 17' Grumman in the early 1970's with my wife, two small kids, and a dog. Since none of the others had much of any canoe experience, I stern paddled to get us where we needed to go. But they couldn't always go so I learned to solo paddle that long aluminum can...
  8. yknpdlr

    Photos of Animals, Fish, Birds & Bugs on a Canoe Trip

    An abandoned loon egg. it's a long story, but when I discovered it after it had obviously rolled out of a nest perched on a mud mound, I contacted the Adirondack Loon Conservancy and was told that if it had been there for two days or more, it would not be viable. I should collect it and freeze...
  9. yknpdlr

    Bear testing

    But they don't test for determined red squirrels. A few years ago, I saw a Garcia, the heavy black bear resistant canister, with a corner of the rounded bottom edge completely chewed through to the inner contents. It was rented from the HPIC at Heart Lake. The renter admitted that he watched a...
  10. yknpdlr

    Sleeping in tent vs. car vs. pickup bed in 10° F

    i was in the Air Force TDY as part of a Tanker Task Force at Eielson AFB over December-January 1975-1976. We landed (coming from my base in Ohio) in a ground temperature of -56F. two of our four engines had to be shut down as soon as we were firmly down because even at idle throttle at that...
  11. yknpdlr

    Post your training paddles

    Paddling alone with no other boats in sight in a starting field of 80 or more boats on the Yiukon River races, hopefully with the majority of the pack behind us, is certainly an experience to be had. When we log upwards of 160 miles/day, it can be a lonely but a good and rewarding feeling to own...
  12. yknpdlr

    Post your training paddles

    As my normal crew position is in the bow, I start at the gun race beginning sprint at roughly 80spm. We keep that up for the first 3-4 hut rotations, until the open paddling space widens. Then, (depending on nearby same boat class competition, voyageur or C4) I back off to cruise at around no...
  13. yknpdlr

    Paddling advice for long, flat, skinny boats

    In the first view, Andy is adding some outside sweep to curve the canoe around the bend next to the trees in the river. He straightens out a bit later. Mary does a little better. Perfect form does tend to suffer a bit during sprints.
  14. yknpdlr

    Paddling advice for long, flat, skinny boats

    I agree with Steve, terrible form. Hip rotation is not as important in canoe racing as some would think. Good form includes an almost constant elbow bend angle on both arms, especially the lower arm which should bend very little, and a box structure with arms, paddle shafts, and shoulders. Grip...
  15. yknpdlr

    Paddling advice for long, flat, skinny boats

    Most racing configurations will use foot strap loops attached to a foot bar. I made them using tubular nylon/poly webbing, with flexible metal pipe straps inserted inside to hold a rounded shape around the front of my foot. The straps and webbing are slightly longer than what is needed to go...
  16. yknpdlr

    Paddling advice for long, flat, skinny boats

    Years ago, Charlie Wilson told me this is because, if you imagine the shape that a heeled canoe presents to the water, it is the shape of a curved banana. That explains the tendency to turn away from the lean. i find that to be very true with my solo canoes especially My PB Rapidfire and Shadow...
  17. yknpdlr

    Photo of the day

    Congrats on the new Blackwater. You will love it. This was my second season with mine, which I absolutely love. Fast and highly stable, much more stable than my PB Shadow, both with a 125" higher than standard custom elevated seat. Even without any rocker, it turns tight in buoy turns with an...
  18. yknpdlr

    How Life Jacket Prototypes are Torture Tested

    After my daughter certified to work as a camp waterfront director at BSA National Camping School, the first thing she did upon arrival at her BSA camp was to inspect all of the PFDs. Those that did not pass or were marginally serviceable were cut in half with a box cutter so they would need to...
  19. yknpdlr

    Deciding which canoe

    Other than my Hornbecks, each of my solo canoes was ordered with a 1.5" riser above the highest available stock high seat. All are paddled with a single blade paddle, single side. I had to argue with Joe Moore when he did not want to do it with my PB Shadow because he has had three previous...
  20. yknpdlr

    Post your training paddles

    Looks like the Paddlesports trainer that I use during winter months. Beginning around Christmas time I start with 20 minutes at 60 spm, increasing to an hour as time goes on. it is a good machine for building up power strokes and timing. Unfortunately it does not replicate doing buoy turns very...
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