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I was just rereading my copy of "The Functional Side Of Freestyle Canoeing." It is the first time I've read it since I've been working on carving with my stern, and it confirmed that bow pinning and stern carving rely on the same techniques of using your hull to control your boat. There are at...

First off, I don't think it matters which way you lean to carve/pivot towards your paddle side. Either way, I think you can track just as straight of a course as hen using correction strokes alone, maybe even straighter. Although the canoe is carving a radius it is offset by the yaw of your...

A lot of us paddle where we have cell phone coverage so it’s possible to post a picture in real time. Here is mine for today. Feel free to add more when you can.

I made a last minute decision to take my Campfire Tent and wood stove on this trip. I can't believe I almost went without them. I'm too old to camp this time of year without a proper heat source. I was especially looking forward to this trip because I was going to meet up with forum member Penns...

My place in Pa is a wildlife magnet, with beaver, otter, eagles and deer almost daily sightings, along with regular coyote howls and yips. A friend who was visiting yesterday sitting on my couch saw a heron coming in for a landing across the lake. A few minutes later he asked what that white...

Lynx Lake loop Trail is a canoe route in the Nancy Lake Recreation Area about 70 miles north of Anchorage. It's an eight mile loop with about 9 lakes connected with short well maintained portages. There are a limited number of remote campsites but it is short enough to do as a day trip. I wanted...

First off, what is it? Over thirty years ago I was introduced to paddling a canoe standing up with a six foot paddle. The guy who introduced me to it had been a Maine guide, so I had assumed a Maine Guide paddle was a six foot long beaver tail, like what he used. Fast forward about 20 or 25...

I lucked out and found an ice hook at an antique store over the weekend. The ice hook is used when paddling when the water is partially covered in ice as described in Garret Conovers book "Beyond the Paddle." They were originally used in ice harvesting from about 1890 to 1930. I have one that I...

Whenever I go to antique shops I'm always looking for paddles, pack baskets, military duffle bags, ice hooks and pole shoes. I got lucky this weekend finding a nice basket, duffle bag and an ice hook. The pack appears to be pounded black ash with a steam bent oak handle. The ice hook is probably...

I've been paddling my Seliga Tripper mostly solo so far this season. I paddle from the stern seat with some light ballast (20-25lbs.) either in the bow or right behind the bow seat. I find that adding the ballast eliminates the twitchiness in initial stability that this boat has, probably caused...

One of the things I like about tripping are the images I see. It's mostly scenery and sometimes wildlife. Sometime I can capture it on film and sometimes it's just a memory, but the Adirondacks always comes through for me. It's one of the places that I find so beautiful that I can't stop taking...

I've noticed that most of us post current photos in the Photo Of The Day thread, so I'm starting this thread where we can post older ones. I don't think it has to be too old, just not current. It doesn't need to be on a Thursday either, just anytime you come across a nice photo that you'd like...

I have an immovable canoe up in Ak. A little over a week ago my neighbor sent me a photo of my OT Tripper that had been blown from its' place. It was upright on the walkway leading to my front door. When leaving the house yesterday morning the boat was impeding my backing out of the garage so I...

I took my first paddle of the year a few days ago. The lake, which had been frozen since the end of November had just thawed out from a warm spell with lots of rain and wind. From what I could see the only ice left was in a cove at the windward end of the lake. Although I didn't need to cross...

I did a spur of the moment trip to the Oswegatchie recently and it was a great time. I planned to spend three nights up there poking around above High Falls. Things didn't go as planned. The last cell phone call I made to my wife was dropped, the last thing I heard her say was "text me...

Do you lean into the wind, away from it or try to keep your boat flat side to side?

The varnish on my EM White is getting thin and needs another couple coats. It's in good shape without much exposed wood, except for a few small dings. I have it cleaned up pretty good and am at the point where I'm ready to lightly sand it. My questions are do I need to do any additional cleaning...

Last week I met up with Robin and we headed to Seboeis Lake for a traditional style base camping trip. We had a great time. We ate well, had good conversation and lots of laughs. Our island campsite was comfortable with scenic views and would have been perfect if it had a decent landing. Like...

I don’t remember the height of the seats on my stock malice were, but I do know that I liked paddling the boat better when I raised them to the gunnels. Since I did that I’ve been paddling a few wood canvas boats and really like the higher seats on them. I recently got a modern composite Bell...

I took three day trips on my recent trip to Ak. On the second trip I took my OT Tripper and realized that the stock plastic molded seat was too low for my preference. I didn't like those seats anyway, the bow seat had a cup holder for heavens sake. I decided to replace them with traditional...