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I spend two-weeks each summer down at the beach in Narragansett, RI, so I have done a fair amount of saltwater paddling in my Yellowstone Solo and Wildfire. It's a lot of fun. Unless the sea is really calm (and it happens on occasion in Narragansett Bay) I tend to stay in protected areas (salt...

The royalex looks like it is in nice shape - you are going to love the boat. I have a royalex Yellowstone Solo (green like yours) and a white gold Wildfire. I love them both, but for rocky rivers around here my go-to-boat is the Yellowstone Solo. Bell sold two sets of seat hangers - 4" for...

Yup - the “Three Types of Fun” definitely applies to paddling/tripping. My wife often asks me why I do these trips, and I’ve never really had a good answer other than its “fun”.

I can put 60" bags in my RX Yellowstone Solo that I occasionally take on easier whitewater - fills up most of the boat. A friend of mine does put small end bags in his tripping boat that still leaves room for gear. I always bought Mohawk float bags - too bad they don't sell them anymore...

I'm sure I would - especially on the Yellowstone Solo - but that's not the way they were designed to be paddled. I was talking about the subtle difference in rocker between the Wildfire and the RX Yellowstone Solo. With its symmetrical rocker, I'm not sure the Wildfire turns any easier or is any...

That was years of paddling in lots of different places - don't know why I didn't replace it sooner. You can always tell the dominate paddle side by the wear on the blade. I'm a lefty. Looks like recped is a righty - always looking for a good tandem partner. ;) Of your two boats I'd try the...

This is the video that Glenn referred to - forward and cross forward strokes in my Yellowstone Solo at a little play spot near my house. I don't paddle that fast - it was sped up by 50%, and my technique is far from perfect. For proper technique on a cross forward go to 24:21 on Tom Fosters'...

Depends where I'm paddling. If it is dead flat and I'm looking to cover ground I'm more likely to do a sit-and-switch, but changing hands, not with cross forward strokes. Uncorrected forward strokes are easily done with the spooned blade like the Bandit. Or I might do the usual J Stroke. In...

You are right - you'd never find a trolling motor or bilge pump in the canoe of a Native American or French-Canadian voyageur, but I'll bet they would have used them if they could. Park Rangers up in the Allagash do... For most of what I do a pump isn't needed - rapids aren't that big, swims...

Wow – that boat is in beautiful shape. I like the white – won’t show scratches. My royalex boat was outfitted by John Kaz, so I have exactly the same outfitting with the exception of the thwarts – mine are straight. Knee pads will keep your knees spread to the sides. I didn’t add toe blocks...

That's a good idea - it would be easy to stick it under the float bag in front. That's probably what I will do. But I do like the idea of flipping the switch and the boat emptying itself.

I was back with the kayakers yesterday to paddle a short, fun river in north central CT – the Scantic. The Scantic arises near Springfield, MA and flows southwest into CT to join the Connecticut River. We would be running the 5-mile section from Somers to Hazardville that is the site of the...

I use a Werner Bandit pretty much all the time. You can do a J stroke, or a C stroke, or a Canadian stroke or a goon stroke with it. About the only stroke you can’t do is an Indian stroke, or anything involving a palm roll due to the T grip and the spooned blade. The spooned blade also makes it...

I look at it a little different. Paddling isn’t a sacrifice that that takes me away from other things. It’s the part of having a balanced life that gets me outside to have fun, encourages me to stay physically fit, and allows me to spend some time with good friends. Of course, you need to keep...

Have fun breaking it in - every scratch tells a story! I have lots of stories on my boats.

A few from an Adirondacks trip - Long Lake to Saranc Village. Another one at Raquette Falls Indian Carry to Upper Saranac Lake Or back to Stoney Creek Pond Bartlett Carry - Upper Saranac Lake to the Saranac River and Middle Saranac Lake

I'm not the tarp-master. There are others in my usual group that are better at setting them up than me. This was our year-end overnight back in December. We actually did get some rain on this trip. I have to say that I have been pretty lucky over the years - haven't needed the tarp a lot.

My old Forester had the same problem - quart of oil every 1000-miles. Not sure what the issue was, but even the dealer told me that it wasn't worth trying to fix. I did buy another Forester. No problem with this one, or any of the other Subarus we have owned.

I'm with you. For me it would be a 14' river runner like the composite Wildfire or royalex Yellowstone Solo or Mohawk Odyssey. About the only thing those boats can't do is carry two people, and I have plenty of friends who paddle tandem boats. ;) My current fleet is 8 boats. I have spent about...

My father had an XL-14 outfitted as a solo - he liked it. Tandem paddled with a friend in his Caption a few years ago on the West River in VT. That was fun.