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Hunkered down under shelter waiting for Hurricane Isaias to roll over us this evening. Over the past several years about 95% of my canoe repair work has been putting on dynel skid plates using carbon powder infused epoxy. Black skid plates are the result. This past week I was helping a friend...

My preference is to find a seamstress when I need some sewing done. However, every now and then I'm forced by circumstances to pick up a needle and thread and do it myself by hand. Many years ago I came upon the Speedy Stitcher and that has served me well when sewing through tough webbing and...

Since I've made it a standard practice to bring a GPS unit with me, mounting it on a nearby thwart for non WW cruises makes it far more useful to me. Mounting my devices has been accomplished by using a clamp on system from RAM Mounts. It has worked pretty well but the clamp/device combo is...

In looking to find the bottom center of the hull, I've stumbled on a nice shop tip. Located a small 1 pound hand barbell with round end pieces and started it rolling until it stopped. That is bottom center.

I know some WW paddlers have installed elec pumps to empty their boats on wet rides. Do any of you lake paddlers have a similar setup? Far from shore, I imagine that could be really useful on a big wave day.

My Tacoma has a center console with a cushioned top which opens to reveal the storage box. The cushioned top's surface is some type of plastic that I find irritating to my skin, especially on long drives. My solution - I poached a spare "Mouse Rug" from the laptop we rarely use. The "Mouse...

Shortly after saying to my friends, "Sure I can patch the hole in your canoe" came............ "Oh do you mind replacing a cracked skid plate while you have the boat?" And of course I agreed. But I did sense that any kevlar skid plate that was cracking was quite likely to have underlying...

Offered to help a friend stabilize fraying fabric on one side of the paddle face. The other side is fine and intact. My first thoughts are some epoxy, tinted with paint for UV. Same, but adding a layer of Dynel. Lastly some spray enamel paint. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

For someone with the skills. $200 and says the canoe is a Chestnut. You W/C guys seem to salivate over the Chestnut. Close to me so I could grab it if someone wants it. https://eastnc.craigslist.org/boa/6030669169.html

A friend of mine has a royalex canoe with a quarter size hole in the side of her canoe. The hole is near the water line so it will allow water in creep into the canoe. She has asked me to repair it for her. Looking for advice. Only once have I been faced with this problem - 20 years or so...

I've got a Wenonah ultra-light layup canoe that has seen some action on the hull's bottom, despite my best efforts to dodge the burrs of the riverbed. After last October's trips the canoe's bottom was pretty scratched up, some revealing the fabric layer. Last fall I mixed up some Gflex, and...

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About a year ago good fortune befell me in finding a 25 year old tandem canoe that needed restoration. There are some older threads I posted about that restoration. The Otter is a 15 foot tandem and my favorite length for a solo tripping boat. So I've outfitted the tandem canoe by adding...

A broken seat befell me during a recent journey on the Buffalo in Arkansas; fortunately about a mile from the take out so my constant kneeling was of short duration. In preparing to install a new one it occurred to me that, since the seat is out, it is time to consider other seat related...

Within the last 5-7 years I happened upon this technique for adding a pull tab to a zipper. Today I was putting yet another on and thought documenting the steps might be of interest to others. Using this method, it would strain me to tell anyone how many I've put on in the last 7 years. So...

Despite falsely accusing me of soiling his garage door and garbage barrel handles with epoxy, Mr. McCrea does have a good side to him. Some time ago, during a shop day with him he gifted me a clever little idea for a better seat drops than what you typically see on Old Town Canoes. Having to...

Left outside, on the ground, without cover for quite a few years, this 23 year old canoe was in sad shape. Nonetheless the canoe's hull was in good shape. After taking off the adaptive seats made of 3/4 inch pressure treated marine plywood, the canoe weighed in at 45 lbs. Pretty light for a...

Well, sage advice it was when this was offered to me " That would make me suspect of every other seat hanger rivet at the least.......". Trusting that the canoe would hold together for one for more trip before the replacement ash seats, yoke, and handles arrived, I took it north with me to...

A recently acquired used Swift canoe has been neglected by its previous owner. Clearly left outside without cover and on the ground. The serial # indicates it is 22 years old. All the wood members seats, yoke, handles need to be replaced. Having replaced these in the past I'm comfortable...

After the better part of a year looking on the used market for just the right solo canoe, I opted to purchase new rather than wait for an uncertain future time I might happen upon one. Buying local is my preference, but my local dealer was not able to get me in the canoe to demo it. Searching...