Though I have some experience canoeing from boy scouts, I only got serious about paddling in the last few years. My wife continually pestered me about getting kayaks until I finally caved, and we ended up with two used Wilderness Pungo 120s. We quickly outgrew them, and I was completely hooked.
The next summer I got her an Eddyline Sitka ST, a fantastically fun kayak. While I was trying to figure out what I wanted to get I stumbled upon the world of solo canoes. A trip up to a (somewhat) local store for a test paddle, and I put an order in for a Northstar Trillium in BlackLite. Because I was coming from kayaking I went with the pack setup. But I’m finding that’s not working for me, so I’m planning on taking it back to Blue Mountain Outfitters to getting a standard canoe seat with seated drops put in this winter.
I also just went in with a friend on another kayak, a CLC Shearwater 17. It’s structurally sound by otherwise a mess, so we’ll be restoring it this winter. My initial paddle tells me that I don’t weight enough for it, so I may end up in his CLC Chesapeake 16 more often. My wife now frequently laments about my growing boating addiction, and I enjoy reminder her that she started it. But it’s all in good fun, she's wonderfully supportive.
The easiest place for us to paddle is Lake Nockamixon. It’s a decent size and has a 10hp horsepower limit on boats, so that’s nice. We also paddle the Delaware and Schyuykill rivers when the water levels allow. We visit my brother every summer outside of Pittsburgh and paddle the Kiski-Conemaugh Water Trail.
So far my favorite place to paddle in the Adirondacks. We’ve been up there for vacation the last two years. We managed to do Long Pond, the Rollins Pond Loop, the Middle Saranac Lake, and all of the Lakes south of Saranac Lake where we stayed.
I’ve been reading these forums for a while, particularly as I was researching canoes. I’m looking forward to being able to participate a little more actively.
The next summer I got her an Eddyline Sitka ST, a fantastically fun kayak. While I was trying to figure out what I wanted to get I stumbled upon the world of solo canoes. A trip up to a (somewhat) local store for a test paddle, and I put an order in for a Northstar Trillium in BlackLite. Because I was coming from kayaking I went with the pack setup. But I’m finding that’s not working for me, so I’m planning on taking it back to Blue Mountain Outfitters to getting a standard canoe seat with seated drops put in this winter.
I also just went in with a friend on another kayak, a CLC Shearwater 17. It’s structurally sound by otherwise a mess, so we’ll be restoring it this winter. My initial paddle tells me that I don’t weight enough for it, so I may end up in his CLC Chesapeake 16 more often. My wife now frequently laments about my growing boating addiction, and I enjoy reminder her that she started it. But it’s all in good fun, she's wonderfully supportive.
The easiest place for us to paddle is Lake Nockamixon. It’s a decent size and has a 10hp horsepower limit on boats, so that’s nice. We also paddle the Delaware and Schyuykill rivers when the water levels allow. We visit my brother every summer outside of Pittsburgh and paddle the Kiski-Conemaugh Water Trail.
So far my favorite place to paddle in the Adirondacks. We’ve been up there for vacation the last two years. We managed to do Long Pond, the Rollins Pond Loop, the Middle Saranac Lake, and all of the Lakes south of Saranac Lake where we stayed.
I’ve been reading these forums for a while, particularly as I was researching canoes. I’m looking forward to being able to participate a little more actively.
