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Last night I had an opportunity to meet, or rather a coincidental encounter, with an iconic canoe designer and an iconic (at least at the ADK forum) solo canoe bushwhacker. The former being DY, the latter being the Conk.
Previously I had asked Mr. Curtis about having a kneeling thwart installed in my Kee and having finally got the part from Swift, was eager to get the process going. I met him at Canadice lake last night after work as he is there most every Thursday night in the summer to demo his boats. I suppose I could have installed the thwart myself as it only requires some drilling and riveting but I was more confident Dave would place it closer to the ideal position than I would.
I did not plan on paddling so I left directly from work having strapped my boat on the night before... needless to say I was wearing a collared, heavy cotton shirt, leather shoes, and long, heavy cotton pants. The temperature gauge in my car was reading high 80's on the way down.
When I got to the lake, at around 6:30pm, I found a crew of familiar (to me), yet unacquainted faces sitting with Dave and his wife. I recognized Conk and DY although both seemed to have much less hair than any of the pictures I had seen of them (not balded, just well groomed). Neither were quick to introduce themselves, both seemed rather aloof of me, and I was not very forward about impressing myself upon them. It is rather an awkward situation when you recognize people from pictures whom you have never met, and have read or heard a great deal about them.
Dave laughed at me for some reason when I walked up and asked where my wife was, etc... I was alone, and have been a bachelor since last Thursday due to her being in Boston visiting her brother and being brainwashed, I mean trained, for some sort of new, experimental teaching method. My wife is usually the more social of the two of us and we are often together, so again, I felt a bit awkward and tried to make light of the fact that the lake was as smooth as I had seen it in some time. The extreme heat was somewhat a result of a lack of wind and thus made for some excellent paddling conditions. At that point I was wishing my wife was there and we could take the Kee down to the south end of the lake and look down through the glassy water to the jungle of sea plants and try to spot fish and turtles swimming about as herons and ducks loomed on the shoreline. Such was not the case though and Dave was up and ready to load my boat on the trailer.
I decided I should make clear I recognized the Conk and his boat, the green Kestrel, which I knew happened to be one of his boats from reading his adventure stories. I prepared myself for the "changing countenance of the Conk" but found that he happened to be rather docile in person. Much like myself, rather aloof, but much more soft spoken. For some reason I expected his voice to be more grizzled and gnarly, with coarse laughter... but I suppose I just associate that persona with people who smoke cigars and pipes... it is rarely the case though.
At this point DY was thoroughly inspecting my boat and Conk had recognized it as the one that had an encounter with a loon. My poor brain was struggling with trying to be introduced to DY, which Dave then mentioned who it was (but I already knew), unloading my boat, trying to find where the loon had speared it, telling DY what I thought of the Kee, listening to what those guys were saying, etc... It was all kind of a blur. I recall DY saying he was going to get a Kee for himself and disagreeing with me about how the Kee and the Eagle paddled, and then he disappeared...
I suppose that is where the leprechauns come in?
After my boat was unloaded and reloaded Dave convinced me I should go out on the water. It wasn't hard to do. I wanted to go out, but I would have much rather gone out in an Eagle or my Kee with my wife. Conk had no interest in paddling tandem and I wasn't sure about paddling tandem with someone I didn't know. I'm not very good in a solo boat, I've been in one all of one or two times before then, and I didn't want to be a drag on Conk's paddle time. I decided, after a little prodding from Dave, that I'd give the Peregrine another try. Seeing that I am pushing 210+ lbs since the 7 months I have been free of the tobacco leaf, I don't think many of the other smaller boats would fit me very well. I had been in this Peregrine before and although it probably fits me from a weight standpoint, I think it may be a touch wider than I would like for a solo... but I don't really know?
Having none of my recreational gear with me, neither a paddle nor vest I borrowed those items, ditched my socks and shoes, and rolled up my heavy pants. It was still a million degrees out and I was sweating profusely just making the smallest of movements. My extra insulation brought on by recent nicotine withdrawal coupled with country club style work clothes did me no favors. There were quite a few fish hooks left in the area and luckily for me going barefoot, Dave's wife had picked most of them up - so I escaped that first obstacle in making it to the water's edge.
After that it was getting into an unfamiliar boat, and getting myself into an unfamiliar position (kneeling) without going into the water. I almost did mind you. It takes a bit of grace and some flexibility to get your legs under the seat, none of which I seemed to posses at that moment. Once I got into the boat it then became the challenge of moving the craft with an unfamiliar (but nicely made) paddle and settling myself into a stable, and somewhat comfortable position. For any of you who normally sit in a tandem and haven't been in a kneeling solo boat, this is much more difficult and painful than it looks. Everyone swears you get used to it. I felt much more comfortable after being out in this boat for about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs... I know it would come with time.
Then the next challenge was catching up to the Conk who was gracefully gliding along like a swan about 100 yards away from the launch. I managed to get my large bird of prey moving across the water, and somewhat straight and finally caught up the little green Kestrel.
At that point I started querying the Conk about paddling techniques and how to turn the boat, etc... I think I overwhelmed him but he gave me a few tips - mainly really keeping my paddle shaft as vertical as possible, which I knew, but apparently wasn't doing enough... some of it I suspect is me being a bit rigid in an unfamiliar boat. But I loosened up eventually, and I even started to feel comfortable at some points. I still cannot turn very fast or go full tilt straight - but I didn't expect to figure that out my second time in a solo boat.
It was then story time out on the water. Conk told me tales of his camp, bears, the Adirondacks, and canoeing. I didn't have much to contribute but I always enjoy listening to other people tell tales of their experiences.
Occasionally Conk would rocket off with a splash and a flash of green would dart away in front of me. I don't know if he was bored, or just playing around. Try as might I couldn't make the boat I was in go that fast and straight at the same time, so I'd follow at my own pace. I did manage to pick up significantly from where I had started though.
Eventually I couldn't feel my feet and I learned how to stretch my legs and get on and off the seat while in the water. Again it isn't as easy as it sounds. It takes a bit of balance and contortion to get your legs where you want them. Learning that alleviated much of my stress and bought me another hour in the boat. I assume with more time and practice I could stay out for longer and longer stretches.
The one thing I did notice, and hadn't thought of before is that Kevlar is extremely unfriendly to bare skin. I did not have any shoes on and my kneeling mat did not extend to my feet so my toes took a significant beating. I had asked Dave what the T-shaped kneeling mats were for and he told me for your feet. Well, I didn't have to ask why after I got back to shore. My feet are RAW!
All in all it was a good time though. I got some more seat time in a solo canoe. Met two of my canoe heros - one from the design end, one from the application end, and got to paddle around on some of the best water I have been on at Canadice. Glad I went out!
Previously I had asked Mr. Curtis about having a kneeling thwart installed in my Kee and having finally got the part from Swift, was eager to get the process going. I met him at Canadice lake last night after work as he is there most every Thursday night in the summer to demo his boats. I suppose I could have installed the thwart myself as it only requires some drilling and riveting but I was more confident Dave would place it closer to the ideal position than I would.
I did not plan on paddling so I left directly from work having strapped my boat on the night before... needless to say I was wearing a collared, heavy cotton shirt, leather shoes, and long, heavy cotton pants. The temperature gauge in my car was reading high 80's on the way down.
When I got to the lake, at around 6:30pm, I found a crew of familiar (to me), yet unacquainted faces sitting with Dave and his wife. I recognized Conk and DY although both seemed to have much less hair than any of the pictures I had seen of them (not balded, just well groomed). Neither were quick to introduce themselves, both seemed rather aloof of me, and I was not very forward about impressing myself upon them. It is rather an awkward situation when you recognize people from pictures whom you have never met, and have read or heard a great deal about them.
Dave laughed at me for some reason when I walked up and asked where my wife was, etc... I was alone, and have been a bachelor since last Thursday due to her being in Boston visiting her brother and being brainwashed, I mean trained, for some sort of new, experimental teaching method. My wife is usually the more social of the two of us and we are often together, so again, I felt a bit awkward and tried to make light of the fact that the lake was as smooth as I had seen it in some time. The extreme heat was somewhat a result of a lack of wind and thus made for some excellent paddling conditions. At that point I was wishing my wife was there and we could take the Kee down to the south end of the lake and look down through the glassy water to the jungle of sea plants and try to spot fish and turtles swimming about as herons and ducks loomed on the shoreline. Such was not the case though and Dave was up and ready to load my boat on the trailer.
I decided I should make clear I recognized the Conk and his boat, the green Kestrel, which I knew happened to be one of his boats from reading his adventure stories. I prepared myself for the "changing countenance of the Conk" but found that he happened to be rather docile in person. Much like myself, rather aloof, but much more soft spoken. For some reason I expected his voice to be more grizzled and gnarly, with coarse laughter... but I suppose I just associate that persona with people who smoke cigars and pipes... it is rarely the case though.
At this point DY was thoroughly inspecting my boat and Conk had recognized it as the one that had an encounter with a loon. My poor brain was struggling with trying to be introduced to DY, which Dave then mentioned who it was (but I already knew), unloading my boat, trying to find where the loon had speared it, telling DY what I thought of the Kee, listening to what those guys were saying, etc... It was all kind of a blur. I recall DY saying he was going to get a Kee for himself and disagreeing with me about how the Kee and the Eagle paddled, and then he disappeared...
I suppose that is where the leprechauns come in?
After my boat was unloaded and reloaded Dave convinced me I should go out on the water. It wasn't hard to do. I wanted to go out, but I would have much rather gone out in an Eagle or my Kee with my wife. Conk had no interest in paddling tandem and I wasn't sure about paddling tandem with someone I didn't know. I'm not very good in a solo boat, I've been in one all of one or two times before then, and I didn't want to be a drag on Conk's paddle time. I decided, after a little prodding from Dave, that I'd give the Peregrine another try. Seeing that I am pushing 210+ lbs since the 7 months I have been free of the tobacco leaf, I don't think many of the other smaller boats would fit me very well. I had been in this Peregrine before and although it probably fits me from a weight standpoint, I think it may be a touch wider than I would like for a solo... but I don't really know?
Having none of my recreational gear with me, neither a paddle nor vest I borrowed those items, ditched my socks and shoes, and rolled up my heavy pants. It was still a million degrees out and I was sweating profusely just making the smallest of movements. My extra insulation brought on by recent nicotine withdrawal coupled with country club style work clothes did me no favors. There were quite a few fish hooks left in the area and luckily for me going barefoot, Dave's wife had picked most of them up - so I escaped that first obstacle in making it to the water's edge.
After that it was getting into an unfamiliar boat, and getting myself into an unfamiliar position (kneeling) without going into the water. I almost did mind you. It takes a bit of grace and some flexibility to get your legs under the seat, none of which I seemed to posses at that moment. Once I got into the boat it then became the challenge of moving the craft with an unfamiliar (but nicely made) paddle and settling myself into a stable, and somewhat comfortable position. For any of you who normally sit in a tandem and haven't been in a kneeling solo boat, this is much more difficult and painful than it looks. Everyone swears you get used to it. I felt much more comfortable after being out in this boat for about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs... I know it would come with time.
Then the next challenge was catching up to the Conk who was gracefully gliding along like a swan about 100 yards away from the launch. I managed to get my large bird of prey moving across the water, and somewhat straight and finally caught up the little green Kestrel.
At that point I started querying the Conk about paddling techniques and how to turn the boat, etc... I think I overwhelmed him but he gave me a few tips - mainly really keeping my paddle shaft as vertical as possible, which I knew, but apparently wasn't doing enough... some of it I suspect is me being a bit rigid in an unfamiliar boat. But I loosened up eventually, and I even started to feel comfortable at some points. I still cannot turn very fast or go full tilt straight - but I didn't expect to figure that out my second time in a solo boat.
It was then story time out on the water. Conk told me tales of his camp, bears, the Adirondacks, and canoeing. I didn't have much to contribute but I always enjoy listening to other people tell tales of their experiences.
Occasionally Conk would rocket off with a splash and a flash of green would dart away in front of me. I don't know if he was bored, or just playing around. Try as might I couldn't make the boat I was in go that fast and straight at the same time, so I'd follow at my own pace. I did manage to pick up significantly from where I had started though.
Eventually I couldn't feel my feet and I learned how to stretch my legs and get on and off the seat while in the water. Again it isn't as easy as it sounds. It takes a bit of balance and contortion to get your legs where you want them. Learning that alleviated much of my stress and bought me another hour in the boat. I assume with more time and practice I could stay out for longer and longer stretches.
The one thing I did notice, and hadn't thought of before is that Kevlar is extremely unfriendly to bare skin. I did not have any shoes on and my kneeling mat did not extend to my feet so my toes took a significant beating. I had asked Dave what the T-shaped kneeling mats were for and he told me for your feet. Well, I didn't have to ask why after I got back to shore. My feet are RAW!
All in all it was a good time though. I got some more seat time in a solo canoe. Met two of my canoe heros - one from the design end, one from the application end, and got to paddle around on some of the best water I have been on at Canadice. Glad I went out!
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