Poll: How many women canoe? (Update: Detours into a Peeing in the Woods Thread around post #42)

[yellowcanoe]

We'll deal with stability in another thread. Dont believe the labels salespeople put on boats nor what you see. Understanding a few principles will get you remaining upright.. even in the Argosy which I dont care for but stability in flat water with it is not an issue


Chicks with Sticks.. not a paddle in sight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqYm9m4q1JI

 

[yellowcanoe]

A bit of a disclaimer. This is not intended to po any of our male members. It's just an observation

For some 20 years off and on. mostly on I have taught Stern Women at the WCHA Annual Assembly. I remember so many times that husbands brought their wives to class along with their 90 lb cherished wood canvas canoe.

Till about 2005 we supplied the ladies with small performance solos in lovely colors. After we had matched them up with their boat according to size they were taught how to get in without getting wet and at first just encouraged to paddle any way they could

Of course there was a good deal of "coaching" from the husband contingent.. That was easily solved.. we paddled around the corner out of sight.. The usual husband comment was that their lady would never be able to control the solo canoe.

90 minutes later we paddled back to the guys. Guys will all stick around and talk boat endlessly so they were still there. The ladies did nice J strokes, the little boats went arrow straight, the husbands all stared with open mouths then the gals all did a dock turn one at a time.. Now the guys were applauding!

There is a bit of a bias in the paddling world still that gals can't control a canoe( until proven otherwise).. Slowly that is going away. Now our Stern Women classes are for couples.. man in the bow. Lady in the stern.. Some guys hate it.. They say seeing nothing but water in front of them is jarring and they don't know what is going on in back of them

Some guys love being powerful bow engines.

There is a bit of psychology in canoeing.. There is a reason some can't stand small solos after coming off a big tandem

 

[snapper]

Late to this thread but my wife and I have been paddling together for over 40 years. She really doesn't like kayaks at all and would ALWAYS prefer to be in a canoe. I haven't been able to convince her to try solo paddling yet but I do enjoy our time together in our tandem. We got our kids out paddling (2 daughters) and are now working on the next generation; all grandsons so far but girls are certainly welcome!

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Jim Dodd]

I think you see the same proportion of women as men in kayaks. Women really seem to catch on the techie stuff fast as they know they make rotten engines for the most part. And a heck of a lot of women here paddle..

stern.

Or pole

You going to argue with a Chick With a Stick?

​ Not on your Life ! I learned along time ago, NOT to argue with a woman! I've been happily married for 45 yrs ! I like to keep it that way !!!

​ I will say I'm seeing a big rise in kayaks around here. Cheap ones. Most of them are paddled by guys. But when the women here go kayaking, they have the better quality yaks for sure. That holds true with women in canoes ! They go for the higher end stuff !

​ Reasons. Guys think they know what they are doing, and we have a cheap retailer, with cheap yaks here.
​ Women on the other hand seek out the advise of a quality supplier, or outfitter, and go with their judgement.

Jim

 

[Srobocop]

I passed 2 canoes with 4 women in their 40s-50s a good 3 or 4 miles from anything while exploring some rivers a couple weeks ago(I didn't expect to see anyone in that area). I think there are more women canoeists than we assume there are. I feel like I always see a couple groups of women everytime I'm in the BWCA also.

 

[snakeybird]

I am heartened to know there are so many canoeing ladies out there.

Yellowcanoe, I agree that there is a great deal of psychology at work. Back when I was studying counseling, I joked that all you had to do to evaluate the relationship between 2 people, especially a couple, was to stick them in a tandem canoe and observe. My fellow seminarians overall didn't get it, but I still think it would be an awesome diagnostic tool.

When two friends/siblings etc. go out in a tandem, how does one determine who is in the stern? Barring huge differences in skill, it's interesting to think about.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Conventional wisdom has the more experienced in the stern..if there is a size difference the craft does better stern heavy than bow heavy ( where it becomes the craft of a drunken sailor)
On rivers its not too hard to teach the less experienced three things.. forward. draw and cross draw. However its a real asset to have a bow paddler on rivers with skill as they can recognize bad things faster than the person in the back
And if you look at mixed racing teams often the gal is steering and the guy is in front. Of course seat placement has been modified to allow level trim.

Tandem canoe is great and a lot of fun. There is an education on the job to be done at each end.. Neither end is superior. Once you get over that its all good. When you observe heated discussions there is something else going on other than canoeing

I remember a class where the woman just wasn't getting comfortable in the bow. She was getting tired of being corrected by the Captain.. We switched her to the stern taught her a J strok and the guy happily paddled bow.

Turns out she did not trust him as she could not see him.. Every bobble to her was an imminent dunk.. He however was of the bobble was no big deal ilk.. didnt bother him at all

 

[Jim Dodd]

Yellowcanoe, I agree that there is a great deal of psychology at work. Back when I was studying counseling, I joked that all you had to do to evaluate the relationship between 2 people, especially a couple, was to stick them in a tandem canoe and observe. My fellow seminarians overall didn't get it, but I still think it would be an awesome diagnostic tool.

​ During a Dragon boat team get together, we gathersed up enough tandem canoes for everyone. We went to the river for a paddle one evening.

After a few minutes, one husband and wife started feuding. He was in the stern, and didn't know how to paddle, and she didn't like him bossing her around ! We split them up, and they lived happily ever after . They were fine in a Dragon boat, but never took up canoeing !

​ If a couple can survive a week together in a canoe, say the BWCA, chances are they will make it in life !
​ Every Psychologist should have a canoe, next to their couch !

Jim

 

[snakeybird]

I agree, canoes and card games! A canoe would likely work better than a couch anyway; I always fell firmly into the experiential school of thought. You can learn so much about relational dynamics! I was a bit of an anomaly in grad school, but got points for creativity

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I discussed this observation on some forum several years ago and the observation hasn't changed for me: In all my years of paddling I don't ever recall seeing a lone, solo female canoe paddler. Not anywhere in North America that I've been. I know from these forums that there are a few -- notably yellowcanoe -- but I've never seen one in person.

I have seen two females in one tandem canoe a few times in the Dacks. I've seen a small handful of lone female kayakers. I've seen lone women in fishing boats and motorboats. And I've of course seen hundreds of women canoeists (and thousands of women kayakers) paddling with clubs or in larger groups. I did see a lone female in the Boundary Waters in a Bell Rob Roy with a double paddle, but I define that as kayaking.

But I don't ever recall seeing a lone female paddling solo in a canoe with a single blade paddle.

In contrast, I've come across hundreds of lone male canoeists (and even more kayakers) all over place, including on my local town waters.

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

​
​ If a couple can survive a week together in a canoe, say the BWCA, chances are they will make it in life !
​
Jim

Must be why my wife and I have lasted 49+ years as a couple. She is my favorite tandem partner. Despite our size difference (11" & 90#) we paddled well together, had the same stride.

 

[Odyssey]

I've seen many families tripping. Mostly happy faces; only the occasional sour dour face among the crowd. I rarely have seen groups of men; only a solo male once in awhile. (Discounting party revellers out for a weekend booze cruise.) I've yet to see a female solo, but have seen many groups of them, and I've seen many lady yakkers going for group paddles. All of my observations are meaningless of course, only disjointed disconnected happenstance. But I wonder if male and female differ with respect to "What I want out of this experience." It's not as though men don't socialize on canoe trips, or that women don't seek solo solitude; but is there a trend based on gender how we regard a wilderness experience? I don't know, and quite frankly I really don't care. Vive la difference and all that. I would hazard a guess and say that individual backgrounds have a strong role to play in how (if at all) gender bias effects behaviour. What the heck is Brad talking about?! For example, nearly always when my wife and I go somewhere in the car, I drive. Even when we take her car out she passes me the keys; I ask "You sure?", and she replies "Yup." It seems a male domination thing, and once upon a time in society it certainly was and remains, but she just hates to drive any more than necessary, while it seems second nature to me. (She wishes vacuuming was second nature to me too.) Miranda loves sitting in the bow watching the natural world come to her, as we drift into it and through it. I'd love to sit in the bow for a change to experience that "Titanic" moment, but we'd be waaay bow heavy. We'd hit a Kap River rockberg for sure. Ha.
Well, that's all the bafflegab I'll subject you to tonight. I just want to say that whatever the gender or background, I'd like to think that the thread of common spirit connecting us all as trippers, is the wonderful wanderlust that leads us along the ribbons of water from put-in to destination. And whether you sit by your fire alone or in company, boasting a Y or X chromosome, know that we all have our paddling passion in common.

 

[Jim Dodd]

I discussed this observation on some forum several years ago and the observation hasn't changed for me: In all my years of paddling I don't ever recall seeing a lone, solo female canoe paddler. Not anywhere in North America that I've been. I know from these forums that there are a few -- notably yellowcanoe -- but I've never seen one in person.

I have seen two females in one tandem canoe a few times in the Dacks. I've seen a small handful of lone female kayakers. I've seen lone women in fishing boats and motorboats. And I've of course seen hundreds of women canoeists (and thousands of women kayakers) paddling with clubs or in larger groups. I did see a lone female in the Boundary Waters in a Bell Rob Roy with a double paddle, but I define that as kayaking.

But I don't ever recall seeing a lone female paddling solo in a canoe with a single blade paddle.

In contrast, I've come across hundreds of lone male canoeists (and even more kayakers) all over place, including on my local town waters.

​Saw my first female solo paddler, this October. She was leaving the BWCA, Gabbro lake, early one morning, paddling single blade in a kevlar, I believe a Wenonah canoe. Looked like she knew what she was doing !

Jim

 

[Iskweo]

Ahem.....I hate to burst yer bubbles guys but I have been soloing for years, possibly decades. I dont advertise it but I am out there. My most recent trip was just before labour day. Three days paddling and chain sawing out ports.
Cedar strip, single blade, and I carry my own stuff.

I trip with others too, mostly because it is more fun to have someone to share it with. Like, Karin, for instance...lol.

Christine

 

[yellowcanoe]

o Glenn of short memory we took a trip together once each in our solo canoes. Surely you were not sleeping on the Batsto River in the Pine Barrens cause I watched you twitch your way down a flooded stream of sprouting trees!

 

[memaquay]

Had some photobucket problems. Girls are the backbone of our club, the organizers and the people who know how to keep going when the going gets tough. Here's some pics.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

 

[yellowcanoe]

awesome pics Glenn. I am glad Snakeybird ( an anhinga?) didn't pose the question. how many ladies canoe in dresses.

 

[southcove]

My wife is a paddler, but not a canoeist per se. She has but maybe 5 times in my years of marriage, proposed a day trip, weekend trip, exploration. We have had many neat & rewarding moments on the water, be it in canoe, kayak or white water inflatable but if I gave it up, I think she would be happy to do so without further comment (where I would be whimpering...).

That being said, she has been out on the water in wild places in WA, CA, ME, NY, AK, BC...so there is a spirit of adventure there.

 

[GGTBod]

memaquay they all look like good strong paddlers, would love to get me a good woman in my life who enjoys paddling and camping, I seriously need to stop living in a big city and meet and interact with some real women in my life, sick of the superficial personality dolly birds who are all about how they look with no brains n real lifeskills