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So I bought a canoe

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Hello, new to the site and new to canoeing. I have done a lot of paddling, mostly in the ocean and have never really paddled a canoe. My goal is to be able to do an overnight or mutiday trip with my family. I started looking for a canoe on craigslist in southern california and there were actually quite a few although I would consider canoe paddling in this area very rare. Most people probably take them on road trips to the Sierra Nevada or lakes in central/northen California. I found an Old Town Canadienne and after some quick research, decided it was a good buy for $400. It looks like it was made in 1983, but it is still in great shape. 17'2" and green fiberglass construction with wood thwarts, yoke and seats. Cane seats are a bit rough, but seller gave me new cane for replacement. Gunwales are plastic and the bottom of the canoe is almost pristine. I need to buy some paddles so I can get it out on the water for a test. I will be learning to paddle in the nearby harbor with my son in the bow seat. I am hoping to learn as much as I can from this forum. Thanks for reading, beck.
 
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Congrats! Great boat for a great price. It might feel a little tender at first compared to what you and your wife are expecting but with a little seat time you should find it plenty stable.

Alan
 
Welcome to the site and congrats on your canoe purchase!

Most of us might not think of California as "canoe country", but this guy sure made it work...

abeard.jpg


A short bio of him here if interested.
 
Cool article! You would never see that today, but now I know it is possible. The last guy I saw attempt to paddle an aluminum canoe through the surf was swamped in less than a minute. The bow and stern of my boat have glassed in sections that I assume are full of foam for minimum floataion should a capsize occur. There is a small hole at the bottom of the bulkhead the size of a fat pencil. Is this to drain or air out the foam? I ask because the hole does not look professional or finished in nature and I don't know if the PO put them threre himself or they came from the factory like that. Also I put together 1 paddle for my son from a broken carbon SUP paddle. Made a wooden T handle and its good to go.
 
Flotation chambers need a way to equalize air pressure..let the air in or out. Otherwise if you take your canoe over the passes in the Rockies you could find your canoe float chambers exploding
 
Congratulations. You'll have to drive to paddle fresh water in SoCal.

The Canadienne was designed by the late, great, legendary and truly unique Ralph Frese in his once-famous Chicagoland Canoe Base.

 
A Canadienne is a great boat. I met Ralph F once in Chicago. We all miss him.
Salt water paddling is different. It is big with ships, fog, and 12 foot swells. I would consider a cover for any serious ocean paddling. It takes awhile to get to shore when the wind starts to build. I would also dress for immersion and wear the appropriate wet or dry suit. Maybe a shorty in summer.
 
Flotation chambers need a way to equalize air pressure..let the air in or out. Otherwise if you take your canoe over the passes in the Rockies you could find your canoe float chambers exploding
Yellowcanoe, Thanks for that info. We have the same type of vent on some surfboards and paddleboards, but it is a vent plug with an o ring. Tighen it up when you head out for waterproofness and then open it up when back on the beach. They are for expansion from heat not altitude, but it is the same idea.
 
Change in altitude does the same thing has a change in temperature, it changes the pressure. Boyle's Law.
 
Well technically speaking... not really. A change in altitude changes the outside forces on the vessel, it does nothing to the inside. There is no way for the gas inside the vessel to 'know' it's at a different altitude. There are a certain number of molecules in there with a certain amount of energy at a certain temperature.

What does happen at higher altitudes is the force balance on the vessel changes. The outside pressure decreases so the pressure differential between the inside of the tank and the outside becomes greater... and that's all pop-off valves are, differential pressure valves. It acts to maintain a a constant delta pressure between the two.

So if you are at sea level and you increase the temperature, you increase the pressure inside the tank and the valve opens to allow some molecules out to balance that.

If you go to high altitude the outside pressure drops but if it's at the same temp as it was at sea level, the pressure inside is the same. Less force acts on the outside surface of the tank causing the differential to be greater and have the same effect as raising the temp at sea level.

In relation to Boyle's law, the volume of the tank is fixed, so if the temperature remains fixed, the pressure inside remains fixed. Don't confuse Newtons laws with Boyle's law.
 
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