Thwart placement.

[Jim Dodd]

Thwart placement hit me like a ton of bricks. Well not really. But after having my kids carry the canoe paddles, and me worrying if they remembered them on that last half mile portage in the BWCA. I got the idea to keep the paddles with the canoe. Well that was a no brainer ! I could Velcro them in ! Simple !
That was fine until the Velcro strap came up missing.

Solution ? Place the thwarts in such a position to allow the paddles, to be wedged in place while portaging.
From then on when I built my strippers, I placed the thwarts, so that I could easily wedge the paddles over the thwart, and under the seat, against the bottom of the canoe.. The kids are gone now, and the wedged paddle saves me a trip back to the truck for the paddles.
If you are thinking of building a canoe. You might want to consider this idea.
Here's a pic.

 

[Philtrum]

No Title

I'm not sure how good that is for the paddles, but it's cleaner than my setup. I have two double-velcro keepers on the carry thwart and a bungee on the forward thwart. Of course, I have to replace the stock thwart with my own, but it works to hold paddles as well as makes more room for the pack.

 

[Iskweo]

We have our seats set lower than most people and so we just wedge the blade of the paddle between the front seat drops and the hull. The shaft is up inside and this works pretty slick with no special arrangements needed.

Christy

 

[Jim Dodd]

Here's a pic with my portage yoke.

Jim

 

[BWCA66]

I'm not sure how good that is for the paddles,

Agree with Philtrum, I hate jamming my paddles in and marking them all up. Philtrum, what brand are those paddles?

 

[Philtrum]

Agree with Philtrum, I hate jamming my paddles in and marking them all up. Philtrum, what brand are those paddles?

The one on the left (secured in the red boat) is a Grey Owl Freestyle, and the other is a Sanborn Minnesota (which I've described elsewhere). One of them would have been a Bell/Mitchell graphite/wood bent but my paddling partner was using it.

 

[Philtrum]

Here's a pic with my portage yoke.

Jim

Jim, is your yoke secured to the seat with anything other than friction?

 

[Robin]

Jim, Your yoke seems pretty far off center, is that a single person carry system or do you have a yoke at the other end for another person?

 

[Jim Dodd]

Hi Phil and Robin

The yoke on this canoe is friction fit, on others I use a bungee cord, or a wedge.

This is a solo, and the pads are placed at the balance point, about 5" fore of the seat. I also like the angle and height. The angle keeps the bow raised a little for great trail viewing, as does the height.

On nearly all of my solos, whether they are symmetrical, or asymmetrical. The front edge of the seat is 5 to 6" aft of center.

 

[Robin]

Thanks, Nice idea.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I don't build canoes or usually move the factory thwart placements.

I used to just use string to hold my paddles on a thwart during portages, but now I always have six Bungee Dealee Bobs on my tripping canoe. Four are on the ends of the thwarts or on the seat to lash paddles and other things.

Old Scout ad picture re lashing paddles:

I also have Bungee Dealee Bobs wrapped around through the scuppers on each deck to hold my painters, which I can put either on top of the deck or under the deck. The cord loops further toward the middle of the hull are to clip in my WindPaddle sail.

The Bungee Dealee Bobs on the decks are also useful to hold my GPS when wheel portaging.

Slotted inwales and scuppered decks are de rigueur for a tripping canoe.

 

[Philtrum]

No Title

I don't build canoes or usually move the factory thwart placements.
...
Slotted inwales and scuppered decks are de rigueur for a tripping canoe.

How have I been able to do canoe tripping without slotted inwales and scuppered decks? I guess I'll have to replace some woodwork before my next trip.

As for thwarts, here's something that worked very well for me (before and after pics). Anyone interested in how I made the arched thwart can read all about it here: http://codabone.net/canoeing/canoes/prism_thwart.htm.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Sure ! I love to hear, or I should say read what ideas others have to share !

Jim

 

[wysedav]

Philtrum. Nice site. I book marked it and will be reading it when I get som more free time.

 

[Philtrum]

Philtrum. Nice site. I book marked it and will be reading it when I get som more free time.

Thanks. Suggestions for improvement are always welcome.

 

[ppine]

Some canoes only have 2 thwarts. The first thing I do when I acquire one of those is add the third one, usually behind the front seat. We rarely portage and don't worry much about yokes. Lining is a common practice.