I'm new to the forum and canoeing. I started reading the poling articles and thought poling would be the fix to a situation we get in on our trips down the Oconee River in Georgia from below the Millageville dam to Highway 57 near Toomsboro.. We trip from 3-6 days down the river. Our load is heavy (we like comfort and there are no portages) about 200 pounds. That's with two ice chests where we carry a little water, food, and lots of beer. The river is very stumpy, has lots of fallen trees and areas that are deep enough to float the boat but too shallow to paddle so you wind up using the paddle to push the boat along. I made one of the closet rod pole described in this forum. No 12 foot pole were available so I settled for a 10 foot from Lowes. Did the copper cap ends with the bolts and nuts on them. The river bottom is a lot of gravel and sand so I might make a crows foot for one end. For the last 3-4 years I have been using a 15'4" Gheenoe for the trip but its heavy and slow. I picked up a used Mohawk Blazer 16 canoe to see if I like it better. Mounted a padded seat with a back in the stern ( I know, I know but I'm not a purest. I like comfort.) put Gator Glide on the bottom of the hull to help getting over stumps and logs and shallow places. Used the idea of the strap tie downs pop riveted along the gunnel that I got from this forum. I have learned so much from this forum and the experiences that people have shared I would just like to say thank you. Good folks, good info. Until next time, keep up the good work and don't let the gators get ya.