New Year, New Attempt

I told my wife I wanted to do a winter kayak launch. She thinks I'm crazy.

The fact is, I miss my kayak in the winter.

I am going to attempt to blog about each kayak trip we take this year, and see if I can keep up.

Stay tuned...

"I suck at blogging"

Obviously, I haven't been keeping up very well with this blog; and I just checked in with the wife (she of the photographic memory) and she can't remember all of the times we've been on the water!

I know we did "Kayak and Coffee" a couple times.

I know we went once with a church group.

I know we went once with our high school class (reunion.)

I know we did French Creek for the first time this year with OARS.

We caught at least one Full Moon Kayak at Two Mile Run.

Maybe I can do better next year...

First Paddle of the Season: Lake Wilhelm

Took the kayaks to Lake Wilhelm on May 3. The weather was great and so was the float, although we realized we're pretty out of shape after a hard winter with no excercise.

Looking forward to more excursions this year!

Our Adventure on the Swamp

Read about our latest adventure here. 

(I was too lazy to do two posts. Sorry.)

New Season, New Opportunities

So, it's the start of a new boating season for us, and I hope to get in some quality time on the water.

I thought I would start with a post about our recent trip to Japan.

While in Japan we visited a large park with a relatively small lake. It was obvious the Japanese like boating, as they waited patiently in line to rent a boat and then joined a throng on the water where, I'm sure, maneuverability was limited at best. We opted to just take a few pictures and not join the folks on the water due to the crowd.

Woodcock Lake

This afternoon we headed for Woodcock lake for a few hours of relaxation on the water.

Getting on the water turned out to be less than relaxing. We were not familiar with the boating facilities at Woodcock and so could not figure out where to go to launch our kayaks. We finally Googled Woodcock and discovered the only boat launch is in side the Colonel Crawford Park

Allegheny River

Wednesday we paddled the Allegheny River from Oil City to Franklin. 2.5 hours on the water. The river was kind of boring - water very slow moving and even a little brackish in places.

There was one place where it got pretty shallow and fast moving for a short distance. We had to dodge some big rocks and that got my heart pumping just a little. We made it through OK so all is well that ends well.

Vacation - time to hit the water

I'll soon be on vacation; looking forward to some time on the water! Will post an update as events happen.

2013 Memorial Paddle on the Allegheny River

We joined the Allegheny Canoe Club for a memorial paddle down the Allegheny River

Paddle down the Allegheny

We were invited to join the Allegheny Canoe Club on a paddle down the Allegheny River from Tionesta to President on Saturday.

Beautiful day, wonderful company; our first "river outing" in the new Kayaks. We saw an amazing variety of water craft, most were much sleeker (and more expensive) than ours, but I was encouraged that we were able to keep up!

We paddled down the river to the bridge at Hunter Station for lunch, then continued on down the river. We left our friends at Kibby Island - they were stopping and we had to "paddle on" as we had another commitment to make - but we will definitely be doing this again!

Photo Galleries fixed

The photo galleries have been fixed. If anyone has any photos or stories to share, please do.

Fun things to do with canoes in the winter.

Warning! Warning! Some of these videos contain some pretty dangerous stuff. I am not recommending you try them. Just showing them off.

Found this neat site.

There is a large list of canoeing terms listed on this site. I just thought I would share it with all of you on this weeks blog post.

Glossary of Canoeing Terminology

I hope you all have been enjoying the weekly posts. Please feel free to visit the blog and comment on posts you see and enjoy. Also, if you would like to write a post please feel free to do that as well, and let me know.

TIPS FOR A FUN AND SAFE CANOE TRIP

Beginners should not take young children their first time out.

No Flip flops! Old sneakers or true water sandals only should be worn.

Bring along a dry change of clothing.(leave in car, change when you return)

Bring along a thirst quenching drink (i.e. water, iced tea, lemonade) in a non-breakable container. Alcohol should not be taken on the river.

Carry food and clothing in a watertight container tied to canoe.

Allow sufficient time for swimming, picnicking, resting.

Keep off private property.

Respect fisherman and don't cross their lines.

Use litter bags and leave only tracks behind.

Use an eyeglass strap for your eyeglasses or sunglasses.

Lock valuables in car.

Wear your life jacket at all times.

Show respect to others on the river.

Protect yourself from the elements (sun, storms).

Enjoy the wildlife and wildflowers, but leave them behind.

Do not leave canoe or equipment unattended.

Do not overload your canoe.

Do not stand up in your canoe.

Dress for the water temperature and be prepared to get wet.

Taken from http://www.canoepa.com/tips/

Naming of Parts—Canoes

Naming of Parts—Canoes

By Tamia Nelson

Canoes come in many different shapes and sizes, and they've been made of all kinds of materials, from paper to concrete. No matter how much they differ, though, they all share certain bits and pieces. We're going to look at some of them here.

To begin with, what makes a canoe different from other boats? Good question. But it's not an easy one to answer. In fact, I won't even try. I don't have to. Farwell took a stab at it a while back. If you're curious, check out his article. (See the first entry in Further Reading, below.) For the moment, however, let's just assume that we all know a canoe when we see one. And now let's name some of the parts.

Take a look at the illustration below. It shows a tandem canoe. A tandem canoe is one designed for two paddlers. Solo boats are intended for…well…solo paddlers. Simple, eh?

Surprised? You didn't know that a canoe could have so many parts? Happily, many of them are self-explanatory. How hard is it to recognize a seat when you see one, after all? But look closer. The two seats aren't the same. One is wider than the other, and it's set further back from its end. What's going on?

Here's the skinny. Many—but not all!—canoes are symmetrical: the front end of the canoe is the same shape as the back end. But paddlers aren't symmetrical. Our front ends don't look much like our back ends, do they? And the two paddlers in a tandem canoe have to face the same way. (You can try paddling facing in opposite directions, but I don't recommend it.) When two paddlers are seated in a tandem canoe, therefore, they both face the front end of the boat, or the bow, and the bow paddler has to squeeze his legs into a narrow, tapered space. So his seat has to be pushed back. The paddler in the rear of the boat—that's the stern—has a much easier time of it. She's got all the room in the world for her legs. So her seat can be closer to her end of the boat.

If the seats are placed right, the result is a well-balanced boat. Canoes are usually happiest when they're trimmed, or balanced, more or less level. That makes sense, doesn't it? In a solo canoe, therefore, the single seat is usually placed just aft of midships. Translation: it's just behind the middle of the boat. That makes for good balance and easy paddling.

Take another look at the illustration above. You'll notice that the canoe in the picture has three thwarts. Thwarts stiffen the canoe and prevent the sides from pulling apart under load. Not all canoes have three thwarts. Some canoes have two; others, only one. A few really large canoes have more than three. It doesn't matter how many thwarts your canoe has, though, just as long as it has enough.

Now look at the cross-section—the sketch that shows you what you'd see if you cut a canoe in half. (Don't try this with your boat!) You'll notice the term tumblehome. No, it's not what the jolly voyageurs did when they'd drunk too much double-distilled rum. Tumblehome refers to the inward slope of the sides of the canoe, up near the boat's gunwale, or top rail. The gunwale—it's pronounced "gunnel," by the way—also acts as a structural support, just like the thwarts. It defines the shape of the boat, in other words, and it helps hold that shape under stress.

Not all canoes have tumblehome. Some have sides that slope outward. This is called flare. And some are straight up and down. (A few sophisticated canoes have flare, tumblehome, and straight sides in different places along their hulls. Isn't fiberglass wonderful?)

Now let's get to the bottom of things. The fore-and-aft centerline of the bottom of a canoe is the keel. Some boats have completely flat, or straight, keels, but most lift a bit at the ends. This lift is called rocker, and it makes boats easier to turn. Canoes with straight keels want to go straight. Canoes with a lot of rocker want to turn. Flatwater paddlers like straight keels. Whitewater paddlers like rockered boats. Different strokes….

Take time to get to know your canoe, and to learn the names of its parts. But remember, the most critical part of a canoe is the big hole at the top that lets in all the water. You want to keep that part high and dry! 'Nuff said.

Copyright © 2001 by Verloren Hoop Productions. All rights reserved.

Original website http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?9

How to Canoe

* An excerpt from: Enjoying the Upper Meramec: a guide for floaters with basic canoe techniques described.
Editorial committee: Jim Jackson, Sandy Primm, Carol Springer.
1980 The Kansas City Star Co.

(Reprinted by permission of Carol Springer).HOW TO CANOE*

Keeping your canoe moving downstream is easy on the streams of the upper Meramec region. You just have to keep the boat pointed in the way you want to go, and let the river do the work. Yet, experience has shown this is not as simple as it appears.

The trick is to get a good start: make sure that the person sitting in the front has enough leg room. (Last summer a friend of ours spent her first float paddling the bow position in a reversed canoe. She had 4 inches of leg room for the trip, and not a very good time.) Generally the person in the front paddles straight forward and the one in the stern also provides forward umph, but is responsible for steering and not tipping.

We might as well face one big issue right off - keeping the canoe steered property can be a source of friction in relationships, platonic or otherwise. Floating can be as challenging as hanging wallpaper. While each couple will have to figure their own way of getting downstream, we suggest that the person in the back worry about the steering and the bow paddler try to provide gentle reminders that a rock or whatever is dead ahead. The bow person makes the best lookout.

The forward stroke is the same for both bow and stern paddlers. Of course there's all kinds of fancy techniques you can learn, but you should know that the upper hand on the paddle grips the handle on top, and does not hold the thing like it was a golf club. The lower arm, holding the paddle's throat - does most of the work, so you might switch paddling sides once in a while to keep both arms evenly exercised.

To turn the canoe, the stern paddler can do one of two things. He or she can do a forward sweep stroke which will turn the canoe toward the side opposite you're paddling on. To do this stroke, you reach the paddle out in front, but instead of pulling it down alongside the canoe, you reach out the blade in the water, making a 'C' shape as if stirring a huge kettle of apple butter. Pull the paddle in as far behind you as you stuck it out in front, then lift it out and do another if necessary. A quicker way of turning is the reverse sweep. It is based on that same ‘C’ shape in the water, but do it backwards, so the paddle is moved toward the bow. The stroke, if done with a fair amount of force, is usually so powerful that it's necessary to do only halfway. Just take the paddle out of the water when your arm holding the throat of the paddle is fully extended in the middle of the stroke. It's best to use these reverse sweeps when a quick turn is necessary.

Even on straight stretches of river, keeping the canoe going straight isn't a simple matter. The easiest way to go straight is for the two floaters to have their paddles on opposite sides of the canoe and both paddle straight ahead.

If you just paddle like that, the canoe ends up going off to one side, right? Okay, to prevent this, the stern person should do the 'J' stroke every second or third stroke. This is probably the trickiest stroke to pick up: you do about three-quarters of a normal stroke, then instead of bringing the paddle straight back, you give the blade a one-quarter turn outward to put a tiny reverse sweep on the end of the stroke. That makes the hook of the 'J'. It'll take a bit of practice to get this one. If you are too frustrated and can't seem to see how the 'J' stroke works, you can always both switch paddling sides every five or six strokes. But that's a hassle.
The only other stroke the sternperson must know is the backwater. It's simply paddling backwards. It will stop you, but not on a dime.

So if you do have to stop, it may be best to hop out - making sure the water's not too deep - and hold onto the pointer (the line tied to the stern or bow) so the canoe doesn't go off without you.
The one special stroke the bow person should know is the 'draw stroke' or 'pull-to'. Both names describe it well: you stick the paddle deep in the water as for out directly opposite from you as you can.

Then pull it in, mainly with the lower arm, to you. The draw stroke takes you towards the side you do it on. You'll need to do left or right draws when rocks or riffles or trees come up. The stroke moves the bow over quickly but does not turn the stern as well, so the person in back had best be ready to also do a draw stroke, or a sweep, when the person in the bow finds it necessary to do this maneuvering.

Canoe Paddling - Focus on the Basics

by Steve Salins
first appeared in Canoe Journal 2005

No matter how practiced a canoeist you are, you can develop bad habits, or “bugs” in your paddling stroke. Let’s review the basic principles of pulling a canoe forward through the water so we can better enjoy trips to come.

One thing that “bugs” me is canoeists who lean forward as they paddle. I wonder if Mom ever taught them to sit up straight. They should. Power and performance in a canoe come from the back, not from leaning forward, and not really from the arms, either. Sit up straight, let your body paddle the canoe, and you’ll find all kinds of untapped power flowing into your paddle blade.

Head up
How do you sit up straight? One way is to start at the top: stabilize your head. Visualize your head moving neither forward or back, nor side to side. A stable head encourages body rotation with each forward stroke. That rotary motion of your body is done with your back, which is more powerful than the strongest of arms. Furthermore, a stable head keeps your body centered in the boat, so your canoe maintains an even keel. A straight posture also allows you to relax; it’s tiring to lean forward all the time. Relaxing in a canoe is a good thing, whether you are moving with purpose or just gunkholing. When you sit straight, relaxed, and with a stable head, you can look around and paddle with more efficient power. Ask a friend to watch you paddle. Does your head stay in one place? If so, good!

Arms Locked
Next, focus on the arms. Power comes from strong back muscles as you rotate; consider each arm to be a connector between your back and your paddle. That’s not to say your arms don’t move; they do. But if you want to learn how it should feel, lock your arms, elbows tight, and take a couple of practice strokes. Even standing on shore doing “air” strokes with rigid arms, you can tell how your body must rotate to complete a stroke (remember, your head stays still). Your back rotation around your spine is your engine; your arms connect the engine to the paddle. Take that same feeling in the canoe with you as you paddle. There’s the body rotation you seek.

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Sit up straight, reach up high to place your paddle in the water, choke up the lower hand on the paddle shaft, and finish up with a relaxing rotating flourish to rewind your engine.

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Grip Hand High
Now that you’re using your body (feels strong, doesn’t it?), help yourself by allowing your grip hand to rise high as you reach forward with the paddle. No mealy arm-action stroke for you—reach that upper hand high and plant your blade in front without leaning forward. Sound contradictory? Here’s another trick to make this work: move your lower hand up the paddle shaft a bit (choke up). Adjust your lower hand so it remains just above the gunwale throughout your paddling motion. Instead of leaning forward to extend your blade, let the lower portion of the paddle shaft do the extension for you, while you stay centered in the boat. You paddle with more authority and increase the range of your paddle blade. No need to lean forward to grab water; it will come to you if you let it. You will feel the difference when you paddle, and if you find your lower hand slipping back into old habits, wrap a few turns of skinny duct tape where the lower hand should be to help remind you.

Follow Up
We’re nearly finished here. You’re sitting up, reaching up, and choking up. Now “follow up” to prepare your body for the next stroke. Whether you use a high recovery (vertical paddle) or a horizontal recovery (across your body), this movement should be the “relax” part of your stroke—while at the same time rewinding your torso to power the next stroke. I think a canoe paddle recovery is the “elegant” portion of canoeing. It’s one independent element that our double-bladed brethren don’t share, since their recovery on one side is concurrent with a power stroke on the other. For canoeists, a relaxed recovery is a moment to be savored.

And there you have it: sit up straight, reach up high to place your paddle in the water, choke up the lower hand on the paddle shaft, and finish up with a relaxing rotating flourish to rewind your engine.
I can feel it already; the bugs are leaving your forward stroke! Good paddling!

Did you take advantage of summer end clearance?

Dunhams and many other sporting goods stores were having their end of summer clearance sales on all boating supplies, camping supplies, kayaks, and canoes. I hope you all had a chance to cash in on this and get supplies for next years Epic Canoe Trip. I picked a few things to be ready. Some of it will also work for the Epic Hiking Trip that I hope will happen next year as well.

A "slightly less than epic" canoe trip

On August 17 Paula and I finally got a little time on the water. It wasn't epic by any means, but it was very enjoyable. We floated down the river from Oil City to Franklin. Ryan dropped us off in Oil City and left a vehicle for us at the Franklin end so when we got out we could just drive home.

The day was beautiful and we had a great time. A few hours on the water can be very healing. I'm thankful we live in an area that has so many great places to canoe, kayak, and boat.

Tieing Knots

Some of you maybe like me and can't remember you Boy Scout days from 16 years ago. You get to the island and go to setup you hammock or tent and realize you can't remember a square knot from a windsor knot.

Well I found a site to help with this.

Animated Knots by Grog™

TIE KNOTS THE FUN AND EASY WAY

This site shows you how to tie any kind of knot and what that knot is best suited for. I have added it to the side bar links for easy access.

Don't forget to tell your friends about EpicCanoeTrip.com!