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- Feb 18, 2019
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Welcome to the "Clubhouse".
Share you canoeing stories and experiences...
Share you canoeing stories and experiences...
The Canoe project Clubhouse
- Thread starter Gilles Korent
- Start date
- Watchers 5
Ahh Yes. I'm a wilderness camper, but don't care to hike with a big pack on my back. A portage or two or 3 is ok, but floating along with my gear in the boat is the best.
Sylvania wilderness area, UP of Michigan, A week in Boundry Waters, Lake Michigan from Green Bay to Fairport MI, Isle Royal - around and on the island, Apostle Islands, A week in Algonquin Provincial Park, and all the lakes and rivers of Michigan and Ontario to explore. MY MY MY, what memories. Nothing soothes the soul like paddling on a quiet deserted lake, listening to the loons. No people, no traffic noise, just solitude. Occasionally a fresh fish for dinner, often an eagle, once in while a black bear. I even got the Admiral to accompany me a few times. She actually canoed across the Straits of Mackinaw with me TWICE. We had been camping on the north end of Bois Blanc Island and decided to canoe over to Mackinac Island for the day. Saved us a ferry fee from Mackinaw City. Had her in Sylvania in October once, and we had an early cold snap with snow. Two days of that and the sun came out and it got up to 70 degrees F. She was dressed with everything on she had with her. Looked like the Michelin Lady, laying in the late afternoon sun on the waters edge.
Didn't seem to bug her a bit while I fixed supper.
EJ
Sylvania wilderness area, UP of Michigan, A week in Boundry Waters, Lake Michigan from Green Bay to Fairport MI, Isle Royal - around and on the island, Apostle Islands, A week in Algonquin Provincial Park, and all the lakes and rivers of Michigan and Ontario to explore. MY MY MY, what memories. Nothing soothes the soul like paddling on a quiet deserted lake, listening to the loons. No people, no traffic noise, just solitude. Occasionally a fresh fish for dinner, often an eagle, once in while a black bear. I even got the Admiral to accompany me a few times. She actually canoed across the Straits of Mackinaw with me TWICE. We had been camping on the north end of Bois Blanc Island and decided to canoe over to Mackinac Island for the day. Saved us a ferry fee from Mackinaw City. Had her in Sylvania in October once, and we had an early cold snap with snow. Two days of that and the sun came out and it got up to 70 degrees F. She was dressed with everything on she had with her. Looked like the Michelin Lady, laying in the late afternoon sun on the waters edge.
Didn't seem to bug her a bit while I fixed supper.
EJ
Loons have a unique somewhat haunting call that seems to reverberate off the water or adjacent rock faces making an evening paddle magic! PT-2
Nothing like bunch of old guys sitting around talking around and through where their teeth used to be.!!
Lots of stories.. all of which center on the outdoors, and some of which have canoes as one of the star players.
Thinking about the U.P.. That easily recognizable prominent plot of land that extends northern Michigan west toward Minnesota and the area known as the "Boundary Waters Canoe Area". If you have never seen this area, you really need to go. It's not a rush of excitement like dropping into a rock chute on a class IV, knowing that you're no longer in control and your immediate future is controlled by God and what little good sense He gave you and which, up until now, you have chosen not to use. Nope...not like that at all.!!! The Boundary Waters are classic. Paddle and commune with nature. Catch a fish or two for dinner. Camp on the shoreline (preferably in a breezy area..) and think about everything you've done wrong and praying God lets you see a few more hours, days, ...years to properly enjoy these wondrous places. Looking around, you feel so small and insignificant. In a few short days you can breathe fresh air, orient yourself with the natural world, and get in tune with reality. All this with absolutely NO contact with other humans.....relying solely on yourself, becoming one with the world which surrounds you and divorcing the constant babble and pressures of a more suburban existence.
Not bad; not bad at all.
Lots of stories.. all of which center on the outdoors, and some of which have canoes as one of the star players.
Thinking about the U.P.. That easily recognizable prominent plot of land that extends northern Michigan west toward Minnesota and the area known as the "Boundary Waters Canoe Area". If you have never seen this area, you really need to go. It's not a rush of excitement like dropping into a rock chute on a class IV, knowing that you're no longer in control and your immediate future is controlled by God and what little good sense He gave you and which, up until now, you have chosen not to use. Nope...not like that at all.!!! The Boundary Waters are classic. Paddle and commune with nature. Catch a fish or two for dinner. Camp on the shoreline (preferably in a breezy area..) and think about everything you've done wrong and praying God lets you see a few more hours, days, ...years to properly enjoy these wondrous places. Looking around, you feel so small and insignificant. In a few short days you can breathe fresh air, orient yourself with the natural world, and get in tune with reality. All this with absolutely NO contact with other humans.....relying solely on yourself, becoming one with the world which surrounds you and divorcing the constant babble and pressures of a more suburban existence.
Not bad; not bad at all.
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
I remember a three day 50 miler we did in Boy Scouts. Travel by bus up river into Kansas to dam on the river which lead down south to big lake where the troop had
Set up summer camp for the week!
Set up summer camp for the week!
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2020
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- 738
Wow, your description makes you want to travel there, the pictures are beautiful.
We'll probably have to wait for the corona to pass.
I have a dream of meeting friends from the site in a location where we can learn from each other and also enjoy the landscapes and nature
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
With a batch of new member introductions I now have about half a dozen folks within a days drive, many in north central Texas, the Dallas/Ft Worth area. Along with a few in surrounding states.
I would be nice to have a weekend at motel for all to gather and have a show and tell, like I have seen in Europe in Paris last year.
I would be nice to have a weekend at motel for all to gather and have a show and tell, like I have seen in Europe in Paris last year.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2019
- Messages
- 685
- Points
- 353
Well! The thing about building a model such as a canoe is that many can directly relate to the experience of using one at some point in life; unlike building a victory or such. It may look different but it may well trigger memories. And at the same time, many canoe users wish they could have built one of these "fancy" floating woodstrip work-of-art: and this may be as close to fulfilling this dream as one could ever get.
G
G
If you wait to head out you will only be older when you do. Solo trips provide distancing that society in general doesn't understand in the crowed masses that they are tethered with. PT-2
Another short story...
In the early 1990's....I was paddling a Penobscot 17, Pathfinder 15, and an earlier wood/fiberglass tripper, all built by Old Town Canoes out of Old Town, Maine. I still have the Pathfinder and what remains of the fiberglass tripper. The Penobscot was given to a friend. It was a great boat.... slippery in the water, fast, and could carry a load. I rigged both the Penobscot and the fiberglass tripper with flotation bags and used them sort of interchangeably on casual down-river floats and for canoe camping with my wife. The Penobscot was actually the better boat for rivers as it was more maneuverable and more resilient, so a lot better for whitewater. The Pathfinder was a really stable boat and worked well as a solo craft and for fishing. It was along about this time that I was asked by my canoe dealer in Raleigh, NC if I wanted to "help out" with the Olympic Trials for the US Canoe/Kayak team. Of course I said "YES".....
The Canoe/Kayak events are divided into two classifications. One is "Slalom" which is another way of saying "whitewater" and was held up in the mountains of NC (or maybe Tennessee..??) These days it is held on largely artificial slalom courses, but back then it was 100% natural.! The other classification was known as "Sprint", which was a flatwater, straightaway course sometimes involving one turn around a pylon. Some of these events were as short as 200 meters and some were longer...up to 1000 meters. And of course there were both mens and women teams. I didn't want to travel to Tennessee to donate my time (I know...I'm selfish..!), so I decided to help out the "Sprint" team which was holding their trial at Lake Wheeler, just a little south of Raleigh.
One of our jobs was to act as a "starter" at the beginning of the race heat. We were positioned on a platform on our knees, one of us for each boat in the race. We had to gently guide the back of the canoe/kayak into position and gently hold it there until the start when the paddler would flail madly into action and the boat would literally "leap" forward onto the course and head for the finish somewhere down the line. As was frequently the case, the canoeist and his wildly flashing paddle threw up a very nice rooster tail on the take off, and me, being on my knees and close to the boat and the water, absorbed the "full facial effect" of the launch. Spluttering a bit, I reached up to wipe my face and promptly fell face first into the lake.!! With nothing hurt except my pride, I managed to make my way to land where I was promptly replaced on the starting line by someone who apparently had a better sense of balance.
After wringing out my clothes and shoes, I was escorted back to the officials tent where I received my next assignment. I was given a whistle, a clipboard, and a box of little jars. I was told to wait at the finish line and capture each competitor then escort them to the latrine where I was to collect a urine sample for drug testing..!!! Oh, the humiliation.!!!
In the early 1990's....I was paddling a Penobscot 17, Pathfinder 15, and an earlier wood/fiberglass tripper, all built by Old Town Canoes out of Old Town, Maine. I still have the Pathfinder and what remains of the fiberglass tripper. The Penobscot was given to a friend. It was a great boat.... slippery in the water, fast, and could carry a load. I rigged both the Penobscot and the fiberglass tripper with flotation bags and used them sort of interchangeably on casual down-river floats and for canoe camping with my wife. The Penobscot was actually the better boat for rivers as it was more maneuverable and more resilient, so a lot better for whitewater. The Pathfinder was a really stable boat and worked well as a solo craft and for fishing. It was along about this time that I was asked by my canoe dealer in Raleigh, NC if I wanted to "help out" with the Olympic Trials for the US Canoe/Kayak team. Of course I said "YES".....
The Canoe/Kayak events are divided into two classifications. One is "Slalom" which is another way of saying "whitewater" and was held up in the mountains of NC (or maybe Tennessee..??) These days it is held on largely artificial slalom courses, but back then it was 100% natural.! The other classification was known as "Sprint", which was a flatwater, straightaway course sometimes involving one turn around a pylon. Some of these events were as short as 200 meters and some were longer...up to 1000 meters. And of course there were both mens and women teams. I didn't want to travel to Tennessee to donate my time (I know...I'm selfish..!), so I decided to help out the "Sprint" team which was holding their trial at Lake Wheeler, just a little south of Raleigh.
One of our jobs was to act as a "starter" at the beginning of the race heat. We were positioned on a platform on our knees, one of us for each boat in the race. We had to gently guide the back of the canoe/kayak into position and gently hold it there until the start when the paddler would flail madly into action and the boat would literally "leap" forward onto the course and head for the finish somewhere down the line. As was frequently the case, the canoeist and his wildly flashing paddle threw up a very nice rooster tail on the take off, and me, being on my knees and close to the boat and the water, absorbed the "full facial effect" of the launch. Spluttering a bit, I reached up to wipe my face and promptly fell face first into the lake.!! With nothing hurt except my pride, I managed to make my way to land where I was promptly replaced on the starting line by someone who apparently had a better sense of balance.
After wringing out my clothes and shoes, I was escorted back to the officials tent where I received my next assignment. I was given a whistle, a clipboard, and a box of little jars. I was told to wait at the finish line and capture each competitor then escort them to the latrine where I was to collect a urine sample for drug testing..!!! Oh, the humiliation.!!!
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I can picture it now from you description. I did the same type of public self-embarresment I a different sport. I served on the National Ski Patrol for over 40 years. One day while trying to be too helpful to a skier, good looking young woman, in the chair ahead of mine while loading had dropped her ski poles. I gallantly as a National Ski Patroller, during my own loading and not yet in the chairlift seat, just bent forward, nose down to pick up the poles. At the same time the chair seat came swinging forward catching me in the butt and rocketing me about ten feet forward. I immediately ducked to avoid the chair over my head and while scrambling out of the way realized that everyone standing in line to load was cheering and laughing. Last time that I tried that maneuver while loading. The operators can pick up the poles for the next riders up to carry and deliver. PT-2
Working on my 19-inch canoe is a dangerous involvement of memories and current urges at 79 come November to buy a full size canoe. . . first a stripper which I cannot afford, . . and then possibly an Old Town 158 Discovery which is just under some size regulations in Oregon but there is no room in my garage or yard for storage. The weight would be too much for myself to load/unload but with my son or other paddling companion would almost be longer than my Subaru Outback but could be cartopped to some waiting waters. Hard urge to keep down and questionable how often the present cost would be paid back in the number of trips used. Oh well, I'll keep pondering this challenge of buy or not with every successive part of completion of the 19-in cherry stripper, only in the waters of my mind. PT-2
Oh the indecision goes on . . . to buy or not to buy a canoe. Looking at strippers they are out of my realistic range but there was a strange 12 footer for about $1,500, cedar, fiber -glassed inside and out weighing only 35 lbs. It must have an eggshell hull. Few details but the sales pitch (hype) makes it sound like a good deal. As the car salesman said, "Trust ME!" I don't like buying what I cannot touch and examine as I please.
If I give in I'll probably settle for an Old Town Discovery 158 (15' - 8") at $1,099 plus $90 shipping for 87 lbs of paddling fun. Oh yes, I'll have to make some paddles, maybe flotation bags, and a cartop lift for the garage load/unload/storage. It doesn't have the vicerial draw of a stripper!!!! PT-2
I stumbled upon an hour long video on building a birch bark canoe in the native fashion. No lumber yard materials but everything cut from the forest trees, hand split and carved to shape. Stitching is by split roots, soaked and woven back and forth. The only thing not shown and modern is in the final pitching closure of the bark seams. Birch Bark Canoe on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFSjKRnUzVo
You may have to do a selection step in how you want to open the link to see and hear the narrative. PT-2
I'm sorry that I seem not able to follow instructions how to post the YouTube video media directly for viewing after several tries. Maybe I'll get it figured out sometime.
PT-2
I think that I got the YouTube video inserted correctly.
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
Looks like you have followed the instructions!
Now to find time to watch!
Now to find time to watch!
Not quite there with the two links. The first was OK but then I see a second one also. ????