Canoe help

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Can anyone post pix of Your set-up.. Canoe, dry bags, wet bags, paddles and so On.. What have You found to work best for You.. This may helps others as it will give Me ideas to try..

[woodworker]

dpg is right on the money for books about canoe building look him up Ted has been up to quite a bit more and is very talented when it comes to wood working and getting his thoughts across.

[Steve B.]

Here's my canoe loaded for 5 days on the Johnday and a couple of other pics of the river.  Again, I flipped the canoe around and paddled from the front seat for better leverage.  I know from rafting that you want as much of the payload toward the center and low as possible but not so much that the front of the canoe comes out of the water as its more affected by wind and does not draft as well.
I have about 600 total lbs. in this load including myslef, with a woodstove, firewood, shelter, and necessary fishing, hunting, and camping gear.  I used sealable buckets and bags for important items and allowed for woodstove and wood to get wet if the canoe went over, but all survival type stuff is sealed.
Hopefully these pics come through...

   

 

 

[Steve B.]

I sat in front of the yellow bag, on the black seat whose backrest is folded down in the pic.  I paddled with a cheap plastic paddle and had a spare (which I ended up needing when I got high centered in a rapid and lost my primary).  As someone earlier said, get the better paddles as they make a difference.  Some are scoop-shaped and are more efficient, and lighter, but expensive.
The blue bag is a dry duffle with my daily essentials like camera, snacks, maps, etc. so i can access easy right there in front of me.

Mysticguido, whatever you get you'll have fun and learn something, and whose to say, you might love your short canoe....that's all that matters is that you're happy.  No judgement here.  But my research and experience is that there's nowhere a 16ft. canoe can't go on a solo trip and its minimum for good all-around performance.  I would highly recommend at least the 16 ft. and with the proper design for the type of water you'll be on.

Good luck..

[Brock]

Steve you use a kneeling thwart you installed or just use the brace and some knee pads...

that is one thing about my Northwind...love it but with the asymetrical hull design it does not paddle well backwards...so I have to put more weight towards bow to keep it down and out of wind or it will spin like a top. LOL

Hoping I win the Souris Quietco from paddling.net this month LOL

[Steve B.]

Brock,
You know, I was told I could take that wooden thwart out if I wanted to paddle from the back but I found, with the padded seat, that my thighs laid across the top of that wood just fine and I could even hook my legs around it for stability so I left it in place.  I vowed to stay in the seat and not paddle from the kneeling position as I spent alot of time in fast, shallow stuff and needed to jump out regularly so had to have my feet ready to swing over the side.

[olddogrib]

You'll have to "slap leather", but a high-tec, light-weight paddle of the proper length is invaluable.  I think mine was made by Iliad and was thrown in when I bought my first used Old Town Tripper.  I gave it to a smallmouth fishing buddy after he lost one.  When I went to replace it, I like to died when I discovered it was more than $100.  I think mine was fiberglass, but you can get carbon now too.  After a day on the water you'll appreciate it.

[misfire]

I used to own several canoes as well as several kayaks. Got rid of everything except my Mad River 14 ft single seat Guide canoe. A boat that does everything I want.

[reddogge]

MysticG,
Here are some really old scanned pics. of my son and I on 3-4 day trips on the Shenandoah in a 17'3" Old Town Tripper. These were very rocky trip so paddles were cheap aluminum/plastic. All camping gear,fishing gear aboard.
 
Canoe loaded with two people and a dog. Note all gear below gunwales for stability.
 
Shot of float bag in front, dry bag middle, extra paddle lashed, canvas bag for gear that could get wet.
 
Shot of front float bag lashed in and my daughter on a fishing trip.
 
Camp was two man tent and a nylon tarp.
 
Two dry bags for clothes, sleeping bags, food stored amidships.
   
Fore and aft float bags deflated.
 
We also carried a small Playmate cooler and an ammo box for wallet, keys, camera, etc.