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EvilJoven
Mar 18, 2005

NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?
Fun Shoe
Hey canoe thread. We bought an electric trolling motor for our canoe for the odd time we need to cross longer distances with heavier loads more quickly and also for station keeping in faster water while fishing. We're trying to source a decent deep cycle battery for it because normal car batteries generally do not hold up well to being used to power trolling motors.

We're looking for something light for carrying with a decent battery life. We know this is gonna cost us. Also it needs to be available in Canada.

Anyone have any suggestions?

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Elmnt80
Dec 30, 2012


You'd be looking at lithium for a light trolling motor battery. Otherwise you're looking at a standard deep cycle lead acid battery or an agm battery. Lithium batteries will be quite a bit more expensive, but easily carryable.

Also know a lithium battery is going to require its own dedicated charger, a regular battery charger will not work with a lithium battery.

Elmnt80 fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Jul 19, 2020

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

hi canoe thread, last year i canoed 450 miles across the northeast until my poo poo was stolen in rural vermont and there was no canoe thread, glad to see you.

Bobfly
Apr 22, 2007
EGADS!
Sails on kayaks/canoes. Genius or pointless extra weight?
I can't decide, especially after seeing how relatively little heeling force a crab claw sail adds. Maybe it has some merit?

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

id say it really depends on the craft and conditions, but it seems like it would be way more worth it on a kayak. have you looked at these yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI1bBhN_nLc

i looked at them before our trip as a joke/lark because we crossed a ton of huge open water but didn't jump.

Luvcow
Jul 1, 2007

One day nearer spring

charity rereg posted:

hi canoe thread, last year i canoed 450 miles across the northeast until my poo poo was stolen in rural vermont and there was no canoe thread, glad to see you.

backstory if you have the time and are willing to share

Bobfly
Apr 22, 2007
EGADS!

charity rereg posted:

id say it really depends on the craft and conditions, but it seems like it would be way more worth it on a kayak. have you looked at these yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI1bBhN_nLc

i looked at them before our trip as a joke/lark because we crossed a ton of huge open water but didn't jump.

Yeah, that looks decent and very low on added complexity, which is brilliant, but doesn't seem viable on too many points of sail. I guess you're right that they make more sense for a kayak, with the daggerboard and all, and it's probably not going to be great when inland... But yeah. I was looking at something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9FjFzJ9dZ4
Though, yeah, the original boats using these did use outriggers. Probably for good reason.

predictive
Jan 11, 2006

For awesome, press 1.
I was looking at the sail kit Hobie makes for my Outback, and the consensus seems to be that while it works and will provide propulsion, medium to stiff breezes will put you over without outriggers. Several people also noted that you are going to want a sail you can furl if the wind suddenly starts gusting so you can avoid capsizing. I still think the idea is cool enough that I decided to go a different direction and buy something designed for sailing.

predictive fucked around with this message at 15:22 on Jul 20, 2020

Bobfly
Apr 22, 2007
EGADS!
That's my worry, yeah, though at a glance the sails they make seem fairly traditionally western, ie with a somewhat high centre of action, which is what I was hoping wouldn't plague the alternative designs quite so badly.

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

Luvcow posted:

backstory if you have the time and are willing to share

Another goon friend and I attempted the Northern Forest Canoe Trail last year in a Kevlar Winonah Escape 17'6" - we made it up to Island Pond VT when I got my stuff stolen (we were doing a 90 mile section of upstream paddling after crossing Lake Champlain into VT). We started in Old Forge NY, went through the fulton chain of lakes, down the racquette river into saranac, then out the saranac river up to Champlain.

We crossed an international border and canoed into and out of Quebec, portaged probably over 75 miles, only did 1 double carry on the entire trip, and after my stuff got stolen we turned south and came home on the Connecticut River until we met up with a family friend in southern VT and went home where I was instantly almost fired from my job. Due to the way it ended I have had some really weird feelings about it and haven't really talked about it, and also didn't write enough things down when it was fresh.

The stuff got stolen when we took the boat out because we couldn't paddle against the current anymore and we kinda stupidly walked the packs up to the road & scouted, then came back for the boat. In the 5-10 min we were gone someone drove up the shoulder of the rode and stole (only my) pack including my glasses, money, cards, passport, and probably $900 in gear.


We camped every night on either some designated sites, shelters, and open camping along the trail or just... you know, wherever. If you ever want to feel strong as hell I recommend canoeing and portaging in the summer heat for 5 weeks. We are obviously going to try it again as soon as we can but that'll be a bit, as I said work almost fired me for being the victim of a crime and it was a really weird/sore/therapy worthy subject for me for a while.

I am now happy to talk about literally any of it but its a very personal sort of experience so not sure what people would be interested in knowing :)

I do a lot of hiking as well and really am not an expert canoeist but now I would happily call myself intermediate. Oh also we sat in the same seats on the boat for the entire trip, no swapping.

bus hustler fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Jul 20, 2020

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

Also yeah just get a Sunfish

Luvcow
Jul 1, 2007

One day nearer spring

charity rereg posted:

Another goon friend and I attempted the Northern Forest Canoe Trail last year in a Kevlar Winonah Escape 17'6" - we made it up to Island Pond VT when I got my stuff stolen (we were doing a 90 mile section of upstream paddling after crossing Lake Champlain into VT). We started in Old Forge NY, went through the fulton chain of lakes, down the racquette river into saranac, then out the saranac river up to Champlain.

We crossed an international border and canoed into and out of Quebec, portaged probably over 75 miles, only did 1 double carry on the entire trip, and after my stuff got stolen we turned south and came home on the Connecticut River until we met up with a family friend in southern VT and went home where I was instantly almost fired from my job. Due to the way it ended I have had some really weird feelings about it and haven't really talked about it, and also didn't write enough things down when it was fresh.

The stuff got stolen when we took the boat out because we couldn't paddle against the current anymore and we kinda stupidly walked the packs up to the road & scouted, then came back for the boat. In the 5-10 min we were gone someone drove up the shoulder of the rode and stole (only my) pack including my glasses, money, cards, passport, and probably $900 in gear.


We camped every night on either some designated sites, shelters, and open camping along the trail or just... you know, wherever. If you ever want to feel strong as hell I recommend canoeing and portaging in the summer heat for 5 weeks. We are obviously going to try it again as soon as we can but that'll be a bit, as I said work almost fired me for being the victim of a crime and it was a really weird/sore/therapy worthy subject for me for a while.

I am now happy to talk about literally any of it but its a very personal sort of experience so not sure what people would be interested in knowing :)

I do a lot of hiking as well and really am not an expert canoeist but now I would happily call myself intermediate. Oh also we sat in the same seats on the boat for the entire trip, no swapping.

sorry that happened to you, especially in vermont which always seems like such a "nice" state. the trip sounds awesome though.

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

Luvcow posted:

sorry that happened to you, especially in vermont which always seems like such a "nice" state. the trip sounds awesome though.

It is an extremely high poverty area with the usual issues, and could have been prevented by me hiding my bag. That said we constantly walked away from various gear/camps in towns and it went fine until it didn't. In the end we did not have time to finish given the ~5-6 weeks I had from work due to an earlier bout of my partner getting food poisoning in NY, but yeah it was an absolutely incredible trip. We hitched/walked a long way to a Walmart and I restocked what I could via that, local shopping, & amazon prime to a kindly business in town.

I'm mostly annoyed that they didn't really get anything. The backpack was decent but just a dick's sports brand, my tent was expensive but you wouldn't know it (it's a cottage manufacturer) and had been slept in for 5 weeks in its 3rd year of full time service. sleeping bag was a few seasons old and getting tossed after this trip, also slept in for 5 weeks. i had a gps tracker (it was off as we were following a road) but that can't be used as it's linked to my ID, etc. CCs weren't even used. I just wanted my goddamn glasses.

Jump King
Aug 10, 2011

That's garbage.

What other canoe trails have you done? I'm assuming that you didn't just start with that one.

prom candy
Dec 16, 2005

Only I may dance
What paddle should I get for my sit-on-top fishing kayak? I want to be able to cover more water without getting sore so quickly.

Yesterday I was out fishing on this great spot where the depth of the lake goes from like 90 or 100 feet down to maybe 20 or so. The smallmouth love to party there and I catch pretty much every time I'm there. Well long story short I had to cut my awesome retractable dog leash anchor because it got hopelessly wedged between two rocks. I can't decide if I should get another anchor or maybe just get a drift sock.

here she is, feat. dog back and floating unicorn

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

Jump King posted:

That's garbage.

What other canoe trails have you done? I'm assuming that you didn't just start with that one.

Heck yeah I did :) I had done the first 90 miles (it mirrors much of the adirondack 90 miler at the start) over a few days with this and another friend, but otherwise the longest trail i've done in one go was the NY section of the AT. I'd spent 5 days in a canoe before we set out, and it was a few years back. Great way to beat yourself into shape.

If we do it again I remain torn on the boat. The weight of the kevlar was awesome for the portages (we built a cart) however it made us have to portage a lot more around some fairly tame rapids.

Jump King
Aug 10, 2011

charity rereg posted:

Heck yeah I did :) I had done the first 90 miles (it mirrors much of the adirondack 90 miler at the start) over a few days with this and another friend, but otherwise the longest trail i've done in one go was the NY section of the AT. I'd spent 5 days in a canoe before we set out, and it was a few years back. Great way to beat yourself into shape.

If we do it again I remain torn on the boat. The weight of the kevlar was awesome for the portages (we built a cart) however it made us have to portage a lot more around some fairly tame rapids.

christ, ok, I should stop being such a coward

NoWake
Dec 28, 2008

College Slice
Hello thread,

I decided to take my kayak solo down the Chicago River, managed not to die nor contract anything (this is about a month ago) and I didn't even get my kayak stolen!

I put-in at Clark Playlot Park on the north side, and parked my truck at the curb. Free parking, no time limit.



Paddled southbound for about two hours until I hit the city. This was by far the most enjoyable part of the trip, nice and calm and even some spots of trees and wildlife in the middle of the city.







Took the dog-leg east toward Lake Michigan, By that time I had to piss something fierce, and being surrounded by seawall and other people, there wasn't really a good place to do it. Until I spotted it... a construction barge with a portapotty! Pulled up, got out, and used the hell out of that thing. Afterward I floated around by the Lakeshore Drive bridge and ate some of my picnic lunch.







Headed south through the canyon of buildings, which petered out to just seawalls and industrial areas.










Floated under this railroad bridge in operation, didn't get to see it raise but I did hear it's horn go off while I was about 1/2 mile away and around a few bends. A couple minutes later, I saw the barge it had opened for. I pulled to the side, acknowledged the pilot, and he slowed as they passed to not upset the kayak. Fucker was MASSIVE and there's no way it would stop or avoid you if you're just tootling around in the middle of the channel.



Finally pulled up to Park No. 571 and got out, locket the kayak to a bike rack and headed out to the nearest CTA station to make my way back to the truck.



All in all, pretty fun trip! Pretty safe I'd say, unless you're a complete moron and don't keep your head on a swivel for the tourist barges and other boats.

prom candy
Dec 16, 2005

Only I may dance
That looks like a super cool trip

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

prom candy posted:

That looks like a super cool trip

Yeah that looks awesome, I want to take my boat out (or rent) in a more urban setting. I've actually never kayaked either.

Though the cyclist in me is :ohdear: at the nice boat locked with just a cable lock

some kinda jackal
Feb 25, 2003

 
 
As part of my 2021 travel plans, plague permitting, I'm planning on to do a kayak tour of the Sumida in Tokyo. Seems like an amazing vantage point to take in a city I've seen from ground level numerous times, but never from the water.

Flatland Crusoe
Jan 12, 2011

Great White Hunter
Master Race

Let me explain why I'm better than you

NoWake posted:

. Afterward I floated around by the Lakeshore Drive bridge and ate some of my picnic lunch.




I used to live about 200 yards north of where this picture was taken. Paddling the Chicago River was a cool experience because of the concrete canyon effect and just the traffic volume. You had to be paying attention but I never felt it was dangerous. We always rented kayaks up on Lincoln park because when I lived in Chicago my boats were always in storage in another state.

Flatland Crusoe
Jan 12, 2011

Great White Hunter
Master Race

Let me explain why I'm better than you
Hello kayak thread, I’ve been around small boats my whole life. Growing up we lived on a small lake and had an Osagian wide bodied Aluminum canoe and later my dad got a Phoenix Poke Boat Kevlar Maxi sometime in the mid 90’s which made me fall in love with kayaks. Having a sub 30 lb 13 foot wide kayak really opens up possibilities of where you can go and at good speed. We mostly used the poke boat for waterfowl hunting but also some fishing and lake trips. We paddled the Missouri River quite a bit with the canoe as well as most of the Ozark scenic water ways in southern Missouri.

After college I got the hair brained idea to race the Missouri River 340, that is a nonstop canoe race from Kansas City to St. Louis down the Missouri River. For that race I ended up buying a used 18.5’ Crozier V1 carbon fiber racing canoe which was very fast, around 36 lbs for a tandem boat, but also very tippy. The carbon skin was so thin you could feel Asian carp hitting the outside of your boat at times. We ended getting about the hottest year of that race and finished it in 60 hours or. We sold the crozier shortly after to a team doing the race the following year.

Around the same time I got a future beach 126 plastic kayak for $300 or so. It’s a slow heavy pig at nearly 60 lbs for a 10.5’ boat but it is quite stable and is a decent recreational boat. I’d really like to pick up a Kevlar Wenonah canoe as a nice mix of capacity, durability and weight or if I can ever find a tandem poke boat within a days drive I’d buy one of those too.

Evil Bob
May 2, 2004

've lived a thousand times. I found out what it means to be GBS.
Does anyone have paddle board recommendations?

Looking in the sub $1000 range, for rivers and lakes, epoxy (not inflatable) mostly just for getting out on lakes and rivers while camping and stuff, but I would be interested in touring potentially.

Seems like there are tons of small brands out there and I've got no idea where to start. I just love paddling every time I get a chance to go out.

https://www.islesurfandsup.com/stand-up-paddle-boards/epoxy/

These are mostly what I've been looking at. Please give me suggestions of other manufacturers to check out.

Thanks!

free hubcaps
Oct 12, 2009

charity rereg posted:

It is an extremely high poverty area with the usual issues, and could have been prevented by me hiding my bag. That said we constantly walked away from various gear/camps in towns and it went fine until it didn't. In the end we did not have time to finish given the ~5-6 weeks I had from work due to an earlier bout of my partner getting food poisoning in NY, but yeah it was an absolutely incredible trip. We hitched/walked a long way to a Walmart and I restocked what I could via that, local shopping, & amazon prime to a kindly business in town.

I'm mostly annoyed that they didn't really get anything. The backpack was decent but just a dick's sports brand, my tent was expensive but you wouldn't know it (it's a cottage manufacturer) and had been slept in for 5 weeks in its 3rd year of full time service. sleeping bag was a few seasons old and getting tossed after this trip, also slept in for 5 weeks. i had a gps tracker (it was off as we were following a road) but that can't be used as it's linked to my ID, etc. CCs weren't even used. I just wanted my goddamn glasses.

yea people unfamiliar with northern new england are always surprised by some of the poverty you find in the northwoods. Opioids are a major issue up there too (not that they arent in most of the country, but its especially notable in a small relatively rural state like NH)

that really sucks about the end of your trip but man, that route sounds absolutely gorgeous. It's a life goal of mine to do the length of the Connecticut from source to sound one day

mcmaken6
Oct 15, 2001
Slippery when wet.
I really like canoeing on streams and rivers, but I always use a livery. I have thought about getting my own for a bit, but I just don't understand how it would work...like, if you park your car, push the canoe into the water, enjoy your trip downstream.....how do you get back to the car?

This is probably a really dumb question, but I honestly can't figure it out.

free hubcaps
Oct 12, 2009

mcmaken6 posted:

I really like canoeing on streams and rivers, but I always use a livery. I have thought about getting my own for a bit, but I just don't understand how it would work...like, if you park your car, push the canoe into the water, enjoy your trip downstream.....how do you get back to the car?

This is probably a really dumb question, but I honestly can't figure it out.

...you paddle back to your car

this can be an issue if youre in a river or tidal zone with a strong current, so you try to plan your trip to take advantage of the tides if possible, but its usually pretty easy to plan. alternately you have a buddy leave a car at your end point, hide the boats and get a ride back to your car

Rotten Cookies
Nov 11, 2008

gosh! i like both the islanders and the rangers!!! :^)

Or if you're with friends and have a secondary vehicle downstream

Athanatos
Jun 7, 2006

Est. 1967

mcmaken6 posted:

I really like canoeing on streams and rivers, but I always use a livery. I have thought about getting my own for a bit, but I just don't understand how it would work...like, if you park your car, push the canoe into the water, enjoy your trip downstream.....how do you get back to the car?

This is probably a really dumb question, but I honestly can't figure it out.

Friends and family willing to pick you up or drop you off.

Even if they don't have a vehicle for your boat, you can drop your boat where you put in, go park you vehicle, your friend can take you back to your boat and you paddle to your car.

mcmaken6
Oct 15, 2001
Slippery when wet.
Thanks for the answers!

pseudorandom
Jun 16, 2010



Yam Slacker

lamentable dustman posted:

So I've been meaning to buy a kayak for years because whenever I rent one I have a blast, any suggestions? I live in Charleston SC so it will primarily used in marshland and intra-coastal water but I wouldn't mind being able to go into the harbor (at least on the edges) or even ocean water. I'm thinking a sit on top would probably work best for me.

The option to fish off of it would be nice as well.

My best friend and I bought our first kayaks together in late May. I'm pretty much a kayak newbie, but I had similar desires as you. I bought a Crescent Lite Tackle, and my friend got a Crescent Ultra Lite. We've been loving them so far.

ZarathustraFollower posted:

Speaking of buying a kayak....how do you do it right now?

Like, everywhere is sold out, sun dolphin went out of business I thought, and from what little I've read the plastics come from overseas so even the US manufacturers arent making much right now.

I've been wanting to buy one, but literally can't find any in stock that arent 1. over $1k, 2. Lifetime walmart specials, or 3. Those fold-able or inflatable ones.

it suckssss

It's pretty difficult right now, but you can probably order some and wait for them to be restocked. Otherwise, you might have to wait and snipe a local dealer right after they receive a shipment.

I'm in a FB group for Crescent kayak owners, but there's a lot of people in there similarly trying to get their hands on boats but everywhere is sold out. The company is still actively making and shipping new kayaks, they're just behind and demand is really high, so I'd imagine other companies would be in a similar state.

Samadhi posted:

post ur tits boats

Delta 14, Yakima roof rack with the Jaylow mounts









MrZodiac
Jul 19, 2005

Dinosaur Gum
I ordered one of those nifty Oru folding Kayaks because it'll fit in the trunk of my car without much hassle. Now I need to source everything else, does anyone have recommendations for a PFD and paddles that split in two? I'll be doing largely flat water (Potomac area near Arlington VA / DC).

JaneError
Feb 4, 2016

how would i even breathe on the moon?
Any thoughts/recommendations on inflatable SUPs? I'm in the Midwest near lots of lakes and rivers, intending to use it for casual recreational purposes, so the durability and portability of an inflatable is probably my best bet right now. Budget-wise, probably in the $400-500 range, though I could stretch that. I've seen the iROCKER Nautical and the Gili AIR on a lot of lists but didn't know if anyone had firsthand experience.

JaneError fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Jul 22, 2020

Luvcow
Jul 1, 2007

One day nearer spring

MrZodiac posted:

I ordered one of those nifty Oru folding Kayaks because it'll fit in the trunk of my car without much hassle. Now I need to source everything else, does anyone have recommendations for a PFD and paddles that split in two? I'll be doing largely flat water (Potomac area near Arlington VA / DC).

for paddles:
https://bendingbranches.com/paddles/kayak-paddles

i've had mine for ~12 years and i love it and from people I've talked to who also have them they love them too

the one i use:
https://bendingbranches.com/kayak-paddles/wood/impression

prom candy
Dec 16, 2005

Only I may dance
whoops i just spent $419 CAD on a paddle ($224 USD + shipping, tax, and exchange rate) :homebrew:

Flatland Crusoe
Jan 12, 2011

Great White Hunter
Master Race

Let me explain why I'm better than you

prom candy posted:

whoops i just spent $419 CAD on a paddle ($224 USD + shipping, tax, and exchange rate) :homebrew:

To be fair the best money spent in paddling is on the moving weight of the paddle. I’ll never go back from carbon fiber paddles.

Yooper
Apr 30, 2012


prom candy posted:

What paddle should I get for my sit-on-top fishing kayak? I want to be able to cover more water without getting sore so quickly.

Hi Pescador bro. I've got the same boat minus your cool seat. I went from a generic paddle to a generic carbon fiber paddle. Didn't see a whole lot of difference, that boat is just a big pig. I used to hop between my Tsunami 14 and that Pescador and the difference was amazing. When I had my 17' Skerray I'd paddle alongside my friend in a Tsunami 14. What was almost effortless for me was a total workout for him.

prom candy
Dec 16, 2005

Only I may dance

Yooper posted:

Hi Pescador bro. I've got the same boat minus your cool seat. I went from a generic paddle to a generic carbon fiber paddle. Didn't see a whole lot of difference, that boat is just a big pig.

drat, given my post above where i just spent stupid money on a paddle i hope there's more of a difference for me. and yeah it is a big pig but i think that's how it goes when you're kayak fishing. i do enjoy paddling but it's a means to end for me, i wanna catch them fish. my biggest complaint with the pescador is that for all its size it's still not all that great for standing up in. i probably should have gotten the 10 footer.

Flatland Crusoe
Jan 12, 2011

Great White Hunter
Master Race

Let me explain why I'm better than you
I don’t understand why fishing kayak need to be be pigs. If they weren’t all plastic boats to begin with it would help. I can’t overstate how much difference the same hull design in Carbon/Kevlar/fiber is faster and lighter than molded plastic. Our poke boat is stable as hell and weighs 27 lbs.

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prom candy
Dec 16, 2005

Only I may dance
Sit on top is better for casting, generally you need a lot of gear that's all easily accessible, and you want a good platform for mounting poo poo all over the place. Plus you want to be able to fish standing up (which like I said is something mine doesn't actually do that well)

As far as materials go my kayak gets beat to hell because I'm always trying to fish somewhere stupid (next to downed trees, next to big rocks, in 2 feet of water, etc.) and I wouldn't want something where I was cringing every time I banged or scraped it.

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