• Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!

    You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!

New Canoe

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
No rambling at all bigbog...those are some great tips! I appreciate it.
 

wa-loaf

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 7, 2007
Messages
15,109
Points
48
Location
Mordor
No rambling at all bigbog...those are some great tips! I appreciate it.

What Bigbog said more or less. We always used those square cushion flotation devices for padding kneeled on them and just leaned back against the seat. Much more stable and pretty comfortable actually. Used to paddle all day like that when I was a camp counselor.
 

tjf67

New member
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
2,218
Points
0
Location
L.P.
thanks. How easy are they to flip? I felt it oscillating side to side and got scared so I tried to maintain a still position so as not to get anywhere near a possible point of no return. But was I just being a wuss? Can you tilt them pretty good before they go over?

Depends on the model but they do flip. My 60 pound springer flipped mine out in the middle of the lake. After struggling for 15 minutes to get back in I made him swim in.
 

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
We took the canoe out yesterday for it's first voyage. We went to the West River....in Brat.

We had thought: "Oh, we'll go in that lake". Well, it's more like a large pond...and ind a few spots, we hit (sandy) bottom. :lol: I think the dry weather had something to do with that. If you know Route 30, we paddled up river to the area just behind CVPS and the chocolate factory. We found a little island, and stopped for a snack and some water. After that, we paddled back down the river and went towards the route 5 side of the pond/lake. The Marina restaraunt has been torn down. :sad:

We had a great time! It was a lot of fun. The canoe was really easy paddle around, launch and just manuver around in the water. The only issue we had was heaving it up on the roof of the Grand Cherokee. Those if you who know my wife, know she's probably weighs 5lbs more than the 75lbs canoe. So I think I'll get one of those one man loaders that hooks up to the 2" hitch on the Jeep.

Again, great time. Glad we got it.
 

bigbog

Active member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,882
Points
38
Location
Bangor and the state's woodlands
Sounds great Glenn....paddling, especially by using torso twisting motion with firm arms, instead of using all arms & no torso = nice upperbody workout in the outdoors, like skiing...can't beat it.
An alternative in transporting canoe,
If you have bars pick a spot ~3-5' in back of vehicle and put thin foam square on ground, put one end of canoe on it,,stand it up leaning on rear of vehicle(4x4?). Pick up canoe by the end plate and simply push canoe up onto bars, then tiedown. Straps or/and(my pick) non-stretch rope...in addition to straps. A little time-consuming but work well.
$.01_alternative....fwiw
 
Last edited:

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
That may not be a bad idea. I guess parking is a key issue too. When you're on the side of rt 30, 10 feet from another vehicle behind you and cars & trucks are whizzing by. Had we been in a parking lot off the road, it probably would have been easier.
 

bigbog

Active member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,882
Points
38
Location
Bangor and the state's woodlands
I used to have to deal with that scenario when living around Boston. Anyone who parks that close to a canoe on top deserves a little note underneath the wipers explaining.....or else they just want to make you suffer thru an unload. You have to love people who act like morons....
$.01

*Have been paddling every so often these last couple summers with rentals...but fellow down in VA is unloading a nice solo boat that's $1k+ underpriced via used-market. IS 5yrs old but you'd never know it... Brain is focused on skiing but when ya' see the unreal deals = payback multi times over in on-the-water-enjoyment.
 
Last edited:

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
Picked up one of these Friday: http://www.cabelas.com/p-0030168.shtml

Looking forward to testing it out.

Oh, and an update on the Marina in Brat. My neighbor leases some workshop space from the owner. They're going to rebuild. I believe the job is out to bid currently.
 

bigbog

Active member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,882
Points
38
Location
Bangor and the state's woodlands
Looks good man.
A couple other tidbits...that I actually started doing only a couple years ago...
1) Tie the thwarts(cross bars between gunwales) to the roof rack bar(s) = this is THE secure tie that eliminates fore/aft moving. It can be a PITA...but once tied....they're the most solid ties of all.
2) The ties/knots around the bars, outside of/against the gunwales, preventing sideways movement.

$.01
 

bigbog

Active member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,882
Points
38
Location
Bangor and the state's woodlands
Yes...bungees work well, especially for short hauls(while totally off-road) = can't beat em'. *EDIT...but don't skip the thwart-to-rack tie for fore/aft security.
 
Last edited:

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
Good tips guys.

I'm looking foward to testing the loader out. I'm thinking I should be able to secure it to the roof rack with one ratchet strap vs two.
 

Euler

Active member
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Messages
1,063
Points
36
Location
Southern Vermont
You should really check out Grout Pond and Somerset Res. with your canoe. Grout Pond is a lot closer to you and is a wonderful place to paddle and picnic. Somerset, while probably quite a drive from Dummerston is a really remarkable place. Its a huge reservoir with NO development on the shores, you'll probably encounter loons, and you'll see the North Face of Mt. Snow from a very different perspective than you are used to! Also I'd say even with your new loader you should plan on using TWO cam/ratchet straps on the belly for short trips plus stern and bow tie downs for long trips. It would REALLY suck to kill someone on the highway when your boat flies off your jeep.

Happy Paddling!
 

Glenn

Active member
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
7,691
Points
38
Location
CT & VT
Nice! It looks like Grout Pond is just north of Somerset Res? We def had Somerset on our short list. While it is a bit of a drive (relatively speaking), seems like it would be worth the effort. We always enjoy turning around when riding the North Face lifts and looking behind.

I hear ya on double strapping it...better safe that sorry. Plus, a lot of roads we'll travel are pretty twisty. Although, life should be a bit easier now that the Williamsville covered bridge is open again.
 
Top