Canoe Trade Show Blog http://canoetradeshow.com/blog Virtual Sport Show Reporting so real, you think we're there. Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:11:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 How to Paddle a Canoe - The Sweep Stroke http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/18/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-sweep-stroke/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/18/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-sweep-stroke/#comments Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:11:04 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/18/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-sweep-stroke/  The Sweep Stroke
by Red Rock Store

This is the stroke I’m going to cal l# 2.5 with #1 being the J Stroke and #2 being the Draw Stroke.

This stroke is more helpful to the stern paddler if the bow paddler actually knows how to sweep right or sweep left. Critical to this stroke is the hand placement, namely how far you slide the paddle out for leverage and the depth of the paddle blade.

This stroke was impossible to photograph with my digital camera, but at least I can describe and show what it’s supposed to look like.

The end result of a Sweep Stroke is to push the bow away from the paddle and pull the stern towards the paddle. As you’ll see in the Sweep Stroke Paddling Instruction Pictures, I would be causing the stern of the canoe to be dragged towards the paddle.

As a stern paddler in a fierce wind, I would request a sweep left or sweep right from my bow paddler to force the bow the direction that I wanted to go. Also, in conjunction with my bow paddler who is sweeping on the the right, I would do a hard J Stroke on the left at the stern. This would cause the canoe to turn to the left quickly and with good power.

Because the Sweep Stroke only dunks half the paddle blade at an angle in the water and more or less “sweeps” with a large arc (accompanied by splashing sounds of water getting shoved out of the way of the paddle as it skims on top), the bow paddler may need to perform several fast sweeps. This is possible to do because the paddle is not deep in the water like with a regular stroke.

Learn the rest of the details and view the pictures on How to Paddle a Canoe - The Sweep Stroke

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/18/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-sweep-stroke/feed/ How to Paddle a Canoe - The J-Stroke http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/10/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-j-stroke/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/10/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-j-stroke/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:59:00 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/10/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-j-stroke/ With all the “How to paddle a Canoe” books out there, I’ve decided that they really don’t hit the spot when it comes down to teaching somebody how to handle a canoe on flat water(AKA lake, pond, slow moving river).

We don’t want to learn how to paddle in whitewater, not in screaming rivers or 5 foot waves, just on a lake - basic paddling techniques to allow one to go from point A to B in a straight line.

You can’t find this easily in any books or at least I can’t. Most paddling books have so much extra info including advanced techniques (cross bow rudder, post and draw, blah, blah blah) that I think the gentle reader walks away from all that worthless learning a bit dazed and confused.

So, this is my attempt to illustrate the TWO basic strokes that make a canoe go -

  1. a J Stroke and

  2. a Draw Stoke.

There are lots of variations on these two strokes that tend to be explained ad nauseum in most canoe books, but I think everybody makes them a lot harder that they really are. Oh, and yes, I know there are several folks out there who have their own personal interpretation of the J-Stroke and they do all sorts of goofy things that ARE NOT the J-Stroke.

For a proper, efficient and smooth J-Stroke, the top hand on the palm grip of the paddle ALWAYS ends in thumb-down position at end of the stroke - not thumb up, not thumb sideways, or any other derivation of the thumb. It’s thumb-down and push out with bottom arm, nothing else.

Avoid the goofy variations your buddy developed in Nam, stick to the basics and remember this one simple fact: the canoe is steered from one side at a time by either pushing the stern to the right (J-Stroke) or pulling the stern to the left (Draw Stroke) and vice versa on the other side.

Get all the details about How to Paddle a Canoe - The J-Stroke
by Red Rock Store

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/07/10/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-j-stroke/feed/ How to get into a Canoe http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/15/how-to-get-into-a-canoe/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/15/how-to-get-into-a-canoe/#comments Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:51:50 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/15/how-to-get-into-a-canoe/
How to get into a Canoe
by Red Rock Wilderness StoreWith a Souris River Canoe, you really don’t have
to get your feet wet - EVER!

Please Note: This loading technique will work well for all canoes. However, while Souris River Canoes, along with royalex, polyethylene, and aluminum canoes, can handle this sort of entry repeatedly, we do not recommend it for Wenonahs, Bells, Mad River, Sawyer, Novacraft and other brands of cloth-layup, vinylester or polyester resin canoes. Canoes with made this resin tend to require more delicate handling than epoxy resin canoes especially when they get older because vinylester resin gets brittle with age. Repeatedly sitting on these canoes may adversely affect their bows and sterns. Due to their more fragile nature, you may want to check with the manufacturer to see if the canoe is strong enough to accept this means of entry instead of the usual “wet-foot” technique currently used on vinylester resin hulls. We wouldn’t want you break something. For the rest of you epoxy/kevlar canoe owners, get in and go!

Addendum:  I’ve run into a bunch of people (”experts” and “expert” outfitters both)  who’ve commented on the photos below, saying that the Boundary Waters rarely has such a nice smooth beach on which to land a canoe.  No kidding - I could have paddled over to Moose Lake to find a rockier portage but I kinda figured that most readers could “pretend” there are rocks alongside the canoe in the pictures.  The maneuver remains the same whether there is a rough portage or not.  What has happened to the abstract thinkers of the world today and how do some of these “experts” rate the self-proclaimed title?  Sheesh!

Visit Red Rock Store for a great series of pictures:

How to get into a Canoe without getting your feet wet!

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/15/how-to-get-into-a-canoe/feed/ BWCA Canoe Rentals http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/03/bwca-canoe-rentals/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/03/bwca-canoe-rentals/#comments Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:21:58 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/03/bwca-canoe-rentals/ For your next BWCA canoe trip, why not rent a GREAT kevlar canoe?

Sure, your can rent a one of those “kevlar” canoes from any outfitter in the Ely area and the Gunflint Trail region as well. If you are prefer stability, control, and durability in your canoe make sure you request a Souris River Quetico 17 specifically.

Be certain that if there are two of you and you want a good, lightweight, stable canoe that you designate the model which is a Quetico 17.

(Some outfitters still use the Souris River Wilderness 18 which is a good canoe compared to other-brand kevlars, but not a real stable-feeling hull when you don’t have a load in it.)

If you simply reserve a Souris River, you may get the wrong hull - remember that the hull’s shape is what determines stability, not the construction material, or the brand name or anything else.

  • If there are 3 of you going, be sure to request a Souris River Quetico 18.5 three-seater.  

  • You absolutely won’t choose wrong with any Souris River Quetico hull.

  • If you are going solo and want to fish, ask for Q-16 Solo model.

  • If you are more solo-experienced and interested primarily in paddling, ask for the Souris River Tranquility Solo.

If you think you absolutely must have a Wenonah or other brand-specific kevlar canoe because your buddy rented one last year, here are some rental concerns to consider:

To reserve your Souris River Canoe call us at 1-800-280-1078

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/06/03/bwca-canoe-rentals/feed/ How to Paddle a Canoe - The Draw Stroke http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/23/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-draw-stroke/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/23/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-draw-stroke/#comments Fri, 23 May 2008 17:03:19 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/23/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-draw-stroke/ The Draw Stroke
by Red Rock Wilderness Store

Ok, this is the other main canoe stroke that you absolutely need to know.

It is, for all intents and purposes, the exact opposite as the J Stroke. The J stroke pushes the back of the canoe away from the paddle and the Draw Stroke pulls the canoe to the paddle.

Using the two strokes together allows you to stay on the same side of the canoe and change the canoe’s course of direction without switching sides on the canoe after every two strokes.

 We do this because switching all the time has “pilgrim” written all over it. Sure, everybody has to start somewhere, but, if after 25 years, you are still making the canoe go forward by paddling willy-nilly (see definition), I’m sorry but you STILL don’t know how to paddle.

And, yelling at your poor wife in the bow about how “she isn’t a very good paddler” is just plain wrong.

The guy/gal in the back of the canoe is the person entirely in charge of where the canoe is going, period.

All responsibility for the direction of the canoe is with the person in the back.

Take more online canoeing lessons - How to Paddle a Canoe - The Draw Stroke -  from the expert at Red Rock Store!

“Execute it exactly like I’m doing it in the pictures.”

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/23/how-to-paddle-a-canoe-the-draw-stroke/feed/ Compare Kevlar Canoes http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/15/compare-kevlar-canoes/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/15/compare-kevlar-canoes/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 16:43:38 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/15/compare-kevlar-canoes/ Here: You can do a quick comparison to see if you think Brand X’s new hull is actually “apples for apples” or the more ordinary “apples for oranges”. Souris River Quetico 17 features: Brand X’s new “apples for apples with Souris River” canoe hull features Epoxy Resin - Heat cured, strong, flexible forever, and doesn’t like to let go of kevlar fibers under stress. Easy to make a lasting repair because cured epoxy resin does not change significantly with age. Vinylester Resin - room cured, gets brittle with age, only encapsulates kevlar fibers-doesn’t bond nearly the same as epoxy and wait’ll you get to make a repair! Repairing Brand X Full Sheet Construction - all 4 layers of kevlar and other layers are complete sheets - no splices to fall apart under stress - and if you actually use your canoe, there will be stress. Partial sheet construction - 2 layers in sides, three in the bottom, splices of kevlar hidden in the sides of the canoe - sounds really “apples for apples” doesn’t it? Unique Flexible Rib System for floor stiffening - only effective and achievable with epoxy resin -designed (and immensely-proven) to hold up in the brutal, rock laden Boundary Waters - (Go ahead and ask Brand X canoe outfitters how those foam core kevlar canoes are working out for them in rentals!) Foam Core Floor Stiffener - holds the bottom rigid. Doesn’t budge one bit, crushes on the rocks, leaves grooves and cracks in the kevlar, not easy to fix, and breaks along the chines, rivets pull out of the styrofoam, a “joy” to fix! But hey - that’s the way it’s always been done. No oven time makes these canoes fast to build and sensibly profitable for the builder. Integrated skid plates already installed on every Souris River Canoe. No extra dinking around. No Skid Plates but for another $75 - $125 you can hire someone to install big fat ones on your canoe and add another 4 lbs. of weight plus don’t forget the snappy, sleak appearance afterwards! Don’t want skid plates? There’s always multiple layers of silver duct tape - believe me, I’ve seen it many, many times. Brass Grommeted Tie Down Holes in bow and stern for convenience and function. Do-Diddly here - tie to the grab handles or wherever. Extruded Aluminum Gunwales - one smooth piece, no scoring and folding Folded, formed, scored gunwales can crack with use along score lines. Heavier Duty Aluminum Parts - Who are they kidding anyway? America is not getting thinner. Light gauge aluminum everything because saving a pound for racing is everything! I never see too many big dudes in races, but the Brand X marketing team must really know and understand their canoe market - hence the attempt to copy the hull of the Souris River Quetico 17. And the canoe building experts are…who? Le Tigre Kevlar - Looks great, unique, refinishes well and fades evenly Boring Skin Coat Butterscotch kevlar because it’s cheaper. Woven Color - doesn’t add weight and you can’t scratch it off on the rocks, refinishes pretty nicely as well. Plus, it’s transparent enough that you can see how the canoe was built. Gel coating hides splices, little pieces added here and there, etc. Gel Coat - a good old fashioned technique that adds 6-8 lbs. of weight, scratches off on the rocks, cracks off on the rocks, needs repair, needs delicate handing, does not accept impacts without cracking like a pane of glass. It does look really pretty in the showroom and hides a ton of questionable workmanship underneath, plus it impresses that particular customer who doesn’t research anything. Skid-ability - All SR’s slide over rocks with the final layer of fiberglass serving as a protective layer that WILL slide over rocks.. Souris River knows that fiberglass will slide over rocks and resists getting stuck. Straight kevlar gets caught and torn up. Stick-ability - all skin coat Brand X canoes can (and many do) get torn up as they slide over rocks with a load. Those kevlar fiber bundles that make up the cloth grind tot a screeching halt on rocks causing meaningful damage. Don’t believe me? Go hang around at Boundary Waters public landings and look at the outfitter canoes - look for sloppy patches, cuts and cracks. Or visit this page here to see what a foam core looks like after it slides over a rock. Wet Foot Canoeing - unneccesary in a Souris River. Just use a little common sense that would be applied to all canoes and canoeing. Don’t ram shore at 30 MPH in attempt to make the portage 18 ” shorter. Don’t step in the canoe until it’s entirely floating on water and not resting on a rock. Don’t lever the canoe over beaver dams when fully loaded, et al. These same conmon sense rules which have applied to aluminum and royalex canoes since the dawn of time. In looking at our rental canoes, I’m pretty sure these rules are not always followed, but you can at least make an effort. Wet Foot Canoeing - definitely a must in Brand X if you want to own the canoe past your first trip in the Boundary Waters. But that’s OK, some people like soft toenails. Crossing portages with soft toenails and Teva sandals means greater flexibliity in all those gnarly rocks. Less pain and damage to the toes. Ironically, this is much like Souris River’s ability to flex over rocks and survive rugged conditions thereby reducing the need for sandals and soft toenails afterall. It’s a true paradox. Handling on water - absolutely outstanding canoe on the water! Stable, user friendly, tracks, turns and handles big water while fully loaded or empty, like a champ. Handling on water - finally, Brand X should now actually have an outstanding canoe on the water. Up until now, everything else they’ve made has been kinda crappy, unforgiving, and less fun for regular folks who aren’t racing or interested in racing. I’m glad they finally stole all the design help they’ve needed for all these years. Says a lot about Souris River’s design work, eh? So what did you come up with? I’m thinking that Brand X has a canoe that is “apples for apples the same” as Souris River’s famous Quetico 17 except for all those differences. I’m also a “vegetarian” but I do like beef, and chicken, and pork …Yeah, definitely the same canoe. - JB -

CALL FOR CANOE SHIPPING QUOTE 1-800-280-1078

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/05/15/compare-kevlar-canoes/feed/ How to Lift a Canoe http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/30/how-to-lift-a-canoe/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/30/how-to-lift-a-canoe/#comments Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:21:58 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/30/how-to-lift-a-canoe/ Proper Canoe Lifting Technique

The key to properly lifting your canoe is multi-faceted but easy. All you need to do is handle a canoe that reflects your ability to lift it and practise on the front lawn or some other grassy surface. If you are a body-builder, lifting an 85 lb. Old Town Tupperware Special will require exactly the same steps as those needed by a 98 lb. weakling to shoulder a 37 lb. Souris River Carbon Tec Quetico 16.

In any case, the term “no pain - no gain” does not have to apply to canoe lifting. Generally, avoiding pain through proper movement & a little bit of planning, is the preferred method.

Every step you need to lift a canoe is pictured here by Red Rock Store Proper Canoe Lifting Technique.

Review them and realize that proper lifting involves more pausing & planning than grunting. When you are lifting your canoe, follow the photos (steps) and plan where your feet, hip, arms, thumbs, and head should be to get that canoe up on your shoulders.

How to Lift a Canoe

How to Carry a Canoe

How to Unpack a Canoe, and many more helpful canoeing articles at www.redrockstore.com

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/30/how-to-lift-a-canoe/feed/ Kevlar Canoe Warning http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/15/kevlar-canoe-warning/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/15/kevlar-canoe-warning/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:39:15 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/15/kevlar-canoe-warning/  Red Rock Store issues the following warning:

Be on the lookout, folks! Desperate sales people of Brand X kevlar canoes (all made with vinylester resin - don’t forget that fact) are offering their new hull as being the same canoe as a Souris River Quetico 17. One of my biggest Boundary Waters outfitters, after extensive paddling in real conditions has declared Brand X’s “supposedly-the-same-as-a-Quetico 17-canoe” a “dog” in the water compared to a Souris River Quetico 17. It’s a typical Brand X in poorly fitting sheep’s clothing - narrow front end, no room for your feet, sluggish with a load, doesn’t handle rough water as well, etc. And, now, we’re hearing the SAME CRAP about epoxy degredation by the usual Brand X sales suspects.

They simply can’t beat a Souris River Quetico 17, they know it and this is how they play ball. Read my Baloney Vortex for all your questions answered regarding the lame accusations made by the panicking Brand X sales people for details concerning epoxy resin and Souris River Canoes.

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/04/15/kevlar-canoe-warning/feed/ Canoecopia Launch Parties http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/07/canoecopia-launch-parties/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/07/canoecopia-launch-parties/#comments Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:42:31 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/07/canoecopia-launch-parties/ Last year the 2007 Canoecopia Launch Parties were everywhere!

Excitement for the 2008 Canoecopia is already at a fever, and crowds of over 10,000 people are feeling the anticipation!

Read comments on OutdoorsBlogger about The Canoecopia Paddlesport Expo.

Here are some Canoecopia Preview Highlights

Paddle the Twin Cities Blog points out that Spring must be here because it’s Canoecopia Weekend!  I found a new Canoecopia blog that started out aiming to post news about the progress of Canoecopia as things happen, but I think it’s been forgotten.

The Canoe Lover’s Blog mentions the creation of the Canoecopia Gazette!  That’s a publication that I haven’t seen yet - I wonder if you can download a copy of the Canoecopia Gazette?

]]> http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/07/canoecopia-launch-parties/feed/ Canoeing Video For Canoecopia Lovers! http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/04/canoeing-video-for-canoecopia-lovers/ http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/04/canoeing-video-for-canoecopia-lovers/#comments Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:04:51 +0000 admin http://canoetradeshow.com/blog/2008/03/04/canoeing-video-for-canoecopia-lovers/ If you wanted to attend the Canoecopia canoe trade show but can’t, check out the links to the canoeing video posted below.  

This video makes you feel like you are on a canoe trip!
 

YouTube, Metacafe, Google, DailyMotion, Crackle, Stupid Videos, Sclipo and Viddler

kayak trade show, paddlesport, paddle sport, canoe expo, 2008 sport shows,

Compare Canoe Manufacturers. 

  • Souris River
  • Bell Canoe
  • Old Town Canoes
  • Novacraft Canoes
  • Wenohnah Canoes

Canoeing Video For Canoecopia Lovers!

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