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12 Months of Paddling
I did it! On Saturday, I closed the circle and paddled year round for the third or fourth year in a row. I set a goal for the last few years to paddle at least once a month, even in winter when it’s cold. Most years in my area, Lake Superior remains completely open, but every once in a while it freezes completely over. This year, it didn’t even get close, and the area experienced enough warmer days throughout the winter to make paddling bearable for a couple of hours at a time. So, I did it! 12 Months of Paddling in a row. I usually don’t write about personal…
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Free Plan – 1889 Nunivak Island Kayak
The Nunivak Island kayak isn’t something that you’d see everyday in modern recreational kayaks. For one thing, it has a big hole in the bow. In the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, Howard I. Chapelle notes that the hole is one of the main features that distinguished the Nunivak Island boats from the Kodiak kayaks. Figure 180, which this kayak comes from, shows the kayak with a mythological water monster painted on its side. Palriayuk, the water monster, eventually disappeared from the sides of the kayaks as missionaries influenced the thinking. Just try an Internet search to see if you can find reference to this water monster…
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The Best Winter and Cold Water Paddling Gloves
The hardest body part to keep warm during winter paddling is the hands. Because water drips down the paddle shaft and the splashes saturate any gloves or mittens used, they need to be waterproof, or they must be waterproof enough to slow new cold water from penetrating the glove’s interior. I’ve always liked neoprene gloves or mittens to keep my hands warm verse using a poggies, because my hands stay warm when removed from the paddle shaft and I can easily manipulate items without have to touch an icy surface. I have a few favorite gloves. NRS Natural Gloves I used to use NRS Reactor gloves, because they were the…
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Winter Kayaking Checklist
Winter offers a constantly changing shorelines to explore when paddling. As the waves roll and the pack ice blows in the shore becomes coated with ice and sometimes the ice piles so high it seems mountainous. Kayaking during the winter presents great risks versus other times of the year. The icy cold water can quickly kill. Before heading out make sure you have everything on this paddling checklist. Winter Paddling Skills Because of the greater danger that cold weather and water present, winter kayaking requires refined and reliable skills. A few that I consider essential are a perfectly reliable self-rescue. Because the paddle float rescue takes time, which exposes you…
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Modern Technology and Courage in the Wilderness
The last time I dipped into a modern technology in the wilderness discussion, I inspired an almost book-length response — both public and private — from one blogger, so I’ve stayed out of the issue since. Lately, cabin fever has moved me into a more philosophical mood, so I’ve decided to stray once again into a subject that causes tempers to flare. This time, I’m thinking about modern technology and how it affects our view of courage. Technology in Wilderness I place technology in a wilderness context into five categories: Here are a few examples to clarify my categories. In the first and second category, consider navigation. For millenniums humans…
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Free Plans: 1910 St Francis Canoe
The St. Francis Canoe of About 1910 appears as Figure 81 in the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. Howard I. Chapelle notes that the canoe features a narrow, rockered bottom, and he notes that the model was popular with guides and sportsmen for forest travel. The almost vertical to slightly flared sides resemble a more modern canoe than some of the other free plans that I posted. Chapelle writes that some of the St. Francis canoes had midship tumblehome like the Malecite canoes, but that those were not marketed to sportsmen. As my Winter Free Canoe and Kayak Plan project draws to an end, I feel like…
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Kupilka Cup Review
I’ve always liked the look of a traditional wooden kuksa, a drinking cup made by the Sami people. When I saw the plastic and wood composite Kupilka cups, I fell instantly in love. I always wanted a wooden cup, but didn’t want the maintenance or weight that comes with it. The plastic version seemed like a good substitute. When I first saw the cups, availability was limited to Europe, but I managed to get a Kupilka 21 and a 5 in exchange for a review. The Kupilka 21 is a round cup with a molded handle that extends from the cup’s lip. The cup hold about 8 oz. It has…
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Mindfulness in Paddling Practice
Mindfulness, mindlessness, practice makes permanent and practice makes automatic are four topics that I’ve pondered lately. I think how they relate impacts directly on how much enjoyment a paddler experiences. In my experience, I enjoy experiences when I’m feeling the flow versus when my actions become automatic to the point that I don’t realize what I did until after it finished. I wonder how instructors can add the flow and mindfulness experience to paddling instruction. Paddling Instruction Methods One point emphasized during my American Canoe Association instructor trainings is that we should as instructors practice and emphasize that practice makes permanent. I whole-heartedly agree. We’re also taught that one method…
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Free Plans: Long Nose Ojibway Canoe
In the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, Howard Chapelle tells us that the most common type of Ojibway canoe northwest and west of Lake Superior was the “long-nose” form. The form shows a straight sheer, only slight rocker near the stems and a steeply upturned sheer near the stems. The stems were rounded and full. Chapelle seems to think that the combination features resulted in a clumsy and unfair looking canoe. He notes that the appearance didn’t affect the seaworthiness or paddling qualities. Later, he writes that Adney, the person who collected the lines, thought the long-nose canoes originated with the Dakotas before the Cree and Ojibway…
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Adding Ritual to Paddling Trips
Adding a ritual to the beginning of a paddling trip helps create a break from our normal life, which helps to enrich both our experience of the trip and our “real” lives after. After months of planning, organizing, packing and traveling, the start of a paddling trip is a relief. The instant of push-off removes all the responsibilities of home life and all preparation duties end. In that moment all that matters is the trip itself. The contrast between the moment before push-off and after is great. By adding a ritual at that moment, the paddler can recognize the contrast and celebrate the break life’s continuity. The recognition of the…
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Navigation: Fixes and Triangulation
When lost or slightly misplaced while kayaking or canoeing, if you have a view of a couple of landmarks you can get a fix, which is the navigational term for finding an “X” that marks the spot. The “X” is your location. The process is a quick and easy way to find your location. For a more exacting needs, finding your location with triangulation involves only one extra step. Getting a Navigation Fix First, find a line of position, which is a line that runs from a landmark to your position. You can take a bearing with your compass or find a range to get a line of position. To…
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Free Canoe Plans: Malecite Racing Canoe of 1888
In 1888, Jim Paul and Peter Polchies built the Malecite Racing Canoe of 1888 for Lt. Col. Herbert Dibble of Woodstock notes Howard I. Chapelle in The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. This 19-foot, 30-inch canoes, which appears as figure 66 in his book, shows flare in the center and tumblehome towards the ends. Its sleek hull looks fast. The original was built lightly built and much decorated. There’s something about Malecite canoes. The lines seem to draw my eyes, and the canoe in this free plan does the same. I imagine that it’s a tender but fast ride, and I think it looks like a fast…
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Kayaking Through Winter Sea Ice
Winter kayaking opens up new worlds to paddle through. The ice changes the shoreline from just-another-sand-beach to towering cliffs of ice chuck full of caves. This is especially true on large bodies of water that produce sea ice, like the oceans and the Great Lakes. Not only is ice interesting to look at, but it also has fascinating names, such as grease ice, pack ice, bergy bits, frazil ice and my favorite, because it looks cool and sounds delicious, pancake ice. Next time you kayak through ice, think about the fun names and become a winter-ice geek by using them. Read more about Winter Kayaking. And remember, winter kayaking is…
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Hiking Eagle Mountain, Minnesota
It’s winter and even though the winter paddling on Lake Superior is still great, I do like to explore the snowy aspects of Minnesota. I’ve never hiked up Eagle Mountain, Minnesota’s highest point, in winter before, so I decided it was about time. Eagle Mountain is part of the Misquah Hills in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. And at 2,301 feet, it’s the tallest mountain in Minn. It’s also only 15 miles from Minnesota’s lowest point on Lake Superior. In the summer, some people race the Minnesota Lowest to Highest Duathalon Challenge from the lake near Grand Marais’ bike shop to the summit and back — first on bikes…
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Free Kayak Plan: Koryak Kayak
This style of kayak, used in the Sea of Okhotsk, is the only distinctive Asiatic type, says Howard I. Chapelle in the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. It is a hunting boat designed for calm waters. Chapelle notes that it shares the same form as hunting and fowling stiffs used in America. He also notes that the Koryaks weren’t daring canoemen and stayed out of rough water. Paddlers of the boat drawn in this week’s free kayak plans used two ping-pong-looking paddles to move the boat. It is, reportedly, highly maneuverable. This kayak was seriously easy to model. It’s also the shortest boat that I’ve modeled in…
