Fredmo Posted September 29, 2008 Report Share Posted September 29, 2008 Well, I did it. I bought the canoe posted in August for sale, with a special ISA price. I went up to Varna (down and out for Chicago folks) and looked at it a week ago, and tried it out on Lake Wildwood. It's a 12-ft Old Town Pack, the kind Jonn Graham floats! I had read lots of reviews about this model, and everyone seems to love it. They do say that at first it's a little tippy, but it's something you learn to handle. My brief experience on the lake confirmed that it's a little concerning at first. I never got over that. But I did go back a few days later and bought it. Then I got word that we had an odd number of guys scheduled for our annual Current River trip in Missouri, and the request got out that I bring the new canoe, since it's a one-man boat. So I did. We floated on Friday and Saturday (no fishing) as our tradition requires. The river is up a bit, but it's still a beautiful river. One of the suggestions I got was to get a long kayak paddle. I couldn't find one as long as suggested, but a couple of the guys have kayaks and loaned me one of theirs, just over 6-ft long. Since you sit further forward, the longer paddle helps make those turns by sweeping the back-stroke, and with a shorter paddle, you can't reach as far. That may have been part of the reason that on two occasions, once Friday and once Saturday, I didn't make the quick turn around the tree and ended up in the water. The Current is spring fed, so it's a cool dip, but fortunately it was a warm day. Glad I had a dozen other guys along to pick up things. Only thing lost, besides some pride, was my ISA cap. Don't know where it ended up. Another reason I may have ended up in the water was because I was getting comfortable with the canoe, and wasn't worrying about tipping over. I think it's really going to be fun on some of the rivers around here, just need to get my anchor rigging arranged, find a reasonably-priced long kayak paddle and a rod or two in the boat, along with a rock or cooler in the bow, and I'll be ready. I think Mark Durham owes Jonn G and Steve Jordan a commission, since they both were encouraging in the decision-making process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick D. Posted November 7, 2008 Report Share Posted November 7, 2008 Check out riversmallies.com. There are a number of anglers with tips and experiences to tweak or outfit that canoe and similiar solo canoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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