Daily Photo: When Darkness Falls

247b6f95024acacb9e1c80decc27ce13_XL — Photo: Sander Jain

Sander Jain photographed a sea kayaker gliding along the cliffs of Grice Bay’s Indian Island on a dark, unnaturally still January day. “The bay is a popular feeding ground for grey whales, and the Scandinavian homes on Indian Island are a local landmark,” say Jain, whose Tofino home is just minutes from the put-in.

Location: Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia

This image originally appeared in the Spring 2013 issue of Adventure Kayak. To see more beautiful paddling images, download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Daily Photo: Heritage

Photo: Flickr user Hackworth — Heritage wooden canoe

A wooden canoe and replica Tudor barge (behind) sit at the Thames Boat Show in Beale Park.

This photo is was taken by Flickr user Hackworth and licensed under Creative Commons. Want to see your photo here? Send to [email protected] with subject line Daily Photo.

Paramount H2O Canoe Review

Photo: Dan Caldwell — Paramount 16-6 by H20 Canoe Company

This review of H2O Canoe Company’s Paramount 16-6 was originally published in Canoeroots and Family Camping magazine.

When looking at sleek lakewater boats like the Paramount 16-6 from H2O Canoe Company, speed comes to mind. This is a fast canoe, but when was the last time you were in a rush in the back country? Marathon paddling aside, canoeing is rarely about speed at all. It’s about efficiency and the Paramount’s lay-up and hull design offer exactly that.

The H2O line of canoes consists of resin-infused composite boats. This molding process uses minimal liquid resin, producing boats that are both stiff and ultra-lightweight. The Paramount we tested is at the premium end of the line-up, in H2O’s carbon-Kevlar lay-up. Ours came in at a svelte 42 pounds—impressive, considering the use of gelcoat. H2O has managed to shave off pounds by using a clear-coat epoxy from the gunwales down to the waterline. While lightweight, hulls finished entirely in clear coat are less abrasion resistant so H2O applied gelcoat where durability is most important—the underside. The result is a signature eye-catching two-toned look.

As another means of weight savings, designers reduced the Paramount’s surface area. There is little volume at its extremities and sheer lines are low, requiring less build material.

“We started the company concentrating on classic canoes,” says H2O founder and designer, Jeff Hill. “We wanted to make sure the modern boats we do make perform well across all fronts.”

By modern, Hill means asymmetrical. Unlike the Prospector or Bob’s Special found in H2O’s Heritage Series canoes, the Paramount’s widest point is aft of center, a design attribute that improves acceleration and glide.

The first thing I noticed about the Paramount was how effortlessly it travels across the water, exceeding expectations based on its weight and hull shape.

At 16 feet six inches and with little rocker, it has a long waterline eliminating any need for a keel. Few stern finesse strokes are needed, leaving both paddlers free to maintain momentum and take full advantage of the boat’s top speed and glide. Despite the straight-tracking nature of the canoe, the two and a half inches of bow rocker left me pleasantly surprised by the boat’s maneuverability.

Confident paddlers will appreciate the secondary stability afforded by the Paramount’s gently rounded hull. Limited initial stability could leave novice paddlers a little wary when paddling it empty.

With the refined hull, low freeboard and trim placement, this canoe is better suited to weeklong trips than expeditions.

All H2O canoes come with classy cherry seats, yoke, aft kneeling thwart and carry handles complete with finger grooves. Rounding out the beautiful trim package and true to clever weight-saving design principles, the carbon-Kevlar lay-up comes with H2O’s Integral Composite Gunwales—inwales integrated into the canoe during the molding process. On the outside, aluminum outwales are bonded to the hull to maintain strength.

Paddlers looking for a premium canoe can expect to pay a higher price for H2O boats, especially the carbon-Kevlar lay-up. Given that the Paramount’s hull shape is designed for intermediate to advanced paddlers, cost should be less of an issue. These are canoeists who are never in a rush but always have a discerning taste for efficiency.

H2O Canoe Company Paramount 16-6 specs

Length: 16’6”
Width at waterline: 32.5”
Width at gunwales: 35.5”
Depth at bow: 22”
Depth at center: 14”
Depth at stern: 20”
Weight: 42 lbs (in carbon-Kevlar)
MSRP: $3,295 CAD
www.h2ocanoe.com

This article originally appeared in Canoeroots & Family Camping, Spring 2013. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

The Raft Guide’s Lexicon

Photo: Robert Faubert — Whitewater rafting

This article originally appeared in Rapid magazine.

According to an Outdoor Industry Association report, roughly 20 percent of the 4.5 million Americans who went rafting in 2010 were firsttimers. That’s a lot of fresh confetti. But don’t despair; the following is a must-know inventory of rafting idiolect (no, that isn’t an insult—look it up).

Pushing rubber (v.) Raft guide’s job. 

Oar whore (n.) Seasoned raft guide who is reliable and good enough to row for different companies on different rivers, a rare and dying breed.

GORB (n.) Good Old Rafting Buddy. 

Get down (v.) Move to a more secure position on the raft floor, typically above a drop where there is a high probability of falling out. If you blow it, you’ll be thankful for the…

Chicken line (n.) Perimeter line on a raft, grab it after falling out. Grab it if you’re chicken.

High side (n. & v.) 1. The tube that is pushed upward when a raft comes up against a rockor hole sideways. 2. The act of crew jumping from the low side of the boat to the high side—when executed in time, this can prevent a flip or wrap.

Taco (v.) When a raft folds around an obstacle. AKA: burrito, wrap.

Dump truck (v.) When everyone except the guide is ejected from the raft. AKA: bus stop.

Clean plate (n.) When everyone including the guide is spilled out but the raft does not flip.

Yard sale (n.) Colorful assortment of swimmers and gear following a flip. AKA: confetti, garage sale.

Sweep boat (n.) 1. The last boat in a group of rafts, the sweep brings up the rear and makes sure no one gets left behind. 2. Large, commercial cargo boat used on the Middle Fork and Main Salmon rivers.

Groover (n.) Metal box that holds solid human waste on a river trip, most often used in the arid Southwest.

Groover duty (n.) Chore typically assigned to the lowest ranking or least popular member of a river party, involves setting up the groover at camp and cleaning it post-trip.

Snakebite (n.) Small hole in a raft that can be heard but not seen, detected by the hissing of escaping air.

SPORT (n.) Stupid People On Rafting Trips. See also: GORB.

Bow puppy (n.) Person riding in the bow of an oar rig, does not assist with paddling or steering.

Speed bump (n.) Kayaker who doesn’t get out of the way of a raft.

Baptism (n.) Raft guide’s first swim.

Thanks to all those who participated in  our Facebook poll.

This article originally appeared in Rapid, Spring 2012. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Video: Freestyle Kayaker

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68012504

Few people have pursued Whitewater Kayaking for as long with as much passion as Bryan Kirk. Bryan discusses how he continues to experience the rivers draw while paddling the New River Dries in Fayetteville, West Virginia.

Starring: Bryan Kirk

Directed/Edited by: Kelsey Thompson

Daily Photo: Morning Calm

f3936a34196075e664661d8cca9d22c7_XL — Photo: Alan Lukala

Alan Lukala is a familiar face to paddlers at kayaking events throughout the upper Great Lakes. An avid amateur photographer and student of Greenland-style technique, when he isn’t practicing traditional rolls or planning his next wilderness trip, Lukala is shooting kayaking images. At Ontario Greenland Camp 2011, he awoke at dawn and hurried down to the water to get this shot: “A few paddlers were up before the day’s events and quickly disappeared into the fog on the small lake.”

Location: Muskoka, Ontario

This image originally appeared in the Early Summer 2013 issue of Adventure Kayak. To see more beautiful paddling images, download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Scoop Rescue Kayak Technique

Skills

Photo: Virginia Marshall — Scoop Rescue Kayak Technique

This skills Q&A article was originally published in Adventure Kayak magazine.

What’s the easiest way to get an injured paddler back in their boat after a capsize?

Portland, Oregon-based American Canoe Association instructor and British Canoe Union five-star leader Paul Kuthe uses the scoop rescue get a swimmer with a shoulder injury back in their boat. This rescue, which involves floating a swimmer into an angled, flooded cockpit and then levering the boat upright, is also Kuthe’s last-resort means of getting large paddlers and those with limited upper body strength out of the water. While it’s a “wet” rescue (unlike the classic assisted T-rescue where the cockpit is emptied before the swimmer climbs aboard), the scoop is fast and requires little effort on the part of the swimmer. “It’s also the only way to rescue an unconscious or completely disabled paddler,” Kuthe adds.

He breaks the rescue into five stages. First, the swimmer’s boat is aligned parallel to the rescuer’s boat and tilted away to partially flood the cockpit. Second, “float the swimmer’s legs into the cockpit first and be sure to cram as much of their body as possible into the boat, including their hips,” says Kuthe. Then recline the swimmer’s torso against the back deck to position their center of gravity closer to the axis of rotation. The next step is to push down on the near-edge of the swimmer’s boat to lever it upright. Kuthe says it’s often necessary to combine forceful downward pressure with a strong yank on the swimmer’s PFD shoulder strap or clothing. Finally, raft up with the swimmer to pump out their cockpit.

This article originally appeared in Adventure Kayak, Early Summer 2013. To watch a video demonstrating the scoop rescue, download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Daily Photo: Seaside

Photo: Flickr user bhphotography — Canoe in Zanzibar

A man poles his canoe off the coast of Zanzibar.

This photo is was taken by Flickr user blhphotography and licensed under Creative Commons. Want to see your photo here? Send to [email protected] with subject line Daily Photo.

Freestyle Move: Loop Lunar Orbit

Skills

Photos: Emily Jackson — Nick Troutman freestyle tips

The loop lunar orbit is an awesome aerial hole combo that is sure to get you more chicks than a Nickelback concert. The beauty of it is that once you have it dialed, you can cartwheel into a mcnasty, and then keep adding more moves to infinity.

1. Start by plugging your bow for the loop.

2. Stand up tall and jump forward. The higher you go and farther upstream you jump, the better because the lunar orbit will pull you downstream.

3. Throw your body forward and pull back on your paddle blade. This launches your bow around over your head. Using only one blade to pull the loop stroke is key; this will set you up for the combo.

4. From here, you actually want to land on your stern, rather than finishing all the way flat on your hull.

5. When you are vertical on your stern with your paddle behind you from pulling the loop stroke, quickly use that same paddle blade for a reverse stroke. This is the stern pry that initiates the lunar orbit.

6. The farther back your paddle blade when you push, the more vertical your boat will go. Keep your paddle blade in the water the entire time or you will fall over on your head.

7. Finish the reverse stroke and turn it into a forward draw to pull yourself around vertically.

8. Lean forward as you turn your forward draw back into a reverse stroke for your bow smash.

This article originally appeared in Rapid, Early Summer 2011. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.

Base Camp: Algonquin’s Logging Museum

Stories

Courtesy of Scott MacGregor — Algonquin alligator

The amphibious tugboat pictured here was invented in 1889. Called an “alligator,” it is a wood-fed paddlewheel steamer capable of warping 60,000 boom logs in a day, then winching itself on a temporary railway of logs overland to the next lake. Built in 1905 and taken out of service in 1946, the William M. is one of only three alligators remaining in existence. For the last 49 years, it has rested on the shore of a small creek 600 metres down a wheelchair accessible, stone dust path at the Algonquin Logging Museum.

Located on Highway 60 just inside Algonquin Park’s east gate, the Logging Museum has a bookstore, theatre and souvenir shop, but it’s outside—in the bush, above a log chute, behind the wheel of the William M. and aboard a locomotive—where Algonquin’s logging history really comes alive. The Logging Museum, like hundreds of others across the country, didn’t make this issue’s list of North America’s top six interpretive centres. Nevertheless, it is outdoors, interesting for kids and within an hour’s drive of my house, putting it at the top of my family’s favorites list.

By comparison, a 10-minute drive deeper into Algonquin Park is the Visitors Centre—a state-of-the-art interpretive facility opened in 1993 and heralded as a must-visit on any trip through the park. We do visit. However, all of the exhibits are indoors—like a museum, complete with a cafeteria. My four-year-old son refers to the Visitors Centre as, “you know Dad, that place where we eat pie.”

Stuffed wolves hide safely behind Plexiglas well protected from curious little fingers. The French lumberjack’s story of the log drive is interesting to small children for all of 10 seconds. After an hour inside the Visitors Centre, both kids and parents go crazy like moose with brainworm (see the exhibit if you have time). Quick kids, back outside to the wheelhouse of the William M.

In a hurried, blackberry-driven, concrete world so focused on higher marks and organized sports, it’s alluring to blow into these visitor centres for a canned, one-hour educational tour. However, study after study from education and health organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics says free and unstructured child-centred play is healthy and even essential to the development of children. Free play is even more beneficial when it’s outdoors in nature. This means that if we want our children to learn more, be more active and be socially and emotionally well balanced, we need to turn off our ringers, get them outside and let their imaginations lead the way.

Dan Strickland, author of the Logging Museum’s interpretive guidebook, writes that the twice-rebuilt alligator will never again belch out smoke and sparks as it struggles across Algonquin’s lakes. Perhaps, but in the imaginations of my children, the log drive has just begun and there are plenty of trees to be floated downstream. “Stoke up that fire Katie, we need more steam.”

—Scott MacGregor

This article appeared in Canoeroots & Family Camping, Early Summer 2009. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.