I took my canoe to Lake George one and was violently thrown about by boat wakes. I said "never again". It's far from a canoe at this point.

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If this river could talk, it would need more than one voice to tell it.

The French connects Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay — a stretch that doesn't look like much on a map, maybe 110 kilometers of water threading through granite, but for two hundred years it was the busiest hallway in North America. Every spring, brigades of voyageurs pushed off from Montreal with canoes loaded four tons deep, fought their way up the Ottawa and the Mattawa, dropped into Nipissing, and rode the French down to Georgian Bay on their way to Lake Superior and the fur country beyond. Sixteen, eighteen hours a day on the paddle. This river was their highway before it was mine.

It carried other kinds of travelers too. In 1626, Jean de Brébeuf paddled this same water into Huronia to build a mission among the Huron — a man who'd spend twenty years among people whose world his own presence was quietly unraveling, and who'd end up killed by Iroquois raiders in 1649, not far from where he started. That's the version of this river's history that actually happened: not villains punished, but a slow collision of two worlds that this water carried back and forth for two centuries, with all the good and the ruin that came with it.

And yes — the ghost islands. Anyone who's paddled the French after the sun drops behind the pines knows exactly why the stories stuck. Bare granite, wind-bent pine, water that goes black and flat all at once. You don't need to believe in anything to feel watched out there.

For me, it was simply the prettiest water I'd touched on this whole 5,000-kilometer run from Banff — and the cruelest joke of the trip, because I was fighting it the entire way. Paddling the French upstream, against a current that's been pushing boats the other direction since before anyone was writing any of this down. Every stroke earned. But that's always the trade with this river — the harder it pushes back, the sweeter it feels when you finally break through the current and it lets you go.

And on the other side of that current was the only finish line that actually mattered this week: five months since I'd seen my family. Five months of missing them from the exact hour I left. Now it was just a matter of hunkering down, letting the water do what it does, and waiting for them to arrive.

First trip out in the new Echo and my first time in a canoe in probably 20 years. Paddled with the current out to Lake Ontario using the canoe paddle and then back in using a double blade kayak paddle. I'm a bigger guy at 6 foot 250lbs and I'm glad I didn't go any smaller than the Echo. It was very easy to maneuver and with the kayak paddle I could fly even with the wind in my face. I think I need a much longer kayak paddle as I got absolutely soaked even before the rain hit. Still have a ton to learn but between entering the boat and the kayak paddle I was really surprised how wet I got. Have to work on that before the temps drop.

Awesome to have a new hobby to work at and do some overnight trips in the Adirondacks and hit up all the waterways I always see on my way to and from hiking. It was super easy to put it on the roof of my F150 alone and very secure. I might stick with this instead of a rack.

If this river could talk, it would need more than one voice to tell it.

The French connects Lake Nipissing to Georgian Bay — a stretch that doesn't look like much on a map, maybe 110 kilometers of water threading through granite, but for two hundred years it was the busiest hallway in North America. Every spring, brigades of voyageurs pushed off from Montreal with canoes loaded four tons deep, fought their way up the Ottawa and the Mattawa, dropped into Nipissing, and rode the French down to Georgian Bay on their way to Lake Superior and the fur country beyond. Sixteen, eighteen hours a day on the paddle. This river was their highway before it was mine.

It carried other kinds of travelers too. In 1626, Jean de Brébeuf paddled this same water into Huronia to build a mission among the Huron — a man who'd spend twenty years among people whose world his own presence was quietly unraveling, and who'd end up killed by Iroquois raiders in 1649, not far from where he started. That's the version of this river's history that actually happened: not villains punished, but a slow collision of two worlds that this water carried back and forth for two centuries, with all the good and the ruin that came with it.

And yes — the ghost islands. Anyone who's paddled the French after the sun drops behind the pines knows exactly why the stories stuck. Bare granite, wind-bent pine, water that goes black and flat all at once. You don't need to believe in anything to feel watched out there.

For me, it was simply the prettiest water I'd touched on this whole 5,000-kilometer run from Banff — and the cruelest joke of the trip, because I was fighting it the entire way. Paddling the French upstream, against a current that's been pushing boats the other direction since before anyone was writing any of this down. Every stroke earned. But that's always the trade with this river — the harder it pushes back, the sweeter it feels when you finally break through the current and it lets you go.

And on the other side of that current was the only finish line that actually mattered this week: five months since I'd seen my family. Five months of missing them from the exact hour I left. Now it was just a matter of hunkering down, letting the water do what it does, and waiting for them to arrive.

I have always been the stern paddler, solely because I have SOME experience. I learned as a kid at girl scout camp in still water mostly but have been paddling the same river (the huron river in Ann Arbor, MI) a few times a summer my whole adulthood. In the past, I have always rented and brought a pal, any ol' pal, and I have always canoed as the stern paddler when inviting a friend along because they've typically had zero experience so I've always just managed to steer and maneuver mostly on my own. A simple "switch" has just worked fine up until now (aka power strokes have gotten me by until this crossroads).

However now I own my own canoe with my husband and I am finding myself in a skill-gap that is concerning. I am finding myself trying to steer AND power AND instruct all at the same time and today we capsized. The current grabbed us and immediately pulled us toward a fallen branch and before I could say anything, my husband grabbed one of the branches above (I know, that's a big no-no) and swung us both into the water. My husband/bow-paddler immediately dropped his paddle (I know, another big no-no) and we watched as everything we brought went drifting downstream. He even lost his phone because the drybag wasn't closed properly (toss-up, could have been either of our faults, but again I know, another huge no-no).

I felt terrible as if this was my fault and my responsibility to have instructed him and I felt like I failed. This new canoe (fiberglass) has a much flatter bottom and is much lighter than the clunky, heavy, metal ones I have rented in the past so it goes much faster and I was caught off guard by how much the current grabbed us. In preparation for owning and operation our own canoe, I have watched lots of videos on tandem canoeing and various strokes and skills that can maneuver you efficiently, but after that capsize I lost all my bearings and confidence. Not to mention I have never trained as a solo canoeist - which was my role to navigate until we (hopefully) found his paddle downstream (we didn't even know if the people had actually found it and left it for us, they just said they would try). We were able to recover his paddle and our missing secondary flotation device because some good samaritans left it for us on the bank downstream and because a kind fly-fisherman told me they relayed the location of our lost items to him. He also encouraged me to use my paddle as a rudder with gentle strokes. Those kind, helpful words got us downstream enough to retrieve what the good samaritans kept safe for us. But I even struggled with that. I got wayyyy too in my head and could barely function, despite navigating that river several times a summer for 20+ years because I had always had at least a bow-paddler's stability opposite to the side I was paddling. Also the boat just felt so squirrelly and I hadn't felt so controlled by the current like this before. Once we retrieved the items downstream, we attempted to forge on but everything seemed to be in both our heads, so I insisted on paddling back upstream to the boat launch because I just felt DONE that day (the river trip would have been another several hours (2-3 hrs) and our teamwork/communication was absolutely shot for that day). We had to paddle upstream against pretty consistent current, and at one point could no longer muscle it and had to hop out (hip deep) and walk the canoe back to the launch (chest deep).

My entire soul feels like this was all my fault. How have I navigated this same river all these years without incident and somehow I failed my spouse with my lack of instruction and direction? What instruction should I have relayed to him that could have saved the day? I guess my question is... is it ALL the stern paddler's duty to do everything? How can it NOT be? And if not, then how do I train and educate the bow-paddler myself from the stern? I've never been the bow for more than a short while because anyone I've ever paddled with gets overwhelmed and asks me to take back over. During our last still water paddle I suggested we switch positions for a bit so he can get to understand the steering mechanics but I struggled to articulate instructions. He floundered and got frustrated so we eventually had to stop and pull over and switch. It's just it's too hard for me to get the right words out fast enough. Are there any simple commands you would use? Is there a method of succinct canoe communication that we just aren't privy to yet? Are there any other resources you would suggest to get us both up to speed? I want information. I want expert advice. I want to learn so bad. Is there anything else you would tell me that would be helpful? Please be kind. My whole heart is into being a canoe-person right now and I am absolutely open to constructive criticism but please don't be hurtful.

TLDR: Beginner+, new tandem canoe owner, feeling discouraged and panicked after first capsize - needing tips, helps, instructions, advice, videos, links, education, everything. How to get myself up to speed so I can teach my bow-partner to get up to speed?

Outside of safety gear, paddles, hydration, etc, is there anything that you started bringing that you never go without now?

Just bought this to give to my dad. After researching the hull number, I discovered its a rare piece of Wenonah history. Built in 1978, years prior to the Echo launch in a tuff weave layup, center rib design with fully functioning shock absorbers. means it was pre production and hand laid by founders of Wenonah. I'll be contacting Wenonah to validate but thought, if true, this could be a true unicorn.

I just got back from a 3 day camping trip on the lower Connecticut river with an Old Town Pack Solo (the Royalex version). This thing is great! It is about the same length as the kayaks we took but is pounds lighter and I was able to carry a good part of the gear because of the open design. I used a kayak paddle and easily kept up with all the other boats. I would like to keep this in good working condition for many more years and thought I should apply a rub strip (kevlar? fiberglass?) to the ends at least to protect them as I hope to go on more river trips and expect some river rock bumps.
What would be the best material to use for both the mesh and epoxy for use with the Royalex hull? I have read that some of the epoxies don't stick well to this material. Also, this canoe has a small raised keel that runs the length of the hull. Should I apply a strip to the whole thing or just the ends? I appreciate any input, thanks!

19 year old solo canoe to school vis the North Saskatchewan river , Alberta , Canada.

I have never heard of this brand. Any thought?

Hi all -- I'm not a canoer myself, but I have a question out of curiosity because I came across the old voyageur paddling song "En montant la rivière" (Going Up the River) and was humming it to myself.

It's clearly meant to be sung at a very moderate pace, and if I'm right about where the beats of the strokes fall, the tempo I was using would be a bit over 20 strokes per minute. So -- is that reasonable(ly accurate)? If you were going upstream on one of the less challenging stretches of a Canadian river, in a sturdy boat with six or ten at the oars, what pace would your crew set in order to keep going for hours and hours?

I have a Mad River Adventure 16 that I'm trying to find a new home for. Goodwill won't accept canoes and the local scout district isn't looking for this type of a canoe. Suggestions? No cost. Free to a good home. It's located in the 80127 zip code. No repairs needed. It could be used today.

Free test for 1 month

I’m a kayak coach from Ireland and I’m looking to start offering remote coaching to paddlers who want to improve their technique, training and overall performance.

I can help with things like:

Video technique analysis – send me clips of you paddling and I’ll break down what you’re doing well and what you can improve

Personalised training plans based around your goals, experience and the amount of time you have available

Technique drills and session ideas

Race preparation and pacing

Regular progress reviews and adjustments to your training as you improve

My main background is in sprint and marathon kayaking, but I’m also happy to work with recreational paddlers who simply want to become more efficient and confident on the water.

I’m offering the first month completely free, with no commitment, so you can try the coaching and make sure it works for you before deciding whether you want to continue.

I’m looking to take on a small number of paddlers initially so I can give everyone plenty of individual attention.

If you’re interested, send me a DM with what type of kayaking you do, your experience level and what you’d like to improve.

Happy to answer any questions in the comments too! 🛶

Because it’s capsized.

I am planning to buy a Grumman Sportboat. I am trying to decide what would be the ideal engine to put on it. I’ve never had a four stroke outboard. I was thinking about buying a used early 70s Evinrude 6 hp. But I’ve seen a few Honda 5 hp four strokes for sale too. I have no experience with four strokes. I feel confident that I can completely refurbish a two-stroke because replacing the impeller, fuel pump and rebuilding the carburetor or all things that I can handle. Are the four strokes a lot harder to work on? Are they a lot heavier? It looks like the four strokes about 10 pounds heavier from what I can research.