Tips from the River Rats:

Other Equipment

From back issues of the WrapAround. Click on the photos to see larger images.

Other Equipment

Delaminated Hulls
After years of finding rocks with the bow of your boat you are bound to wear out the vinyl skin and perhaps you have let it go and the Royalex has delaminated (as with the chapter's XL15). The best fix for this is to get it welded with new ABS, but is beyond most do-it-yourselfers capabilities.

A reasonable fix (that worked with the XL15) is to first thoroughly dry out the under lying layers with a heat gun or hair dryer. Second, clean it out as best you can with whatever tools you get into the opening. Then fill the blister with "Great Stuff" spray foam. If you ever used this before you know it is sticky as hell when you first apply it and then dries to a firm foam. (Note: Do NOT use the latex foam as it has neither of those qualities.) After it has thoroughly dried (at least 24 hours) clean up the area of excess and then cover the patch with a skid plate (or other permanent covering). By Rod Dore 3/02

Ready, Set, Go
A quick way to get ready for paddling trips is to keep all your stuff in a plastic box. Once you have dried and cleaned up from the last trip, place all your paddling gear; throw rope, PFD, helmet, bailing bucket, dry bag, wetsuit, first aid kit, duct tape, etc. into the box and it is ready for quick loading for the next trip. The plastic filing boxes such as those sold at office supply stores for $10 to $15 are great for this purpose. Throwing all your wet stuff into it when you get back to your car after paddling keeps the car clean and dry. Rod Dore 3/99

Bow and Stern Drain Holes
Often it is easier to paddle to shore and flip your canoe to empty the water than to bail it out. A handy way to make sure the water drains more completely and just a little faster is to drill a ¾" hole in the bow and stern decks. This will empty the water that runs along the inside of the gunwales and collects inside the bow or stern. Tom Todd 4/99

Foam Kneepads

Custom cut kneepads made out of ethafoam add comfort and stability to a long paddling trip. An easy way to cut the concave shape is to bend a hacksaw blade with a wire tied to the end holes of the blade. The curvature of the bend should match your knee with appropriate paddling gear on. The cup at the end can be rounded by turning the blade up as you cut. The pads can then be glued into place using a waterproof contact cement (see note below). These kneepads can be made out of the scrap ethafoam left over from out fitting the rest of your boat. Tom Todd 4/99

A note about Contact Cement: Contact Cement can destroy Royalex! Use the glue carefully and sparingly. Read this for more information. (Thanks to D. Johnson, Birmingham Canoe Club, for bringing this to our attention!)

Gluing to Your Canoe
When outfitting a boat it is often necessary to glue things in, like knee pads, saddles, etc.. Construction Adhesive is often used as it quick and easy. Under white water use and age these items will eventually need replacing. It is then that you'll find that the construction adhesive leaves a mess behind that can not be cleaned up easily. (Soaking it with kerosene or other petroleum based solvents can soften it up enough to scrape off). A better idea for gluing is to use regular contact cement from your local hardware store. It is water resistant and will hold up for years. In the event you do rip out a knee pad you are left with a smooth surface that can be cleaned and new contact cement applied. Rod Dore 3/98 

Painters Pop Plastic Plates
To tie on painters (ropes on the ends of your boat) a lot of manufactures provide a hole in the deck plate to tie into. This is especially true with the common plastic molded style deck plates. Take note that these deck plates are only pop-riveted in place and can be torn off if pulled on too hard. Anyone that has assisted in pulling a wrapped or broached boat off a rock knows that it takes a LOT of strain on the ropes to move the boat against the current. A more secure method is to drill a large hole (.5" dia.) right through both sides of the hull near the stems and pass a heavy duty rope through and make a loop. Most white water canoe manufactures have done this at the factory for you, but not all have. Rod Dore, 5/98

On Skid Plates
To insure adequate working time for the resin when applying two skid plates on your boat, mix the resin components together and pour the mix out on the two skid plates and work it in. The cure time will be slower than if you let it sit in the can. The heat build up in larger volume (such as a half a can) will accelerate the curing. If you  take the time to soak it in one skid plate and try to apply and smooth it out before soaking the second you may have a problem (See boat outfitting day story).  Another way to assure adequate time is to just mix up half the resin and half the hardener, but that takes a little bit of messy measuring. - Rod Dore

Donut Shop Buckets
On canoe camping and touring trips it is often useful to have buckets along with waterproof tops.  These buckets are useful for carrying things that are sharp, that need to be kept dry, that are odd shaped, that need to be accessed quickly, or that shouldn't be crushed. I use one of these buckets to carry my Coleman lantern, fuel, and tools.   I use others for food such as bread, flour, pasta, etc.

These buckets are light weight and when empty can be nested inside each other while paddling.   Around camp they have numerous uses such as seats, wash pails, water transport, settling silt out of water before filtering, raising bread dough, keeping food away from small animals, and of course water fights.

Bringing along an extra cover with a large oval hole cut out allows the bucket to serve as a carry-out port-a-potty that is actually quite comfortable and reasonably high.  The other cover is not a large item to pack.  With a set of identical and interchangeable buckets on the river, as the food supply buckets are emptied, they can be used for the used food.

On the river, the top of a good bucket with an O-ring seal will keep the insides dry.  It will stay tight even if there is a fair amount of abuse.  There is always the chance that something could pop off the top so it is advisable to pack food inside a plastic bag inside the bucket.

There are several sources of these buckets.  As in many cases in life, the best things are free (or used to be.)  Many people use "mud" buckets left over from plastering.  This are sturdy buckets but are not made of food grade plastic so you should hesitate to use them for contact with food or for handling your drinking water.

Often you can buy these buckets in a hardware store.  These are also not food grade.  They also have the disadvantage that they are not strong.  I've seen them crack many times.  The covers don't stay on very well. … And they are expensive.

I think the best source of these buckets are the Donut Shops.  Unfortunately as our collective taste for donuts has waned in favor of bagels and other "less fattening" treats, the supply of buckets has also waned.  I've become an expert on the buckets thrown out by a nearby donut shop.

I used to be able to get little berry picking buckets that the strawberry icing came in.  I used to be able to get the" Stan's Lunch Bucket" sized bucket that had the chocolate icing.  I used to be able to get the tall "mud bucket" sized buckets that had the vanilla and chocolate "crème" filling.  I can still get the big, but not tall, bucket that had the "honey dipped" glazing.  Most of these icings and filling are not being served by all Donut shops so the buckets are no longer available.  Check out the next donut shop you are in and note the icings and fillings.  If you see some of these exotic flavors, run around back or ask if you can have the empty buckets.  Careful.  In the summer the yellow jackets hang out in them.

Why bother with all this?  Well, the buckets that the donut shops use are heavy duty, food quality, and much more reliable that buckets from any other source.  They have numerous household uses such as mop buckets, potting soil, trash buckets, etc.  Unfortunately some of the donut shops have figured this out and want to charge for the used buckets.  OK, that's fair.  You'll find they are much better quality that buckets you can buy elsewhere.

I bet you will now view the donut selection in a whole different light!!! Happy munching. - Tom Todd 2/00

Saddles versus Thwart Seats
You will notice that most whitewater boats use a "saddle" for a seat, rather than a thwart seat. Sitting in a thwart seat leaves your center of gravity so high that your are unstable in whitewater. A thwart seat is dangerous in that while kneeling, your legs are hooked under the seat. If you happen to spill while in this position, there is a good change you can get trapped or hurt. When paddling tandem on the Souhegan on one of my first whitewater trips, my partner wrenched his knee seriously when we tipped on the pillow or water against Bang Rock.

The advantages of a saddle include having a lower center of gravity and having a good hold on the canoe by gripping the saddle between your legs. Tom Todd with help from Rod Dore and Bill Lowman 3/99

Paddle Materials
Selection of materials is somewhat of a personal choice. There are negatives and positives of each.

For beginners a paddle made with an aluminum shaft with a plastic blade is a good choice. They are usually the cheapest (under $20). The combination makes for a strong paddle that can last for years. The aluminum does get cold in the spring and it will not spring back if it over stressed. The blades are very durable. The biggest draw back to these paddles is the weight. On average they are heavier than most other options. Many white water paddlers use these exclusively. A good point with them is that if you loose one or bend it your only out the $20 bucks.

Wood has an excellent feel. It is warm (important for early spring paddling), it is strong (when laminated) and it has a good spring to the shaft. There are many small manufacturers of wood paddles that will custom fit a paddle for you as well. The down falls with wood are, it is a bit more expensive than other materials. The rocks of New England rivers will wear down a wood blade quickly if it does not have a rock guard edge of some type. A wood paddle will need occasional maintenance to keep it in good shape. A once a year touch up is typical. [New technology for whitewater paddles is to include a 'nylon roping around the edges of the to protect the blade from rocks. Mitchell Paddles in NH has some older designed paddles on sale: see for sale section.]

The best paddles (and most expensive) are the composites. Many are made of graphite and some made with Kevlar. The benefits of these are in the weight. They are the lightest of all and still are as tough as the heavier materials. Custom made paddles are offered in these price ranges, The have option such as handle shapes, shaft shapes, blade shapes, and specific lengths.

Overall, paddles are a personal choice. 95% of paddling is you and your technique. A $300 paddle will not make you a better paddler it only makes you a little more comfortable and hopefully a little more efficient. by Rod Dore

Slap Paddle … No Paddle
I have often seen people slapping their paddle down flat on the surface of the water for a nice "POP"' sound. I even have done it myself. CAUTION: don't do it with wooden paddles. On my last trip out two paddlers found out the hard way that a wood paddle will split vertically up the blade when you do it too hard. (I hope my repair job holds). - Rod Dore 3/99

A (Cheap) Spare Kayak Paddle
Another cheap tip - when kayaking I always carry a spare paddle. Most kayakers don't, but a lost or broken paddle is a nasty situation if you don't have a spare. I own only one kayak paddle, so for a spare I use a really cheap, light-weight wood canoe paddle in a youth size. I've found that when I need the spare I can pull it out of its park on the rear deck and begin to use it in one motion. Assembling a two-part kayak paddle in conditions that have already made you lose or break your first paddle can be a bear. I think I paid $5.99 for my spare paddle. People laugh but it does the job. (The Inuit of King Island paddle their kayaks with single blade paddles, like canoes. Who am I to argue?) - By Jerry Hawkins

Seal Leaking Drybags

On long distance trips there is a good chance that one or more of your drybags may get punctured or abraded so that there is a small leak. AquaSeal is available at many camping and scuba stores. It is clear and will form a strong seal on your drybags or airbags. It has the disadvantage that it takes about 8-16 hours to dry. Airstop, available in toy stores will dry much quicker, but is not as durable and tends to dry out in the bottle quicker. The containers are both small and I'd recommend them for your repair kit ditty bag.  - by Tom Todd

Don't Let Winter Crack Your Boat
The Problems Caused By Differential Thermal Expansion
Differential Thermal Expansion: A technical term that you should be aware of if you store your canoe(s) outside for the winter.

When temperatures drop all materials will shrink to some degree. The problem is that not all materials will shrink at the same rate. On your canoes this is particularly important if you have ash gunwales. A Royalex hull tends to shrink a lot more than the ash gunwales do (in the direction of the grain). If the Royalex wants to shrink and the wood is trying to prevent it, the stress created can tear open the sides of your hull. This may not be a gradual tear that grows year to year. At low temps the Royalex can crack open similar to opening a bag of chips by pulling on the sides. Once it starts it can pop open.

To prevent this possibility the canoe manufacturers recommend loosening 2 or 3 of the screws at each end of the gunwales. This will allow the different materials to shrink as they want without fighting each other. [Stick a note on the boat to remind you to tighten the screws in the Spring.]

This problem more significant on the longer boats. It is not a concern on boats with vinyl/aluminum gunwales as they seem to shrink at about the same rate. - By Rod Dore 

Wilderness Tripping Tip #33

You should always carry in your back pocket a handkerchief (I'd take 3). I'm talking a 20" square cotton handkerchief that has been washed enough times to get the sizing out of the material and render it nice and soft.

The handkerchief has many daily uses but one use you will appreciate is the "pot-holder" use, which if you remember, will eliminate the scorched fingers from hot pans. - By Bruce Healey 

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