Carbon Fiber Paddle

I just finished my latest paddle. It's a modified ottertail with carbon fiber laminated blade. The 5.7 oz carbon cloth allows for just enough flex in the blade that should reduce impact on joints. The core material is cedar with a 1/4" strip of ash running the length to give it some rigidity. As with all my paddles the edges of the blade are very fine for silent paddling. It weighs 470 grams.

Here's a close up of my bear logo and the great 3D effect that the twill weave gives.

The over all length is 56.5 inches, the blade is 5.5 X 25 inches

Here's a close up of the top grip and the book matched grain patterns

Torch and The Garden

On May 14 - 15 a small group of friends traveled to the Nipawin area to paddle on the Torch River and Garden River.

A washed out bridge over the Garden River.

The Garden River is a low volume river with many shallow rapids

Grant surfing one of the many waves on the Garden river. The Saskatchewan Watershed Authority's website said that it was flowing at 6 - 7 cubic meters per second.

Gord and Judy maneuvering through the rocks on the Garden River.

Around almost every bend there is a sweeper or over hanging trees on the Garden

Grant on the Garden, there wasn't a cloud in the sky all weekend

Thorsten on the Garden

At the put in on the Garden

My home away from home for the weekend. The temperatures dropped to below freezing.

Bear, Moose, and wolf tracks were found in the mud not too far from where we camped.

Gord and Judy relaxing on the Torch River. The river was running at 40 cms

The put in on the Torch

The Cruising Canoe and its Outfit, 1880

Here is an article titled "The Cruising Canoe and it's Outfit" that was published in the August 1880 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. The article describes canoeing and canoeing culture at that time. What interests me is the differences in perceptions between present day and 130 years ago. A passage in the article reads "The Indian birch and dug-out, it is true, belong to the canoe group, but they are, at best, crude craft, unfit for general cruising..." Present day opinions of the birch bark canoe are that of revelry and admiration for a craft that opened up a nation. Most serious canoeists would do just about anything to paddle a bark canoe let alone own one.

Enjoy.