Archive for August, 2009
More Tips On Buying A Canoe
Posted in: Canoes & Canoeing
Those who enjoy the outdoors can have a lot of fun in the water. Instead of using a sail or paddleboat, nothing compares to the thrill of riding on a canoe.
Canoes are considered to be the second smallest boat followed by the kayak. These are light and easy to transport thanks to the lightweight material in producing it that can be purchased by a customer.
Here are some tips for those thinking of buying a canoe.
1. Not all canoes can be used in the same environment. Those who choose to go white water rafting have to get a boat that is able to withstand punishment as this will frequently hit among the rocks. Those who choose the wrong kind will probably sink even before reaching the finish line.
Knowing where it will be used will make it easy for the sales person to show what is available and help the customer look for it should an inquiry be done online.
2. The shape of the hull is another thing to consider. It is best to get the kinds that are either rounded or has a V shape compared to those that are flat bottomed. As much as possible, there shouldn't be keels underneath since these will make the canoe hard to steer.
3. Choosing a canoe by simply looking at it won't tell the customer if it is the right one to get. The best thing to do is sit inside and check if this is spacious and comfortable.
One of the more important things to check out is the tumblehome that is located on the sides of the canoe. These should be stable to make it easy to embark or disembark and give the enthusiast stability when paddling the boat.
4. Canoes can last a long time if it is properly taken care of. Before paying for the canoe, the customer should ask if there is a warranty. The boat will surely have a lot of dents and scratches but there should be some form of protection if it is discovered there is a manufacturing defect.
If you aren't able to find a canoe within the price range, perhaps it is time to consider getting a used one. There are sellers who advertise these in the newspapers or online so the same tips in buying a new one should be used when choosing from those being offered.
Tips Buying a Canoe – Taking Home A Good One
Posted in: Canoes & Canoeing
Tips Buying a Canoe - Taking Home A Good One
Back in the old days, you had very little choice. Do you want the dug out or the tree bark models? The things that you consider are the craftsmanship and the type of resins or vines used to tie and reinforce the barks together. Nowadays, you need to look beyond the canoes outward appearance. There are definitely a lot of things to consider.
Take for example the canoe's bottom. A flatter bottom means the canoe is more stable but it is essentially slower than the one's that have more rounded bottoms. The canoes that have flat-bottomed hulls are commonly used in sport and cottage-type canoe hulls and are ideal for beginners. Meanwhile, the rounded-bottomed hulls are more maneuverable during high speeds and thus are used for touring and expeditions via canoe.
When you look at a canoe consider where you are going to use them and then look at the bottom of the canoe. It is normal to use canoe that has a keel or v-bottom for lake use. But for river use, a canoe with a keel is used to increase maneuverability.
Also look into the rocker of the canoe. A rocker refers to the amount the hull curves from bow to stern. Because the bow is the one that hits and cuts through the water, its shape determines the use of the canoe. For instance, whitewater canoes need high volume bows and sterns for buoyancy. The situation calls for a canoe that can go over large waves and has enough buoyancy over shorter lengths.
Just remember that generally, a rocker slows down the canoe and decreases the amount of load you can put on the canoe. For lake and touring canoes, it is advisable to use canoes that have very little amounts of rocker in order to increase the canoe's overall speed. For river canoes, the emphasis is on stability and maneuverability rather that canoe speed. Having a five to six inches of rocker in a 16-foot whitewater canoe would be great for canoeing the river and its white water rapids.
Meanwhile, for touring and expedition canoes, the right amount of rocker is 2" for a canoe that measures l6-l7 feet in length.
Choosing the right canoe also means considering the brand and the material used to build the boat. There are a lot of product brands out there and you really need to rely on the well known brands since more often than not, these are the ones that are well made from the best materials available. However, you might need to shell out a hefty amount.
Things People Should Bring On A Canoeing Trip
Posted in: Canoes & Canoeing
There are those who like to go out of town in the morning and then drive back in the afternoon or evening. But when people want to relax, it would be a good idea to pack some essentials especially on a canoeing trip.
The most important things should be food and water. This is because the group may not have that much luck catching fish. It is going to be awhile paddling through the water so snacks and some refreshments will keep everyone's energy up.
A first aid kit shouldn't be forgotten on any trip. Accidents may happen and you should be given medical attention until the group is able to go back to the resort.
An emergency evacuation may be necessary so a whistle will come in handy especially when there are other boats frequenting the area. This is probably the best thing to have if there is no cellphone signal.
Before disembarking, it will be a good idea to put on a splash cover. Those who dont how to paddle will probably put some water into the boat, which is simply excess weight making it hard to maneuver.
In case, people get lost and dont know how to get back, campers should always have a compass and a map to be able to get a bearing. The global positioning satellite or GPS system is also useful so you can use one or the other.
The essentials mentioned as well as the others like the sleeping bag, tent, personal hygiene items, flashlight, batteries and others should be placed in water proof bags. This will make sure that those who camp during the night will feel warm even when the temperatures drop.
Everyone should wear a lifejacket. It is hard to tell what can happen when the weather suddenly changes or if there are hard currents. At least this device will make it easy for others to spot the fallen crew member and bring him or her into the boat.
There is a boy scout motto that says "Be prepared." This is probably something those who want to go on a camping trip should do because uneventful things may happen that no one expected.
Of course, it will be great if all the preparations worked out so the group can plan another one in the future and stay longer instead of just a weekend.
Should You Buy A Canoe?
Posted in: Canoes & Canoeing
So you've tried a canoe trip organized by a professional canoe outfitters and you've fallen in love with the sport. No one can blame for you that because canoeing is a truly wonderful experience. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, canoeing will always bring you something new, exciting, and exhilarating every single time you get down to it and start paddling.
One of the many wonderful things about canoeing is the fact that it is an activity you can enjoy with a group or alone and you can choose a thrill seeking ride or a slow and peaceful route. In fact, you don't have to go to some far away exotic destination to enjoy canoeing. You can head down to a nearby river or stream and make a canoe trip out of it. This will be a great opportunity to get back to the basics and experience the beauty in simplicity of nature. A canoeing trip for a weekend or even a day is sure to recharge and boost your energy levels for another week of mundane activities that lie ahead.
If you plan to make a habit of canoeing, you may begin to entertain the thought of buying your own canoe so that you can just take up and leave anytime you feel like it. However, before committing to buying a canoe, you will need to take stock of your canoeing habits and preferences to be able to truly decide on whether you should purchase one and what you should look for when getting one.
First of all, you need to take stock of whether you have proper storage for your canoe, if you do decide to buy one. Unless you plan to live in your canoe, you will have to make room for it to be able to stow it safely and properly. While you are deciding on where to put your canoe, you should also begin to consider how large a canoe you plan to get. This will help you finally decide whether you have enough space for storage or not.
When deciding on the size of canoe to get for you planned canoeing adventures, you will have to reflect on whether you plan to use your canoe for a day or for multiple days. Deciding this will guide you on choosing a canoe based on its gear space capacity. The larger the canoe, the more expensive it will be. With all the considerations and maintenance that goes into purchasing a canoe, you may just decide to rent one for your canoeing trips. Besides, you don't want your canoe to rot in your garage in case you won't be able to get to use it as much as you want to.
Safety in Canoeing
Posted in: Canoes & Canoeing
Canoeing can be a very enjoyable pastime. Canoe enthusiasts are almost always interested by water travel but also by trying to enjoy nature in its more pristine state. The love for natural surroundings is an important reason why canoe enthusiasts go out there and commune with nature by following river and lake trails on board their canoes. Canoeing is an adventure that will likely take you on many exciting as well as many memorable experiences.
But just like any other exciting adventure, canoeing may provide its own set of dangers and risks. Every canoe enthusiast should always bear in mind that enjoyment and adventure must go along with an attitude towards safety. Canoeing as a recreation may require enthusiasts to be aware of the possible risks involved. You may be able to enjoy and appreciate canoeing when one is able to effectively manage the risks and the dangers involved.
Canoe safety involves being able to know about your own capabilities as a canoe enthusiast as well as learning about the dangers present on every canoe adventure. Safety awareness is the key to being able to make every adventure worth enjoying and repeating. Here are some tips that might help you become more aware of your safety when on a canoe trip.
1. Avoid going solo. It is usually recommended that you canoe in pairs. It is best if you go canoeing accompanied with one other canoe. This will help increase your safety, knowing that you have some company ready to help you out in case of problems. Not only that, it is always better to have someone to share the experience as well as someone to talk with during the trip.
2. Learn the basic skills involved in the sport before you take on an actual canoeing trip. There are different canoeing classes being offered across the country at various skill levels. Learn about the basic safety skills such as how to handle a canoe properly, selecting the right canoe gear, and how to avoid risky and dangerous situations as well as how to prevent them.
3. Be aware of hidden dangers along the trail that you take. Be able to recognize common water dangers before you go on a trip. Just because you plan on canoeing on calmer waters doesn't necessarily mean that you are safe. Even calm waters may conceal rocky crevices that may pose as a danger to canoeists. Use your good judgment and knowledge as well as common sense in order to ensure that you always have a safe canoe trip.
4. Each stream or river presents different challenges and dangers. Even if you're a well-seasoned veteran, be sure you become familiar with the body of water before you embark on a journey.
Recreational Canoeing
Posted in: Canoes & Canoeing
There are several ways to spend the summer especially in the woods. There are people who, instead of wasting their time complaining about the heat, move out temporarily from their homes and find things to make them a little more cooled down. One of those things that we could do is to go camping on the river and go canoeing or kayaking, what is the difference between a canoe and a kayak and is there any difference in skill when you want to use either of them.
Canoeing for Leisure
Canoeing is paddling a canoe through the riverbed for sport, recreation, or as a form of transportation. It usually means to use a paddle to move a canoe with only human muscle strength on the other hand a kayak is made to move using a paddle with two blades on either ends of the stick where you sit with your legs out in the front, canoes are mostly open boats. There are also other versions of each boat, one ultimately trying to match what the other can offer, there are open kayaks and closed canoes.
Generally the term canoeing is used for general paddling done inside an open or closed boat where the paddler usually has a double bladed or singles blade paddles. But it can also refer to any kind of paddle sport. In North America canoeing is slightly different from Kayaking.
In modern times canoeing sports and paddling sports, it can be that both canoes and kayaks appear to be closed decked or open decked. In competition canoeing or kayaking it is very hard to distinguish the difference between a canoe and a kayak except for the usual competition specifications like the length, the weight, and other specifications demanded by the competition.
The most noticeable and most common difference is that kayaks used in competitions will generally be in the seating position (for the paddler), and canoes that are entered in competitions will generally have the kneeling position for its paddler. Like most of the traditional and early canoes used by the Native Americans, the canoes didn't have seats of any kind, the paddlers just stayed in a kneeling position on the bottom of the boat.
The recreational canoes from the Canadian border employed the use of small seats inside the boats and the ones used in whitewater canoeing and canoe surfing have also added harnesses so that it will be able to hold the rider in extreme conditions and also to avoid any kind of injury.
-
Boating Gear & Accessories
-
Boating Articles & Information
- Inflatable Pontoon Boats Are a Great Choice
- A Universal Wakeboard Tower Makes It All More Fun!
- Inflatable Fishing Boat – Affordable and Convenient
- Outboard Motors for Sale
- Great Deals at Travis Boating Center
- Special Considerations for Summer Boating
- Sailing Boating – A Beautiful Sight
- Recreational Boating – Is There Any Other Reason?
- Power Boating – Much More Than Speed
- Party Boating – Having Fun While Staying Safe
Copyright © Boating Fanatic - All Rights Reserved | PRIVACY POLICY | Terms of Use | FTC Compliance | Anti-Spam Policy | Copyright Notice | DMCA Compliance | Disclaimer | Social Media Disclosure | Sitemap