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Fram Museum 1888 West Greenland Kayak Plans
When I visited the Fram Museum in Olso, Norway, I fell in love with a West Greenland kayak displayed as part of the Fram collection. The kayak is Fram number 176. Native Greenlanders built the kayak in 1888 for one of arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s colleagues after Nansen’s successful crossing of the Greenland icecap (Sea Kayaker article about the Fram kayaks). The kayak has a sweeping sheer, little stern rocker, and an extra partial chine half-way between the chine and sheer near the bow. Leather and bone decklines decorate the kayak’s deck. Plates, pegged to the boat, protect the bow and stern. The lines appear in Harvey Golden’s Kayaks of…
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Review of Canoe and Kayak Building Books
If you want to build a kayak or canoe from the free plans found on PaddlingLight, you should buy a couple of canoe or kayak building books. Most use different methods, which you can combine to make your boat uniquely your’s. There are lots of books out there to cover in a review, so I’m going to break them down into different categories and arrange them from the first to buy to the last. I’ll write a quick one-paragraph review. I’m leaving lots of books off this list, because I think these are the best. Cedar Strip Kayak Building Books Most of the plans that I do are designed for…
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Paddling Weather Lore and Prediction
Paddlers live at the mercy of the weather. On a calm day, we can paddle miles. On a stormy day, a strong headwind makes progress a crawl, and nothing is worse than lightning striking during a long crossing. Having simple tools to help predict the weather during a paddling trip helps with the decision making process. It can help answer the question, “To go or not to go?” In the backcountry, one type of weather prediction available is weather lore, which is a collection of folk sayings that help predict the weather. These sayings can be helpful for paddlers wishing to predict the weather. Here are a few favorite weather…
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Public Domain Canoe and Kayak Images
I always enjoy looking through old canoeing and kayaking images. They remind me that people have been paddling for a long time–what we do isn’t new, because it’s been around for thousands of years. It reminds me that our recreational activity links us to all those back through time that have enjoyed it. They enjoyed adventure as much as we do. It also reminds me how much better we look doing it now; look at some of the goofy outfits worn by paddlers of the past. My two favorite locations are on Flickr’s The Commons, which has a small but interesting collection, and Minnesota Historical Society’s Visual Resource Database. Every…
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How Much Faster is the Longer Kayak?
Recently, Silbs asks, Meanwhile, I have been driving myself nuts while mulling over an issue around boat size and speed. For starters, we all agree that a longer boat (all else being equal) can go faster than a shorter one. So far so good. In addition, we know that that longer boat will need more horsepower (muscle) to hit those higher speeds. Correct? Here’s where the waters get muddy. Say a paddler is capable of putting out, oh say, 5 units of power. If we put this paddler into a long boat that needs 6 units of power to hit top speed, he will fall short. Okay? Now, let’s put…
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10 Paddling Books to Read in 2010
Canoeist and kayakers should start off the new year and a new decade by resolving to read a few books. In the past I’ve done round-up reviews of boat building books and paddling books, but it’s about time for a new round-up. These 10 stand out as the paddling books you should read in 2010. Kayaking Books Sea Kayak Rescue, 2nd: The Definitive Guide to Modern Reentry and Recovery Techniques (How to Paddle Series): First published in 2001 and updated in 2007, this guide presents the most up-to-date rescue, reentry, and recovery techniques for sea kayakers. The book is well-written, easy-to-understand, and laid out in a progression that instructors could…
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Funny Kayak Videos
Over at Xtranormal, a website that allows users to easily create animated videos, a number of paddling related videos are appearing. They take a humorous look at serious issues and debates that occur within canoeing and kayaking. Many of the videos are based on some of the actual silly online debates that have occurred over at paddling.net. Note: Xtranormal discontinued its video service many years ago. These videos were pretty funny, so it’s too bad that they are gone. Also the links to the old paddling.net threads were broken years ago when paddling.net change forum programs. Pungo Kayak Expedition A funny examination of the Dunning-Kruger effect: 1. Incompetent individuals tend…
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A Paddling Emergency Ditch Kit
A common fear among paddlers is losing the boat or getting into a situation where the boat must be abandoned. Usually, along with the boat, the gear is lost too. It happens. An example of it happing comes from Canoe Trip: Alone in the Maine Wilderness. The author David Curran finds himself on the wrong side of a flooded river upstream of a rapid that would likely mean his death. After getting to shore, he abandons his canoe in an attempt to walk back to his car. In the process, he leaves essential gear behind. Another example comes from Robert Pruden when his kayak was swept over an unexpected rapid.…
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Paddle to Seattle Kayaking Film
J.J. Kelley and Josh Thomas built a couple of plywood kayaks. Then they paddled from Alaska to Seattle via the Inside Passage in the plywood kayaks that they built. During the trip, they filmed everything. After the trip, they whittled all the footage down to an 80-minute movie. Everyone from Paddler Magazine to Outside Online is raving about this new movie. You’ll see why after watching the trailer. Paddle to Seattle What intrigues me is that they took the time to build their own kayaks, invested the extra work into filming the movie, they got sponsorships, but they come across as just a couple of guys on an adventure. They…
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Great Gift Ideas for Paddlers
The end of the year approaches and the holidays are almost upon us. This means it’s time to start thinking about holiday gift ideas for the canoeist and kayakers in the family. This year, I’ve used and fell in love with a bunch of gear. Some of the gear I’ve fallen in love with appears on this year’s list. I think most paddlers would enjoy seeing these items under their Christmas or holiday tree, and I expect they’d fall in love with the gifts too. Sea Kayak With Gordon Brown DVD: Two years ago I got Gordon Brown’s book, Sea Kayak: A Manual for Intermediate and Advanced Sea Kayakers, as…
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Throw Bags for Sea Kayaking
Most sea kayakers who’ve passed a safety and rescue class are aware of the importance of carrying a tow rope. A similar safety device that could be of equal importance and prove more handy in some rescue situations is a whitewater throw bag. These bags are inexpensive and lightweight, so there is no excuse not to carry one in some situations. Throw Bags Basics A whitewater throw bag is a rescue tool typically with 50 to 70 feet or floating rope loosely packed into a bag that pays out easily when thrown to a swimmer. It often has a rope handle on one end that allows it to be easily…
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Kayaking on Lake Nipigon
Lake Nipigon should be one of the premier kayaking destinations in North America. It’s remote, it’s wilderness, and it’s studded with 100s of islands to explore. It has big open water crossings, black sand beaches, towering palisades, and it can get rough and challenging. In 2008, Tim Russell and I took a week long trip to the lake. The following notes are from the research that we did (mainly Tim’s work). Originally, this research appeared on a wiki. It’s still there, but this will be a more permanent location. About Lake Nipigon From Wikipedia: Lake Nipigon (French : lac Nipigon) is the largest lake entirely within the boundaries of the…
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Estimating Wave Height for Canoes and Kayaks
Grand Marais, MN straddles the boundary between two worlds. To the north, canoeists explore the many lakes and portages of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and to the south, kayakers navigate the big ocean-like water of Lake Superior. If one adventurer from each crowd paddled in the same water and waves, expect to hear different reports of how big the waves were later in the pub. In my experience, I’ve found most paddlers have no idea how to report the size of a wave, and this comes from a lack of education and a reference point. Measuring Wave Size The measurement of a wave is typically given in height…
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Public Radio Interview with Nessmuking Author Bryan Hansel
This interview appeared on WTIP and The Roadhouse with Buck Benson and Bob Carter. The interview is covering my (Bryan’s) Around the Great Lake Expedition 2009. Click Here to Listen: Around the Great Lakes on the Roadhouse with Buck and Bob [22mb, mp3] Learn more about the Around the Great Lake Expedition 2009.
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Kayaker Plans 5-month 3,800 Mile Circumnavigation of All Great Lakes
Grand Marais, MN – February 14, 2009 – On May 2, photographer, writer, guide Bryan Hansel will paddle out of the Grand Marais, MN harbor on a 5-month, 3,800-mile solo kayak circumnavigation of all the Great Lakes. During this expedition, Hansel will attempt to become the first person to complete this circumnavigation by kayak. His goals for the trip are to produce a book from photographs taken, to promote paddlesports participation and resource protection on the Great Lakes. “With this trip, I plan to call attention to the increasing pressure placed on this area and highlight the world-class paddling opportunities. I believe that by increasing paddlesport participation, we will advance…