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How Much Food Should I Pack
Dear PaddlingLight, As I canoe more, leaving the river of home and enter the BWCA, I must portage. I do not want to carry needless weight. So, I am planning a 6 day trip with lots of portaging, some are 340 rods, some only 8. However, as a soloist, I have determined to double portage, thus a 340-rod portage is really 1020 rods. So it is like this, I get by on minimal food on a timber trek. Although I climb serious hills, I am not carrying a 60-pound pack or a canoe. I am assuming the physical exertion even on a small mile trip is demanding. I am wondering…
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Dear Nessmuking: Your Questions, Our Answers
Dear Nessmuking, I am in the process of choosing an ultra-light canoe and becoming a little frustrated by the whole thing. There seems to be a lot of b.s. out there, especially from those trying to sell me a boat. I’ve narrowed my choices to the Bluewater Tripper and the Quetico 17′. A few dealers have been telling the Souris River oilcans badly and that it is a problem that will worsen with age. The others have told me the Freedom Tripper is too small for the occasional 3rd paddler (in my case all 3 people are a little over 51/2 ft. tall with a total weight of about 400…
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Free Aleutian Baidarka Kayak Plans
Free plans for building an Aleutian Baidarka Kayak using the Hulls boat design program.
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Notus Racing and Cruising Canoe: An exercise in using FREE!ship
Using the Notus Racing and Cruising Canoe as the subject, this tutorial shows you how to import offsets into Free!Ship and create decks and sails. Also, included is a spreadsheet to make offset import easy, and the imported plans for the Notus for free.
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Free Kayak Plans From Glen Smith
Glen Smith often contributor to the Kayak Forum and moderator at the Bear Mountian Canoe Forum has provided the following two kayak designs for free.
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Igdlorssuit: Free Kayak Plans for the Boat Before Anas Acuta
Igdlorssuit: Free Kayak Plans for the Boat Before Anas Acuta
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Siskiwit Bay Builder Photos
Pictures from home builders of the Siskiwit Bay. If you have pictures you’d like to share, please, contact us. Thanks. Drawings for this kayak are available. Jim Smith Project finished March 2014 Jim writes: I have completed construction of a completely 3D printed, customized Kayak. The Kayak measures 16ft 8in [5.08m] long and cost around $500 to make. It is made of ABS plastic, machine screws, brass threaded inserts and a little bit of silicone caulk. That’s it. And it floats. And I can Kayak around in it. In order to print such large, solid sections of Kayak, I had to modify my home-built, large scale 3D printer to print…
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Free Kayak Plans – Siskiwit Bay
The Siskiwit Bay is all-around fast mid-sized British-style touring kayak. This solid boat suits a medium to heavy paddler looking for good initial stability and with increased flare above the waterline lots of secondary stability. As the water gets rougher, this kayak feels more stable. It's a fast design slightly more efficient than most British kayaks in its class. When built with a Layback Lounge, it's an easy roller.
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Goodnow Kayak Free Plans
The 16' 8" Goodnow kayak is stunning. It's lines flow beautifully and it begs to be built and paddled. At 17 5/8" wide, I'd have a hard time fitting into it, so I decided to model the kayak for a possible upscale and build. Included here is the FREE!ship file for your download and some information about the kayak.
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35 Day Challenge
Why the 35 Day Challenge? Simple. The 35 Day Challenge is engineered to challenge your perceptions as what is possible when traveling by canoe. A small waterproof pack, like the Sealline 35 Day Pack can be used to carry everything you need for a backcountry trip. And you'll still be comfortable while doing it.
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How to Pick a Bell Solo Canoe
How to pick a Bell solo canoe.
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Getting Light Weight
Learn about lightweight gear systems and how to reduce the weight of gear that you carry.
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Much Ado About Nothing or Very Little at Least – Gear Lists
Every philosophy, even those grounded in skills, like Nessmuking, must evaluate the gear that they utilize. Even Nessmuk produced a core list, evaluated gear, and added up the weights. For most philosophies, this is where you are left. As stated before the Nessmuking philosophy doesn’t start and end with the discussing of the merits of this and that gear, but as with every pursuit that requires equipment, the right gear can make wilderness travel easier. The following gear list has been tried and tested using the lightweight Nessmuking philosophy on over 1200 miles of paddling and hiking trips in a multitude of locations, including the Black Hills, the Smoky Mountains,…
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Map Reading and Navigation
You should learn not only to use a compass, but also good map reading before you venture into the wilds of the northern woods or the wilds of the woods anywhere.
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Your Paddling Partners and Having Successful Trips
Extra planning and carefully finding compatible expedition partners are essential steps for successful. By taking the steps outlined here, many of the bad things that can happen in the woods can be avoided, and these steps can help out your next trip.
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