r/canoeing 4h ago

Ran the North Branch in Chicago at low, rocky water with a loaded canoe. Scraped bottom the whole way but made it.

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26 Upvotes

Ran a stretch of the North Branch of the Chicago River from Gompers Park down to River Park. It's an wild urban paddle and the water up here is shallow. After the old dam at River Park was removed back in 2018, this stretch went to riffles and gravel bars, so between the low water and a fully loaded boat I was scraping bottom and picking lines the whole way down.

The extra wrinkle: I don't own a car, so my ebike was in the canoe with me for the paddle (I use it to haul the boat to the put-in, then it rides back in the hull). Roughly 40 lbs of bike sitting low and center definitely didn't help in the skinny water.


r/canoeing 2h ago

Canoe Recommendation for Rapids

6 Upvotes

We are looking for a canoe for river trips with rapids.

- advanced lake/river/portage canoers, but just getting into rapids

- two people

- usually up to 5-7day trips

- would like durable and lighter if possible.

- we have a kevlar right now, but it is not durable

- we are in Ontario

- we've been looking at Esquif. I've seen recommendations for the Pocket Canyon Lite , but I'm wondering if it's too short for our needs.

Looking for suggestions! TIA


r/canoeing 21h ago

Scrap ratchet straps and an old grommet repair kit I used for a tarp 4 years ago for the win. Saved me $9😎🤣

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52 Upvotes

r/canoeing 3h ago

Upper suwannee legal (or iffy) camping

1 Upvotes

Hey gang, anyone done the upper (griffis to white springs) section of the suwannee? Planning to go all the way to anderson landing in a single trip and would like the scoop on if theres anything north of the wilderness trail in the way of camps.


r/canoeing 1d ago

Urban paddling

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188 Upvotes

Victoria Park, Kitchener, Ontario.


r/canoeing 1d ago

Just bought this canoe off marketplace and it has this big foam piece in the middle and the seller said it was for stability, should I just rip it out?

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44 Upvotes

r/canoeing 13h ago

Would the process of transporting this Grumman 17’ canoe with a damaged gunwale on my roof be any different than an undamaged one?

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3 Upvotes

I will be putting a strap around the damaged area to keep it from bowing out during transport, tying it down with two cam straps to my roof cross-bars and rope in the front and the back as well. Attempting to transport this 700 miles to save it from being scrapped…


r/canoeing 1d ago

Royalex Repair

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13 Upvotes

Wondering if this damage makes the canoe unbuyable.

Old Town Camper made with Royalex for a good price that I am considering.

If it is repairable, what am I looking at for this job?

Thanks


r/canoeing 1d ago

Old Prospector Restoration

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17 Upvotes

I picked this boat up for very little and wanted to breathe new life into it for someone else. Didn't get the chance to paddle it, but I hope its new owners are having a good time.

This is my second salvage canoe. Needless to say I'm still learning!


r/canoeing 20h ago

The Last Portage: July 9th to 15th

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2 Upvotes

The days are melting together now. Camp, paddle, portage, repeat — no particular order anymore, just the loop. Every day is dedicated to moving forward.
Montreal, the end goal, pulls like a magnet. The closer I get, the stronger the pull.
I've crossed into my fourth province. The prairies nearly killed me. The river is reviving me.
Bugs, wind, rain, sun — that's just the game now.
Still two days out from Kenora. Then I have to navigate the 35th largest lake in the world. Over 14,000 islands.


r/canoeing 1d ago

The Jesus Seal

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6 Upvotes

r/canoeing 1d ago

Cedaria Innovations

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4 Upvotes

Had to share with you all because I am so excited to get my old town outfitted!! Cedaria Innovations has been incredible already, the order was super simple, shipped quick, and looks great. More to come on the maiden voyage!!


r/canoeing 1d ago

Someone told me "Boats Ok but lose the fleabag! Dogs and canoes don’t mix well"

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76 Upvotes

He may be right but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll share more once I sort through the pictures and videos.


r/canoeing 1d ago

Trolling motor mount help

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1 Upvotes

Hey guys. Got the ascend canoe trolling motor mount for my coleman ramx. Seems like the gunwale isn’t wide enough to really secure these clamps. I’m looking into adding some type of clamp through the precut raceway to clamp to the outside of the canoe at least on one side, if not both for extra support. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance!! Mount if you need to see how the clamps work: https://www.cabelas.com/p/ascend-canoe-motor-mounting-bracket?searchTerm=3529071


r/canoeing 1d ago

First canoe

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29 Upvotes

I found what I think is a ~1970 Moise Cadorette fibreglass canoe. I knew almost nothing about canoes a month ago. A canoe trip in high school almost 10 years ago must have given me a little canoe bug, but it didn’t bite me until now. It needed some TLC so I looked up some canoe repair videos on YouTube and jumped in. 100+ hours of sanding, filling, woodworking, and larping as a painter later, and it floats. It’s only 13 feet so I think I’ll be using it solo for the vast majority of the time.

It’s another old, imperfect thing that I’ve kinda fallen in love with, something that I’m looking forward to enjoying :)


r/canoeing 1d ago

Wiigwaas Jiimaan: Building a Community Canoe with Ron Paquin

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1 Upvotes

Community members from across Michigan gathered in St. Ignace for a three-day workshop to build a birch bark canoe.


r/canoeing 2d ago

Rescued abandoned Mad River Explorer 16 - Need advice

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9 Upvotes

I rescued an abandoned Mad River canoe today. It has been sitting in full sun for about two months gunwale up. Obviously it has been used and abused by previous owners. It does have a Royalex sticker on the inside. I filled it up with water to test for leaking.

I know pretty much nothing about canoes and was hoping to get some advice on how to restore this to working condition. It has a major crease in it that could prove to be a problem for leaks. Obviously it has no gunnels and is no longer holding its form very well. I would be happy to put some money into it if people agree it is salvageable.

Please let me know what I can do to begin the restoration process. Any additional tips and advice are greatly appreciated. Thank you.


r/canoeing 2d ago

Any info?

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11 Upvotes

Shot in the dark, but would anyone know the manufacturer, rough age, or any other info of this canoe? I purchased the canoe, two aluminum oars, and two life jackets for $50. I know it needs refinished but hoping the canoe isn’t a hunk of junk!

UPDATE: After I got it home and cleaned, I also measured it. 12’ 8” length, 33” wide, and 11” depth. Some type of fiberglass hull, solid wood gunnel, I think a thin 5mm or so plywood decks. No obvious HIN anywhere.


r/canoeing 2d ago

First canoe purchase! What do we think?

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187 Upvotes

Drove almost two hours for a bit of a FB marketplace gamble since the listing photos weren’t great but super happy with how it looks in person. From what I can tell online (and how it feels), I’m pretty sure it’s royalex material?

Originally was going to get a Coleman for cheaper, but after reading online I decided to spend a little extra. This felt like a pretty good deal for $500 imo, maybe everyone here will tell me I got ripped off haha!

Big thanks to everyone in this community, I’m hoping to take it out on the water next week!


r/canoeing 2d ago

Grey Owl and Bending Branches Paddle ID

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7 Upvotes

Can anyone get me a specific model ID on these two paddles?

They came with an older Jensen Clipper 17' Tuf-Weave Canoe my folks bought on marketplace. The Bending Branches bent shaft is 52" and the Grey Owl is straight shaft 54".


r/canoeing 2d ago

Can anyone id this canoe (model or material)?

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1 Upvotes

This just came up on marketplace for 500 USD, and I RARELY see a quality canoe listed around these parts, so I'm trying to calculate it's worth buying to upgrade from (and have a companion to) my 1980s mohawk 16' fiberglass. Thanks in advance!


r/canoeing 2d ago

Gold Lake

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3 Upvotes

Just got back from a week at the lake. The campground spots all have water/beach access It rained one night leading to a spectacular Sierra Sunset Plumas National Forest Lakes Basin Recreation Area Reserved sites 26/29 have the best beach. Half of the other sites are first come first served. I reserve one or two nights and move to FFS once there. Had very good luck for the past 5 years


r/canoeing 3d ago

Follow up to the bright yellow mystery canoe I bought last month

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41 Upvotes

Took a month to line up collection dates with the seller, who lived five minutes from this river.

Quick test paddle and all seems well and much lighter than expected.

If anyone knows how to identify the model from the serial number, that would be very helpful.


r/canoeing 3d ago

Canadian Air Force rescues Minnesota teens trapped in wildfires, Gov. Walz says

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1.1k Upvotes