C-Forum

Jim Michaud--- I didn't see any "hard base" D-rings on Strapworks' site. Oops. Sorry. I read your post too fast and missed the "hard base" part. I just buy the thin stainless steel D-rings from Strapworks and make my own D-ring patches from scrap flooring material that I've gotten from Aire Rafts. ...

it was about 1800 cfs and I ran everything but the last half of golf course. It was fun but hard Way to go, Richard!! :) :D :) I'm willing to bet that you're the only person to ever run the North Fork Payette from the top in an OC-1. People from Boise have told me that even Nolan didn't run it from...

I'm pretty sure that the only stroke that I DON'T use is the righting pry. I did learn the righting pry when I was a newby but gave it up as a lost cause. All too often the tip of my blade would hit a rock during a righting pry. The canoe would then hit the paddle shaft and tear it out of my hands o...

When I bought my Cascade the dealer said that the solid colored ones were linear plastic and the multi colored ones were cross linked plastic. The cross linked ones were stronger but couldn't be welded while the linear ones could be welded. Mine is cross linked but I did managed to weld closed a dri...

A tautline hitch works real well for winching or towing, as long as the rope isn't slippery. After putting a lot of force on a rope most knots are very hard to untie. The tautline, on the other hand, always unties easily.

I've just shortened a couple of Mitchell paddles which also have carbon shafts and wood handles. I tried the boiling water technique and had no success so I just cut the shaft just below the T-grip. I then chipped out the old handle and epoxy with a narrow chisel. A friend told me that it was the te...

Jono,

Two weekends from now I'm going to start teaching my 13 year old grandson how to paddle a canoe. If you would like a little tutoring you’re more than welcome to join us on the Fife Brook section of the Deerfield.

I'm usually the guy that's rounding up the oarsmen for Grand Canyon trips. I've invited several that have never rowed anything before and a few that didn't even have whitewater experience. Every one of them did just fine. Of course, we had very experienced oarsmen allong on the trips to give guidenc...

I try to avoid an offside flip by shifting my butt an inch or two towards my paddle side when going through the big stuff. At this time I'm usually paddling pretty hard so my forward strokes keep me from falling over toward my onside. If I do start to flip to my offside I instinctively go for an ons...

The thought of broken teeth and a rearranged face makes me shudder. I would have my face planted tight against the air bag and my elbows tight to my side. Let your helmet and life jacket take the punishment. Been there.

I found Tom's video to be pretty awesome. It especially helped me to control the boat without constantly relying on the pry.
I also have the companion book. It'sm a good book but I found that it would be more beneficial for a newer paddler.

Jim

Drill part way from one side then finish drilling from the other side. Makes a much cleaner hole.

Jim

I've even had a Marine waterproof switch fail on me. Now I go to Ace hardware and buy a regular toggle switch and a bottle of Re-Rack. Re-Rack is the stuff that is used to repair dishwasher racks when the coating starts to wear off. The bottle has a little brush connected inside the cap. I give the ...

This is the first time that I've tried to add pictures to a post. I managed to get them uploaded to Picasa but failed at trying to get them into my post. :x You'll have to click on this link to see a couple of pics of me running Big Splat. :-? https://picasaweb.google.com/jimmichaud/PicasaPics?authk...