Ok… I see the reason for poling. I ran into a section of river that it would have been great to have a pole and know how to use it. So… do you MAKE a pole or buy one? Tips to making one?
Here ya go…
Aluminum…
http://ravensjester.smugmug.com/Boats/How-To/Building-a-Two-piece-Aluminum/517955_q9fry#21319710_t7NQP
Wood…
http://www.brockeng.com/AmusingRaven/pole.htm
thanks
I JUST came across the plans for the wood one. That seems like a good place to start and see if I can even POLE! lol
You may also find this very helpful…
http://www.americancanoe.org/atf/cf/%7B74254DC2-74B4-446F-92BE-547992272AB7%7D/Canoe_poling_instruction.pdf
poles
We use wood closet rods from Lowes.
Welcome to the club !!
There is a small but active number of Polers here on the east coast , myself being one of them. I’d go with the wood one for now ( more forgiving ) and perhaps get an aluminum one in the future after getting the hang of it. I plan to start manufacturing aluminum Poles soon to sell for around 50 bucks-- I’ll keep ya posted. By the way, what kind of Canoe will you be using??
canoe
I have an old thin fiberglass. Black River. It is about 15 foot and 32 inches wide.
bought a pole
Picked up a closet rod and a $1 threaded steel cap that threaded right into the wood. Time to start falling in!! lol
many "step outs"
to go before you gain “intermediate” status ;-). Enjoy it, it puts a whole new spin on the water and your boat. Just messin’ around in boats…
control
I am sure I will get a feel for it, but how do I keep the bow from flipping around on me when poling up a steady stream? Do I have to keep poling on both sides like a canoe stroke?
concentrate
on keeping pole in close, and pushing straight back; it’s easy to start pushing to the side a bit. Leaning the canoe and adjusting feet will also affect direction. Dragging the pole thru the water will also rudder the boat…just mess around, you’ll get the hang of it, at least on predictable flows and bottoms.
15’x32"
Your canoe is a little on the narrow side, so you might expect to have a little more of a challenge with staying upright in your boat. Don’t let that bother you - there is at least one canoe designed for poling that is 32" wide, although it is a few inches longer than 15". Expect to get wet. We all do sometimes - especially starting out.
The current will try to grab your bow and push it downstream. Having some rocker helps, but you’ll need to stand a foot or two behind neutral trim to keep the bow from grabbing. Don’t get too far back though, or you lose too much efficiency. You’ll find the sweet spot for your canoe with experimentation.
If you don’t want to spend the bucks on Harry Rock’s latest material, there is also this option…
http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Essentials-Canoe-Poling/dp/093480236X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302619674&sr=8-1
The book helps a lot for someone who isn’t near anyone that can show you the ropes - but I found the video to help even more. Get the earlier (and cheaper) book first. When you hit a wall in your learning curve (as I did) either find someone who can teach you face-to-face, or get Harry’s video.
Nothing gets you past your mistakes like seeing someone doing it right - and so far, there are very few really good poling videos on the 'net. Here’s a couple though…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAIcAuE9-Zk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxURxbzBWo
ok
that was pretty impressive, can’t imagine how many times i woulda been swimming!