Cool! I often paddle the lower few miles of the Yough before it hits the Mon. I’m only about 20 minutes from the McKeesport launch site so I paddle upriver and then paddle or float back down, depending on flow rate.
I’m glad you were able to find your own Ladybug – never seen a white one, that must be beautiful (hope you will post some photos). I had that “love at first sight” moment too, which was only enhanced once I got it in the water. They really are neat boats and I’m looking forward to improving my technique with it to take best advantage of its qualities. I have long legs so I find I am able to kneel with my butt braced against the canted seat quite comfortably.
I know there was someone in our area with a baby blue Bug because I just missed their ad on Craigslist.
I know exactly where you paddle in Mckeesport! I grew up there. Actually, our address was McKeesport but we were five or six houses outside the county line. As kids we used to play along the river just upstream from Coulterville— a bit of a hike, though. A few years ago I did an overnighter from Connellsville to the Mon. As of now, I’ve paddled the Upper Yough (in a Shredder-raft) the entire Yough Lake and everything downstream from it to the Mon. I’ll never do the Top Yough or the Tippy Top Yough, but I found a Class II section above the Tippy Top Yough without a name. We’re going to call it the EXTREME Upper Yough because it sounds badass (at least to those familiar with the Upper Yough.) Once I complete it, I’ll have paddled all the Yough that is within my abilities.
I found my boat on the Pittsburgh Craiglist. I just checked and the add is still up if you search Curtis Ladybug.
Willowleaf- I’m sorry for trampling on your thread. Also, I reread my posts and realized I had been quite chatty. That’s what happens when I’m excited about something.
Thank you. I paddle canoes for lots of different reasons. One of them is the aesthetics. Canoes are almost always pretty. Some more so than others. I know the whole “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” thing, but anyone who doesn’t think the Ladybug is a beautiful boat is simply wrong.
I knew that hat would look good with the boat. I’m a little afraid to wear while paddling it, though. If those same whitewater friends catch me being too “matchy matchy,” the abuse will never end.
Thanks for the compliment on the boat. (Although it’s also a compliment to yours.)
Believe me when I say I know all about your YS and all your many other boats. When the ad showed up on Craiglist, it was fortunate that Willowleaf had a Ladybug thread already going on here. Of course, I found your comments to her and started digging further. There’s a little bit to be found on the Internet about this boat, and most of that, and certainly the most helpful comes from you. It was you and all you’ve written about it that pushed me over the edge. So, thank you for the compliment on the boat, and thank you for writing so extensively and descriptively about it. You sure have it figured out!
Related to your dapper hat, SF, I have been feeling that when I paddle the Bug I should be wearing something more refined that my usual motley sports apparel, like maybe a straw boater hat and an Edwardian era white linen dress with lace=up espadrilles.
@willowleaf said:
Related to your dapper hat, SF, I have been feeling that when I paddle the Bug I should be wearing something more refined that my usual motley sports apparel, like maybe a straw boater hat and an Edwardian era white linen dress with lace=up espadrilles.
LOL I once taught one basic freestyle move to a lady in a MayFly. She was 84 and wore a long dress. No shoes though. Believe it or not in the golden age of solo canoes, which the LadyBug came from, there was more than one canoeist that wore a dress paddling…
When I got it, I thought it was a little too bright, so I aged it with wet coffee grounds. This is why mine looks a little different than the one on Sunbody’s website. It took a while for the coffee smell to go away.
If you read the description, you’ll see that it’s made from Mexican palm. It’s a fine-looking hat, but not as good as their Guatemalan palm hats for use in a canoe. Their Guatemalan hats are practically indestructible, SOOO comfortable, and great for both the sun and the rain. On long hot days, it’s nice to dip them in the water and put them back on every hour or so. I lost my long-time favorite (Guatemalan) hat during an embarrassing incident on the Middle Yough last year. They float, but just under the surface and become invisible in muddy water. They’re not cheap so I probably won’t replace it anytime soon.
This is the awesome river hat that is now probably somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.
Willowleaf— If you ever get your outfit all together, I sure hope you’ll be posting pics!
Everyone else— I was able to get out again this evening. (4 out of 5 since owning!)
I am so glad I found this boat. A friend called and asked if we could meet so he could see my new boat, and to show me his new paddle, a Redtail Ottertail. I told him to leave his boat at home and that I would bring both my Yellowstone Solo and the Ladybug and we could trade them back and forth. I wanted to paddle them both, one after the other for comparison. We both agreed that the Ladybug was the sweeter ride and was just more fun. I’ll never put it on moving water, though—at least not around here.
Besides just having a new canoe, it’s also nice just having a second boat that I can share.
The specs on the boat say it is most efficient with 150-200 lbs. I am guessing that with PFD, paddle, etc, I’m probably putting 150 lbs. in the boat. Does anyone know if I would notice an increase in efficiency if I added ballast to put me closer to the middle of the range? I’m thinking of adding a couple gallon jugs of water.
Here you go, Willow, from the early 80’s . . . Dave Yost, the designer, in a Curtis Lady Bug . . . when you, Yost, Curtis and I were all young at heart and other muscles. (Courtesy of Hemlock Canoe website)
I may try to drop in and see the Curtises next time I am up their way. I traverse I-90 from Erie to Albany several times a year and they are only 15 minutes off the thruway at the exit just past Rochester.
@ScottFree said:
The specs on the boat say it is most efficient with 150-200 lbs. I am guessing that with PFD, paddle, etc, I’m probably putting 150 lbs. in the boat. Does anyone know if I would notice an increase in efficiency if I added ballast to put me closer to the middle of the range? I’m thinking of adding a couple gallon jugs of water.
I suggest that you try adding 25-30 pounds…so 5 gallons of water or a nice bag of fertilizer or potting soil. The canoe will definitely feel different to you. If your load is around 150 and boat is 36 then adding 25-30 pounds will increase overall weight by about 15%…so it will take 15% more energy to accelerate from a stop but once cruising it will also have 15% more momentum which will feel like better glide and it won’t slow down as much between strokes (15% less deceleration). Overall the cruising efficiency won’t change much but it will feel different. I like having the weight of my 60 pound dog in my solos and being more towards the upper limit of the efficient range. The added weight will also change the shape of the boat that’s in the water and might help with efficiency a little…or it could hurt a little. Skin friction will increase a little since there will be more surface area of the boat under water but in my experience the positive effects outweigh the negatives. I think you’d enjoy the experiment. You need to keep the weight right in front of you so you don’t screw up the boat’s trim. I’d be curious to hear your impressions if you try it.
@ScottFree said:
The specs on the boat say it is most efficient with 150-200 lbs. I am guessing that with PFD, paddle, etc, I’m probably putting 150 lbs. in the boat. Does anyone know if I would notice an increase in efficiency if I added ballast to put me closer to the middle of the range? I’m thinking of adding a couple gallon jugs of water.
Same here. Weigh too little for my canoe without cargo. That’s why with hard winds I often add 22 pounds of water in a jug just below my seat, which does makes it easier for me to control the boat. Overall this means better speed – so that could be called more efficient in those situations. In normal conditions I can do without though, although for high speeds I need to trim a bit bow heavy as that gives the best hull shape in the water for speed when too lightly loaded.
Once I complete it, I’ll have paddled all the Yough that is within my abilities.
