I’m about to be 76 and I’m paddling tomorrow and looking at a new boat. I have the approval of several friends and more
importantly, my wife.
We also paddle tame venues but it always feels so good to be out there.
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Dont look for approval- do it.
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Getting a sea kayak - it has definitely got me out to places that I wouldn’t have paddled in my canoe. This past weekend I was at the Slocum’s River, and it opened my eyes to all the great places to paddle on the south coast along Buzzards Bay.
Pictures of the Slocum’s River here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/eckilson/albums/72177720319617765
Indeed.
(going back about 40 years)…
I’d been in Minnesota a couple of years, and being the land of a lot of lakes (and rivers), I had become a canoer.
I saw a magazine ad for an Aquaterra Chinook paddling by Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
I don’t consider Lake Superior ‘canoe’ safe (maybe other than those voyageur or Verlin Kruger type canoes), but a kayak would work.
I bought one.
When living there, I did many weekend (and longer) trips up to Superior for kayak trips. Chinook the 1st year, Nordkapp successive years.
Canoes are great for rivers and for the carrying capacity. Sea kayaks can handle the shallow, narrow waterways as well as the canoe, but are best at handing wind, waves and open water. Even with a cover to shed water, the typical rounded hull design of the canoe along with the width cause excessive pounding in waves, and the high freeboard catches too much wind that can be typical of open water. You need both. One doesn’t serve as a substitute for the other. Keep enjoying both.
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I tried to use that logic about a girlfriend but my wife didn’t buy it.
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Same for me. Then, when I moved to the ADKs, I kept the kayak (a Seda Viking) for Lake Champlain and eastern Lake Ontario/Thousand Islands/St. Lawrence River.
Never enough boats
Each time I get another boat I think that’s it. So much for thinking.
I grew up on Lake Champlain. When the south wind blows it is no place for a canoe.
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Thank you for your detailed report!
We move back from Europe in January to Gig Habor Washington and have a tenant in the Lake Mohave house. I hope we can use it someday soon as a kayak base camp 
We have spent time out there but didn’t have the kayaks back then but we would float plane over Topock Gorge and spot some good looking stretches for paddling. So we’ll be in touch if we make it back and can execute 
We fly out of Eagle Air Park in Fort Mojave or Lake Havasu.
You just say when. Today, starting this AM, I began to think, why not? Right here on the paddling.com site put together a Lake Mohave laid back expedition. March or April are best, not hot, few power boats. Can we assemble 12 paddlers, or 25 paddlers. Share camping on beaches, fires to sit around and swap lies. Figure 6 or 7 days for Mohave, target six, but day of crappy weather, normal. In fact, everyone would be made aware that 2 or 3 days of being winded, not unusual. Bring some large garbage bags and collect as much as we can carry. I’ll have to look, but I think I have seen dumpsters at 4 or 5 locations along the lake. We could do a spring cleanup and have a heck of a good time.
March?? Do you need some hours on your bird? A great way to fly off a dozen or so hours.
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We return in January so that is very possible!
It sounds great
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The drug problem on public lands. Having to leave your vehicle in remote locations where homeless addicts are living in tents and cars. Homelessdanger2u dot weebly dot calm (phonetic). The public land managers are not taking the problem seriously in my opinion and tourisim is being severely impacted because no one wants to walk through a homeless camp just to enjoy the lake…
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Its not just remote locations where that is a problem. it’s a chronic problem on my local river that is much more urban.
Well said: “I’m not sure what the answer is, but giving people the means to live “out of sight and out of mind” in decrepit camps along the river doesn’t seem like the solution.”
I don’t know the answer either, but the land managers have their heads in the sand and the bottom line is - that must end in order to solve this problem.
The irony is that most of us enjoy the opportunity to camp and practice leave no trace. I can understand there is a variety of reasons people become homeless. We taught scouts the concept of self reliance and being innovative. If not for the dangers associated with some homeless camps, it would be a good scout project to teach camp management. We did quite a lot with rudimentary equipment, aluminum foil/cardboard box ovens, sheet aluminum, reflectors, cooking in orange skins, onions, boiling eggs in paper cups, direct fire, indirect fire, bread coiled around a stick.
We used to do that when helping each other with construction projects. Throw hot dogs on a grate. My brother refused saying you can get a pack of hot dogs for $5.00 @lb, or a lean pork loin for for $1.99 @lb.
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