I hope that someone out there can help me. I have a 16' wood strip canoe that I finished last fall. I just completed a long weekend camping trip with it and ran into a bit of a close call when I mis-judged the edge of a sand bar. End result was about 8" of water in the bottom of the boat in addition to all my camping gear. I got to shore as quickly as possible to bail the water out.
My question for you all is about adding flotation to the canoe. I will be using it for a lot of camping trips of 3-14 days duration. This is a fair amount of weight in gear. Should I add some sort of foam up under both of the decks? If yes, any recommendations on type and sources?
One last question for the canoe campers out there. I had all my gear bungee corded into the canoe. Now post trip, I wonder if this was such a good idea. While I do not like the thought of lost gear, the thought of my canoe skidding along the bottom of the Wisconsin River is to much for me to take. Do you strap in your gear, or just put it in the boat?
Thanks in advance for any advice offered!
Larry
Adding floatation to a wood strip canoe
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Larry Nelson
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 10:34 am
- Location: Delafield, Wisconsin
I tend to loosely tie them in, so that if I dump, it is all together.
I try to keep the clutter to a minimmum.
2 or 3 large pieces and 1 or 2 small personal items per person.
Some days, wheather depending, I am more concerned about dumping than others.
All the best,
Doug
I try to keep the clutter to a minimmum.
2 or 3 large pieces and 1 or 2 small personal items per person.
Some days, wheather depending, I am more concerned about dumping than others.
All the best,
Doug
"Some people hear the song in the quiet mist of a cold morning..... But for other people the song is loudest in the evening when they are sitting in front of a tent, basking in the camp fire's warmth. This is when I hear it loudest ...." BM
swamping
I can only tell what works for me. It depends on how you pack your gear, if you pack a lot of heavy gear like griddle and dutch ovens. It is worth getting your outfit wet to pack it up, paddle out on the lake and swamp it.
I pack for trips with everything in plastic bags. I pack my clothes in small bags, food with each days food in a bag. All of these go into bigger packs that have heavy duty plastic liner bags that are also sealed well at the top. If my tent and tarp are dry when I pack up they go insde the liner, if they are wet they go on top of the liner under the flap.
It is amazing how much air is in these big bags. A 65 pound pack that kills me on the portage will float nicely if I drop it in the lake. These packs if tucked in under a thwart and tied will actually add flotation to your canoe.
Your wood strip canoe will also float nicely. It is mostly flotation(wood).
Still, you should do the experimental swamping. Everybody should do this before they go out on a long tour. Do in water that you could stand in so you can recover anything that might sink. I thing you will find that most everything will float just fine if properly packed.
I pack for trips with everything in plastic bags. I pack my clothes in small bags, food with each days food in a bag. All of these go into bigger packs that have heavy duty plastic liner bags that are also sealed well at the top. If my tent and tarp are dry when I pack up they go insde the liner, if they are wet they go on top of the liner under the flap.
It is amazing how much air is in these big bags. A 65 pound pack that kills me on the portage will float nicely if I drop it in the lake. These packs if tucked in under a thwart and tied will actually add flotation to your canoe.
Your wood strip canoe will also float nicely. It is mostly flotation(wood).
Still, you should do the experimental swamping. Everybody should do this before they go out on a long tour. Do in water that you could stand in so you can recover anything that might sink. I thing you will find that most everything will float just fine if properly packed.
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davidb54321
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Unless canoeing a river where I would not be able to catch up to my spilled belongings, I would not tie them in. If I do tie the packs in, it is with one rope with a quick release knot. An empty canoe is a lot easier to drag around in surf or current.
I have also seen a wooden box built for the bow and stern of a canoe which the maker says is watertight. If secured under the deck or carry thwart it would add flotation. I think they were called "bow and stern canoe box". It would be something to make with your leftover strips.
I have also seen a wooden box built for the bow and stern of a canoe which the maker says is watertight. If secured under the deck or carry thwart it would add flotation. I think they were called "bow and stern canoe box". It would be something to make with your leftover strips.
David Bartlett
"I don't fully understand everything I know!"
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"I don't fully understand everything I know!"
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KARKAUAI
- Posts: 362
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 3:06 pm
- Location: Hickory, NC / Princeville, Kauai, HI
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I've not done it yet, but I've been reading on the kayakforum about an electric pump that moves enough water to empty your canoe in a few minutes if the gunwales are above water. Some extra weight to carry with the batteries, but sounds like it would be of great help in a swamping situation.
A hui ho,
Kent
Kent
re: floatation
I built a cedarstrip floatation / wanigan that fits in the bow (or stern). I've only used it once as a wanigan and only a couple of times as floatation when playing in rapids (base camping for a weekend). In the latter role the design functioned quite well. But I wouldn't use it tripping because I prefer packs and if used as floatation only then it adds weight to the canoe (plus I only built one so it would throw off the balance for portaging when it is tied in) and keeping the weight down remains a priority for me.
I don't use it when tripping but if no portages were in store then I might consider it for big water. Though I wonder if floatation in only one heavier end would impare a self rescue or aid it. I've only had canoe over canoe rescues done and that was with an inner tube tied into the other end.
In theory it seems appealing to use it as both floatation and a removable wannigan for packing gear. But my particular setup would need to be modified because the anchors I tie it in with would probably not take the increased load of the box full of gear. Without tying in the box it fits pretty snugly and doesn't move when empty but it would come loose if it had gear in it. And make rescue more difficult because of the added weight.
I only have a couple of pics of the box out of the boat but click here if you want to see what it looks like.
I built a cedarstrip floatation / wanigan that fits in the bow (or stern). I've only used it once as a wanigan and only a couple of times as floatation when playing in rapids (base camping for a weekend). In the latter role the design functioned quite well. But I wouldn't use it tripping because I prefer packs and if used as floatation only then it adds weight to the canoe (plus I only built one so it would throw off the balance for portaging when it is tied in) and keeping the weight down remains a priority for me.
I don't use it when tripping but if no portages were in store then I might consider it for big water. Though I wonder if floatation in only one heavier end would impare a self rescue or aid it. I've only had canoe over canoe rescues done and that was with an inner tube tied into the other end.
In theory it seems appealing to use it as both floatation and a removable wannigan for packing gear. But my particular setup would need to be modified because the anchors I tie it in with would probably not take the increased load of the box full of gear. Without tying in the box it fits pretty snugly and doesn't move when empty but it would come loose if it had gear in it. And make rescue more difficult because of the added weight.
I only have a couple of pics of the box out of the boat but click here if you want to see what it looks like.