Boys' Trip 2007

Nice Canoes










The first group of paddlers we encountered was a troop of Boy Scouts. Greg, Darin and I were all in the Boy Scouts, and we credit scouting for our love of camping and canoeing. In fact, we all earned our canoeing merit badge during the same trip to summer camp.

We mentioned to the young scouts that we all belonged to their organization as boys, and a brief conversation ensued. One of the kids commented on our canoes and was quite impressed when we told him that we had built them ourselves. After a few minutes we commenced with our journey, saying we'd see them again when they caught up with us downriver. (After all, they were young and energetic kids, anxious to paddle; we are older paddlers, more interested in allowing the river to do the majority of the work.) Sure enough, they caught up to us within a half hour.

When they caught us, we got quite a laugh out of their lack of experience. Right around that time, the river started getting shallow, and they were constantly hanging up in the shallows. Our superior experience (and my shallow draft) allowed us to navigate the river without any problems, but the kids were continually getting out of the boats and hauling them over the sandy bottom. The only person in the troop to not get hung up was one of the two adult leaders. Like us, he tended to paddle at a slower pace, knowing he'd catch up to the kids when they tired out or got caught up in shallow water. The leader was the only one paddling solo, and said to us that he wished that he'd brought kayak paddles like we did.


Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: If you're paddling alone, a kayak paddle is an invaluable tool. It's far more efficient than a canoe paddle.

During the course of our trip, we met up with dozens of fellow paddlers... college students, families, retired couples... the list goes on. We had two other groups who commented on our boats and were very impressed that we had built them ourselves. We finished the boats a little over three years ago, and have taken them on our last four boys' trips. They were a lot of work, but the finished product was well worth it. We have pride in our craftsmanship, and we don't have to rent canoes anymore. But the icing on the cake is hearing comments on our boats, years after finishing the work.

Stay tuned for the next installment... "(almost) drowning in ankle-deep water."