Too many wishes, too little time.Question For The Canoe Folks
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by Chris C » Fri Mar 10, 2006 4:12 pm
I first saw Dean's Redbird when I joined the site. Sure do envy him. I've always wanted a strip-built canoe. But heck, who has the time? I still haven't built the teardrop!!!!! Too many wishes, too little time.
Too many wishes, too little time.Chris 
The tension between what is good enough and what is beyond that creates the space for character to become our work.
Teardrop Trailer Build Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/px5cd
The tension between what is good enough and what is beyond that creates the space for character to become our work.
Teardrop Trailer Build Pictures: http://tinyurl.com/px5cd
- Chris C
- .
- Posts: 3302
- Joined: Sun May 15, 2005 7:24 pm
- Location: Norman, Oklahoma
by Guest » Fri Mar 10, 2006 4:23 pm
Ira wrote:Dean, what would your recommendation be for an INEXPENSIVE mass-produced fiberglass/other canoe that can fit in an 8' long truck bed, and with gate down that means 10'?
Again, something inexpensive and light. Two-man.
Except it's for me and my younger son, which together weigh up and measure up to one normal man.
A Coleman?
Ira,
I have one of those green Coleman plastic tubs... That's how I wound up here.
In preperation for getting my kids ready for the Redbird, I went out and picked up a used Coleman. They love it, although it took a little coaxing to keep my daughter to stay put....
She wanted to swim alongside instead. (low 40's water temp)
I decided to take them canoe camping, so that meant... the three of us and all are camping gear needed to fit into the canoe.
Thus, the airbed for the tent was left at home.
Now... I went and scoped a place out with all this in mind and I found a lagoon up North a ways that had some very nice primitive campsites, accesable only by boat. These sites were nice... Double door steel bear proof grub boxes and very soft ground... (That's why the air bed was added to the list of items to be left behind)
Well, once we got there, I still had to make two trips across the lagoon to get all the gear over there. Hey, I don't go anywhere without at least a couple of items to cook my food on and no way do venture out without at least one barbeque/smoker...
Dinner was awesome... Slow smoke cooked baby back ribs, corn on the cob and salad.
Well, the kids were pretty tuckered out from all the water play that day, which included a trip over to the spit to dig up some aggets, so they were out like a light just after dinner.
I sat up for a while, did some star gazing, sat around the fire... thinking back to when I was a kid camping with my parents and comparing notes sort of, as to how good of a job I was doing as a parent, with the things my parents did with me as a kid... I thought I was doing a pretty darned good job. Before too long, Mr. Sandman came to see me, so I crawled into the tent to give that nice soft ground a try.
Hmmm... That ground sure seemed softer on my recon mission... Alas, I was tired and off to sleep I went. (Pre Teardrop Thought Filled Dozing Offs)
Stone lagoon is situated alongside highway 101 and Orick, the closest town, is a few miles to the North. Anytime the sherrif gets a call from the town of Orick, the deputy assigned to the North Watch is ussually 20-30 miles to the South.
Well, throughout that night, the town of Orick must've had three calls, because the cop car went by three times... Only car on the road at that time of night, but lights and sirens blasting away.
I'm a pretty sound sleeper, but the way the sound of that siren traveled accross the lagoon... OMG!!! It was almost like an amplifier!!!
CAN'T A DAD GET SOME SLEEP OUT HERE?!!!
Well, the kids slept right though all this and they were up before the birds, out chasing rabbets, squirrels and digging clams. I woke up at about 7:30 AM. (Felt like it was noon)
My head was aching with pain!
As I laid there, I started grumbling in my mind about those damned sirens!
I figured what the hey... I'll get up and make some coffee, that will help.
As I gathered my aching self together, to stand up... It hit me!
It wasn't the sirens... It was that "soft" ground!!!
My whole body was one big knot of pain, especially my back!!!
(And the kids are just at about the right age to get them involved in backpacking, right!!!!)
It was a very humbling moment!!!
Here I'd been telling the kids for years, Yeap... When you're old enough, I'm gonna take you guys backpacking to the most beautiful place on earth; The Devils Punchbowl... situated in the High Siskyous. One hell of a hike to get there, let alone nowdays most of the access roads heve been shut down, thanks in part to the environmental movement that the population South of us voted into existance!
The rest of that day was humbing for me... Not only being stiff, sore and stoved up, I was battling away in my mind with the backpacking thing with the kids... My parents took me there until they were darned near in their sixtys. I was only in my forties... Something wrong here!!!
Football and rodeo probably didn't help out none, in my case.
Back in the real world... At home, with a nice bed to sleep in...
I was plunking away at the 'puter one evening with Glen Smith, going over some Redbird issues and Glen sends me a PM... 'Check This Out...'
I opened up the message and there was a link he wanted me to look at.
The link was to Steve Frederick's pages on his strip built teardrop.
I took one look at that and my delima was put to rest!!!
My life was changed that night.
Now I'll be able to take the kids camping and sleep in a bed, A queen sized one at that.
All that cooking gear that just has to come along with me, will have it's place, plus I get to add a microwave and a sink to the mix... Even a hot shower!!!
No more fumbling around with tent poles at 10:00 at night.
No more packing to go camping.
Just put food and water in and you're away!!!
No more unpacking, putting stuff away, three weeks after you've returned form you camping trip, just un hitch it and tuck it away!!!
Oh, almost forgot... Yes, a Coleman canoe would do a great job for you and your boy.
- Guest
Brackets of some kind?
