we-no-nah canoe owners manual

64
Thank you for selecting a We . no . nah… If it is your first We . no . nah canoe, congratulations! You have joined a group of dedicated pad- dlers who share the satisfaction of knowing that they own the very finest of canoes. Many other canoes are mass pro- duced and sold by the thousands, but we make only a few hundred of each model per year. Each is professionally designed and care- fully made. All are purchased by people to whom quality and per- formance are paramount. If you have owned a We . no . nah before, be assured that your new one reflects the latest ideas in design and construction. None of our models or techniques are static; we innovate on an ongo- ing basis. And whenever you choose a We . no . nah, you benefit from all of our many decades of intensive development. Unlike larger companies, we are not in the business of selling canoes. We are in the business of creating canoes that are good enough to sell themselves to dis- cerning buyers. Thank you again for your purchase. We know that you will thoroughly enjoy it. Sincerely, 01 Mike Cichanowski, founder and owner of We . no . nah Canoe, Inc. N S E W WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 1

Upload: khk007

Post on 13-May-2017

216 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Thank youfor selecting aWe.no.nah…

If it is your first We.no.nahcanoe, congratulations! You havejoined a group of dedicated pad-dlers who share the satisfactionof knowing that they own thevery finest of canoes.

Many other canoes are mass pro-duced and sold by the thousands,but we make only a few hundredof each model per year. Each isprofessionally designed and care-fully made. All are purchased bypeople to whom quality and per-formance are paramount.

If you have owned a We.no.nahbefore, be assured that your newone reflects the latest ideas in

design and construction. None ofour models or techniques arestatic; we innovate on an ongo-ing basis. And whenever youchoose a We.no.nah, you benefitfrom all of our many decades ofintensive development.

Unlike larger companies, we arenot in the business of sellingcanoes. We are in the business ofcreating canoes that are goodenough to sell themselves to dis-cerning buyers. Thank you againfor your purchase. We know thatyou will thoroughly enjoy it.

Sincerely,

01

MikeCichanowski,founder andowner ofWe.no.nahCanoe, Inc.

N

SE

W

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 1

Page 2: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

02

Contents

Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page

Safety■ For yourself . . . . . . . 04■ For the canoe . . . . . . 10

Canoe Control■ Introduction . . . . . . . 16■ Basic skills . . . . . . . . 18■ Effects of wind . . . . . 28■ For more help . . . . . 31

Canoe Paddles■ Introduction . . . . . . . 32■ Types . . . . . . . . . . . . 33■ Sizing . . . . . . . . . . . . 34■ Technique . . . . . . . . 36

Portaging■ Introduction . . . . . . . 40■ Yokes & pads . . . . . . 41■ Technique . . . . . . . . 42

Motorized Canoeing■ Introduction . . . . . . . 46■ Square-stern hulls . 46■ Conventional hulls . 47

Maintenance■ Wood gunwales . . . . 48■ Composite canoes . . 51■ Royalex® canoes . . . . 53

Repairs■ Composite canoes . . 54■ Royalex® canoes . . . . 59

Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page

Organizations■ U. S. Canoe

Association. . . . . . . . 61■ American Canoe

Association . . . . . . . . 62■ American Rivers

Council . . . . . . . . . . . 63■ Regional and

local clubs . . . . . . . . 64

NomenclatureBilge

Chine

Yoke (or Thwart if no Yoke)

Bow

Bow Foot

Bow Stem

Handle

Thwart

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 2

Page 3: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

03

Warranty

If you ever have a problemwith a We.no.nah, we’ll doeverything we can to solve it.

If our inspection shows oneof our canoes to have a flawthat is not normal wear,we’ll fix it or replace it, free.Take the canoe to yourdealer. We’ll pick it up andreturn it there. If the canoe

doesn’t meet our high stan-dards of quality, we’ll repairit, or give you a new one, atour option.

To validate your warranty,complete the RegistrationForm in the back of thisbooklet and send it to us.

Shaft

Stern

Elbow (Bent-shaft) Paddle

Gunwale

Amidship

Water Line

Keel Line

Straight-shaft Paddle

Throat

Grip

Draught

Freeboard

Blade

Shear Line

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 3

Page 4: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

SafetyProtectingyourselfA popular belief holds canoes to be unstable,but a canoe itself is very stable and will rideout the roughest water. Add some campinggear in the bilge and the canoe remains quitestable, or might even become more so. Put acouple of people in the canoe, though, and thepicture changes dramatically. A canoe withoccupants can be easily upset, especially if thepaddlers’ behavior is less than wise.

One reason is that people greatly outweigh acanoe. Two paddlers typically weigh morethan five times what their canoe does. Theyalso have a much higher center of gravity.Think of yourself on the lowest rung of a lad-der versus the highest. Only one thingchanged: the height of the center of gravity.

People tip canoes over due to their weight andheight. Thankfully, people can also keep can-oes upright. The basic guidelines are: keepyour weight balanced in the center of thecanoe; don’t make rapid movements, espe-cially to the side; and stay low in the canoe. Ifyou ever want to stand up in a canoe, youshould have a very good reason, because youwill definitely be inviting a capsize. A fewother topics call for a specific discussion, too.

Topic .............. Page

Launching ........... 05

P.F.D.’s ................ 06

Large waves ........ 07

Dams ................... 09

Sunburn .............. 09

Standingin a canoeis invitinga capsize.

04

Safety

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 4

Page 5: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Launching andlanding at shore:

Many people cause trouble by how theylaunch (and land) a canoe. Do it with thecanoe parallel to shore. Don’t beach it bow-first like a bass boat or cabin cruiser. A canoeis not a big, wide boat. Nor does it have a propin back that needs clearance. But you’ll seepeople run a canoe into shore just like amotorboat, then exit by crawling up the cen-ter. This isn’t kind to a canoe. It’s also askingfor a swim. With its (narrow) bow on shore, its(narrow) stern in the water, and its (wide)amidship in mid-air, a canoe has about thestability of a quarter while balanced on edge.

The safe way is toenter and exit fromthe side with thecanoe parallel toshore. To get in,crouch keeping yourweight low, graspthe gunwales, andstep into the center.To exit, do thereverse, steppingout toward shore.

Yes, you may getyour feet wet. Butyou’re canoeing, notgoing to dinner in$250 shoes. Wear sneakers, or take your shoesoff. Get your feet wet, because by crawling upthe center of a beached canoe, sooner or lateryou’ll get much more than just your feet wet.

Launching andlanding at a dock:

This process does seem intuitive to most peo-ple, so we’ll touch on it only briefly, just to bethorough. To launch – again, with the canoeparallel to the dock – sit on the dock, swing

Launchand landparallelto shore.

05

Enter and exit fromthe side, keepingyour weight low andsupporting yourselfwith the gunwales.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 5

Page 6: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

your feet into the center, lean over and graspboth gunwales, then slide your butt off thedock onto the seat. To exit, lift yourself usingthe gunwales just far enough for your butt toclear the dock, swing it over and sit on thedock, then swing your feet out. Here you canwear your Gucci loafers, if you feel like it.

Always have good PFD’sreadily accessible:

Always have good PFD’s (Personal FlotationDevices) handy, even for proficient swimmers.Our advice is to always wear them, but weknow that some people won’t. Therefore, atthe very least, wear your PFD when canoeingon rapids, cold water, or any threatening con-ditions such as wind, waves, boat wakes, etc.

Most places, of course, require that you have aPFD for each person in the canoe. Most placesalso specify what is an acceptable PFD. Butthese legal requirements are the bare mini-mum which often will not provide real safety.

Obviously, anyone who can’t swim fairly wellmust always wear a PFD. To avoid it would befoolish. But even good swimmers must wearPFD’s if there could be a sudden capsize, or ifyou could have difficulty putting on your PFD.

Rapids are a prime example. The current mayswiftly carry your PFD away. Or, you couldbreak an arm and be unable to put it on. Or,you could be knocked unconscious.

A less obvious – but very dangerous – threatis posed by cold water. It will stun you, caus-ing you to gasp for air, but possibly gettingwater, too. In this condition, you won’t havean easy time putting on your PFD.

But you definitely will want your PFD on incold water due to the risk of hypothermia. Itcan strike with amazing speed, causing com-plete exhaustion and drowning in minutes.

Water carries heat away from your body much

Anyonewho can’tswim wellmust weara PFD atall times.

Hypother-mia canexhaustyou in fiveminutes.

06

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 6

Page 7: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

faster than air does. (This is why a swimmingpool feels cold at 72°F.) Your body tempera-ture begins to drop within moments of immer-sion in cold water. Exhaustion is the firstsymptom, making it very difficult to swim.Unconsciousness can occur in as little as fiveminutes. Death may follow quickly, eitherfrom hypothermia itself, or from drowning.

Always wear your PFD to canoe on cold water.The Red Cross also suggests using a wet suiton really cold water, but we’re pretty sure youdon’t have one, so our advice is simply toavoid canoeing if the water is cold enough topose a serious threat of rapid hypothermia.

How to choosea good PFD:

While you can buy a legally-acceptable PFDfor just a few dollars, doing that is not a wiseidea. A few dollars will buy a PFD that eitherisn’t designed to be worn (seat-cushion type),or that is too uncomfortable to wear, evenwhen you really need to (May West type).

On the other hand, you need not spend aprincely sum to get a PFD that is safe. Buy aU.S.C.G.-approved PFD. Beyond that, get onecomfortable enough that you will wear itwhen the occasion demands. Size is impor-tant, as are the freedom to move your arms,and a jacket that isn’t too hot in strong sun.

Selecting PFD’s for small children is morecrucial. Get a design that will hold a child’shead out of water even when unconscious.

Canoeing safely onlarge, wind-driven waves:

It won’t surprise you to learn that even 3'whitecaps are entirely safe if viewed fromshore. And until you are a practiced paddler,shore is exactly where to view them from.

The first rule of canoeing safety is to avoidconditions that you aren’t sure that you can

Wear yourPFD whencanoeingon coldwater.

Buy aPFD thatis comfort-able towearwhen youneed to.

07

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 7

Page 8: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

master. Canoeing isn’t often dangerous, but toerr on the side of safety and avoid a situationthat is questionable is the wise choice.

You can minimize exposure to large waves byhugging the sheltered shore where waveshave no opportunity to develop. While thismay make you go farther than the directroute, the paddling should also be easier.

If you must tackle large, wind-driven waves,go where the waves let you go most safely.This, too, may mean taking a longer route.

Avoid large waves directly from the sides.These cause strong side-to-side rocking thatyou must react to quickly to maintain balance.

Waves from directly in front are better butcause strong fore-and-aft rocking. Very largewaves also may swamp the bow. Waves fromthe stern are less troublesome because youare traveling with them, which reduces theirspeed relative to you. (Be leery, however, ofrouting straight out from the lee shore with awind directly behind you because the waveswill grow rapidly as you go out.)

The safest way to meet waves is from thequarters (meaning, at an angle). Quarteringwaves cause some rocking side-to-side andfore-and-aft, but not a high degree of either.

When on waves, also keep the center of grav-ity low, and trim the canoe properly for thewaves. To lower the center of gravity, placethe heaviest gear low in the bilge. Lower your

Go wherethe waveslet you gosafely.

08

GOOD

BEST

WORST

BETTER

POOR

WORST

BETTERBEST

You are safest withlarge waves comingfrom the quarters orthe stern (dark areason the schematic.)

It is often wise totake a longer, saferroute than to exposeyourself to largewaves on open water

WAVES

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 8

Page 9: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

own center of gravity, too, by kneeling on thefloor rather than sitting on the seats. (This isalso a good, firm stance to paddle from.) Totrim the canoe, move weight fore or aft. Thisis discussed in the section on “Canoe Control.”

Paddling near damsand spillways:

Avoid dams and spillways because they arevery deceptive and always dangerous.

Upstream, the current speeds up because theflow-rate of the river remains the same whilethe effective size of the channel is reduced.You may find yourself in a current so strongthat you cannot avoid going over the dam.

Downstream, the water is very turbulent. Itcan swamp even sizable boats, and can easilydo it to a canoe. Further, a PFD may not floatyou to the surface of the highly-aerated water.

Do not approach dams and spillways fromdownstream, either. The problem is that thecurrent often flows upstream nearing thedam. This is called a“ hydraulic,” and it maycarry you into the dam where your canoe willcapsize or fill with water and sink. Sometypes of rapids do this, too, but nearly everydam and spillway can. Therefore, portagearound all dams and spillways, and stay closeto shore upstream to avoid strong current.

Avoiding sunburn:

If you are chuckling that we put “sunburn” inthe safety section of this book, that just meansyou haven’t yet burned to a crisp while canoe-ing, which is an amazingly easy thing to do.

Sunlight reflected off the water greatly mag-nifies your exposure. Think of it as being likegoing to the beach and sitting on a mirror.You can burn very badly, very quickly. Wear ahat, suitable clothing (long sleeves and pants),and/or sunblock. If you get too hot, don’t takeoff clothing. Splash yourself often with water.

Alwaysportagearounddams andspillways.

09

Avoid dams andspillways because thecurrent is strong,turbulent, and aer-ated. A dam or spill-way is likely to be themost-dangerousobstacle you’ll everface while canoeing.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 9

Page 10: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Protectingyour canoePeople usually paddle in moderate conditionsthat can’t do catastrophic harm. That’s whywe think canoes are more at risk in transitand storage than while canoeing. In fact,we’ve never seen a canoe damaged as badlyfrom use as from flying off a car. But haulingand storing a canoe can be safe, if you follow afew guidelines that are mostly common sense.

On the water, a canoe can sometimes be atrisk, and you can add Air Bags or a Skid Plateas a defense. Although these are not relevantto many people, evaluate their use since theydo give added safety in certain situations.

How to haul a canoesafely on your car:

There are many systems to haul a canoe on acar. All can work fine. Or, all can fail, perhapsleading to the destruction of your canoe!

The issue is not what type of carrier to use, itis that you use sturdy ropes or straps to lashthe canoe… and that you use enough of them!

Don’t use Bungees, rubber straps, or anythingelastic to secure the canoe. If we hear some-one telling how their canoe flew off and waswrecked, we ask what was used to tie it down.90% of the time it was elastic cords. Most ofthe rest of the time, if good ropes or strapswere used, there were just too few of them.

Topic .............. Page

Car topping ......... 10

Storage ............... 13

Towing ................. 14

Air flotation ......... 14

Skid plates .......... 15

10

All these ways to car-top can work, or canfail! The difference isin how well you tiethe canoe to the car.

Foam Blocks Quick-n-Easy Special Rack

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 10

Page 11: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Ropes should be nylon, braided, 5/16" or 3/8"thick. Don’t use waterski or clothesline ropesince you can’t tie tight knots in those. Strapsshould be at least 1" wide, webbed, with buck-les. How many to use, and where to affixthem, depends on the carrier. In no case, how-ever, should you have less than three.

Although foam blocks can be used with anycar having rain channels or not, they are theleast secure carrier that requires the mostaggressive tie-downs. Foam block kits arereadily available and usually have four blocks,fasteners that attach to the car, and ropes(although sometimes too few ropes.) We havea very good kit in our catalog that has plentyof straps instead of too few ropes.

The blocksare groovedto fit on thegunwales.Afterinstallingthem, invertthe hull ontothe car andtie it down. Three lines are too few in this casebecause you can rarely tie to anything that isboth truly secure and is near the canoe.

Since the blocks can slide, using too few ropeswill let the canoe move, loosening up. Useseven attachment points, which means a min-imum of four ropes. Tie the canoe to widely-spaced points at the front and rear, tie one ormore lines over the top, and tie a line to keepthe canoe from sliding during a sudden stop.

The ropes also need to compress the blocks,holding them securely in place. This can be abit tricky. One good way is to tie loops into theropes to use for tensioning purposes. The planis to pass the rope from the canoe through theattachment on the car, pass it back throughthe loop in the rope, then pull everything tight

Use nylonrope orstraps…not elasticor rubbercords!

11

To make the use offoam blocks safe, youneed 7 attachmentpoints for the ropes.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 11

Page 12: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

before tying your knot. It’s easier to do thisthan to explain it, so see the diagram.

Using loops, you can tie the canoe tightly andshouldn’t have it loosen up. But it’s wise tocheck in a few miles, and periodically there-after. If the ropes are loosening often, you are

doing something wrong, because even withfoam blocks a canoe can be tied to stay tight.

But if seven attachments, four ropes withloops, and periodic checking sounds like a lotof effort… well, it is. Yet that’ what’s neededto be safe for more than just a couple of miles.

To simplify car-topping while protecting yourcanoe, you need a good, sturdy rack.

Incidentally, those universal types that affixto the car with suction cups and straps are notgood, sturdy racks. We advise strongly againstusing them, but if you do, lash the canoe tothe car just as firmly as for foam blocks.

If your car has rain channels, you can get agood, sturdy rack that mounts quickly, stayson tight, and is low-cost. “Quick-n-Easy”brackets mount to the rain channels. Youmake crossbars from 2x2’s or 2x4’s that youcut to length and affix using carriage bolts.(To carry two canoes, make the crossbars 6'3.")

With a rack, you need fewer ropes or strapssince you’re tying the canoe mainly to the rack

Don’t useracks thataffix withsuctioncups andstraps.

12

Tie loops in the ropesto use for tensioning.What type of finalknot you use is lessimportant than get-ting enough tensionbefore tying the knot.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 12

Page 13: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

which, unlike foam blocks, is well-secured tothe car. Use three lines, two across the toptied tightly to the rack, and one tied to thefront of the car for safety if another one fails.

If you have a car without rain channels butwant a good rack, you’ll need one designed foryour specific car. These are made by a fewaftermarket companies (see Canoe & KayakMagazine to find them), and some cars can befitted with racks by the auto maker or dealer.Typically these are costly but are excellentracks that are safe with just three ropes.

To protect the gunwales, affix carpet or otherpadding to the rack, or put temporary padsbetween the gunwales and the rack. There areseveral things you can use, and one of them isfoam blocks. Pull the ropes tightly enough tocompress the blocks to get a secure set-up.

With a good rack, by the way, there’s no needto place the canoe in the center of the vehicle.Offsetting it toward the passenger’s side hasadvantages. It’s easier to load and tie thecanoe, which is also less prone to block thedriver’s view of overhead signs, stoplights, etc.

To save time, get good tension, and eliminatetroublesome knots, use straps with cam-typebuckles to secure the canoe. We offer 12'-longstraps that are shown in the back of this book.Although straps work best used with a rack,they can be used with foam blocks by passingthe straps through the doors inside of the car.You still need seven attachment points as ifusing foam blocks with ropes, but you’ll getbetter tension and reliability with the straps.

Storing your canoeto keep it safe:

There are probably lots of weird ways that acanoe in storage can be damaged, but twocommon problems are avoidable: 1.) heavystuff falling on the canoe, 2.) wind blowing thecanoe away. For these reasons, and because

13

Cam-type strapshold the canoe moresecurely than ropesand are easier to use.

“Quick-n-Easy”brackets make agood rack easily butare only for cars thathave rain channels.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 13

Page 14: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

sunlight will fade the finish, it’s best to store acanoe indoors for any lengthy time.

“Heavy stuff” includes more than you mightthink. Tree branches and chimney bricks areheavy stuff, but so are icicles and a foot or twoof wet snow. Don’t put a canoe halfway underthe eaves; that’s asking for junk to land on it.

If storing a canoe outdoors, tie it down. Acanoe – even a bulky one – weighs little com-pared to its surface area. It doesn’t take muchwind to send a canoe sailing. And due toMurphy’s Law, you can expect it to hit some-thing unfortunate (such as an attorney).

Towing a canoewith a powerboat:

Canoes tow very poorly behind powerboats.The sharp bow of a canoe is easily disturbedby the prop wash and wake of the boat. At anyspeed above dead slow the canoe will weave,buck, and rock. If it hits a wave awkwardly ortakes on water, which it easily could, you riskdoing catastrophic damage to any canoe.

To tow a canoe, use another canoe or a row-boat. To transport a canoe with a powerboat,you must get the canoe into or onto the boat.Do not tow a canoe behind a powerboat exceptin an emergency, and then tow it at idle speed.

Using SupplementalAir-flotation Bags:

All of our canoes will float if filled with water.If swamped in rapids, however, a canoe mustdo more than merely float, it must float highin the water. Supplemental Air-flotation Bagsaccomplish this, and we recommend them ifyou are canoe on rapids of Class-3 or greater.

Among the worst damage that can strike acanoe is a “wrap.” It happens if a hull filledwith water lodges sideways in rapids with itscenter against an obstacle. The strong currenttries to wrap the canoe around the obstacle.

It’s bestto storea canoeindoors.

Don’t towa canoewith apowerboat

Air bagsfloat aswampedcanoehigher.

14

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 14

Page 15: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Although air bags can’t eliminate the danger,they can diminish it. Firstly, they float thehull high enough to clear some obstacles thatit might otherwise hit. Secondly, they lessenthe chances of a wrap. By floating high, the

water pressure on the canoe is reduced, evenif the canoe remains stuck. Better still, thehull is apt to free itself by sliding off to theside of the obstacle, or by climbing up on it.

Air flotation bags are available from us. Threestyles are offered for use with solo or tandemcanoes. See our catalog for details.

When to useSkid Plates:

A Skid Plate is an extra piece on the bow of acanoe that adds protection against rockyimpacts. We don’t favor the routine installa-tion of a Skid Plate because it diminishes theperformance of a canoe while usually beingunnecessary. But rapids are a different story.

Many people add a Skid Plate to a compositecanoe for use on rapids, but owners ofRoyalex® hulls rarely do, thinking that theircanoe is indestructible. This isn’t quite true.

A Royalex® hull is almost impervious to bluntimpacts but, unlike a composite canoe, can becut by a sharp rock. Fitting a Kevlar® SkidPlate to a Royalex® canoe can be wise becauseit is very good protection against cuts.

We offer Skid Plate Kits for our canoes. Thekit has mounting instructions, or you can getthem beforehand to learn the process.

15

Top: four air bags ina tandem canoe.

Bottom: two air bagsin a solo canoe.

A Skid Plate can bea wise addition to acanoe that will beused in rapids, espe-cially a Royalex®canoe, although thatmay surprise you.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 15

Page 16: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

ControlWhy bother,anyway?Making a canoe go where you want isn’t diffi-cult – at least, it needn’t be. Sure, there arefancy skills you can learn: special strokes suchas posts and braces, steering by leaning thehull or using the current, plus a few others.

But such techniques are typically unneeded.You can control a canoe well enough for mostwaters with a small number of simple skills.

So, if controlling a canoe is easy, why do manypeople fail? The answer might be avoidance.

Since most people go canoeing casually forfun, few want to invest much time in learninghow to paddle well. In response to this, unfor-tunately, many people invest no time at all.

You need not make a big investment of time,but you’ll be much happier if you make atleast a small one. Permit us to explain why.

Some control isneeded for safety:

We won’t dwell on this topic, but having ade-quate control of a canoe can sometimes be cru-cial for safety. If you can’t reliably make acanoe go where you want it to, then you alsocan’t reliably avoid trouble when needed.

Topic .............. Page

Importance of ...... 16

Basic skills .......... 18

Effects of wind .... 28

For more help ...... 31

If it’s soeasy, whydo peoplefail?

16

Control

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 16

Page 17: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

The big, obvious dangers such as waterfallsaren’t really the issue – you’ll probably stayfar away from them. It’s smaller, unexpectedthreats you’ll need to dodge… a tree fallen inthe stream just around a blind bend, or thekid on a jet-ski who’s not paying attention.

Canoeing isn’t often dangerous, and you don’tneed to be an accomplished paddler to be safe.But you do need to have at least enough skillsto avoid unexpected problems occasionally.

Effective controlreduces your effort:

Because a canoe is powered by you, not by amotor or the wind, having good control of itsdirection will minimize your effort to travel.

You’ll see lots of canoes (yours?) that proceedin nothing like a straight line. They travel inan endless series of linked turns, veering inone direction, then the other, over-correctingeach time. This is what a downhill skier doesseeking to increase distance and reduce speed.It may be wise for a skier. It’s not for a canoe.

How much farther you go depends upon howbadly you zig-zag, but 25% (or more) isn’tuncommon. Why paddle 25 miles if the trip isonly 20? If you learn to keep the canoe oncourse, you’ll avoid paddling needless miles.

Having control makescanoeing more fun:

It’s unclear to us how paddlers who are wan-dering semi-uncontrollably around a lake orriver can be having any fun. They aren’t goingwhere they want to go; they are going wherethey don’t want to go; and they’re expendinglots of effort to get this unrewarding result.

Fun? How so? Frustrating is more like it. Andthis may explain why some canoes are used afew times, then parked forever. But canoeingcan be fun, and will be more fun, if you spenda little time learning to control the canoe.

You needsome skillto avoidtrouble.

Don’tpaddle25 miles ifthe trip isonly 20.

Canoeingwill bemore fun.

17

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 17

Page 18: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

How to controla canoeCanoes tend not to go straight. This is slightlytroublesome, since going straight is the pre-ferred route a great majority of the time.

In a tandem hull, the stern paddler has moreleverage than the bow paddler does. So even ifthey paddle on opposing sides of the canoe, itdrifts slightly away from the side on whichthe stern person is paddling (i.e., stern personis paddling on the right, canoe drifts left).

Solo canoes are similar but more extreme.

Since the solo paddler is near the pivot pointof the hull, and because no one is paddling onthe opposing side for balance, a solo canoedrifts strongly away from the paddling side.

This is alsothe case fora tandemhull if bothpeople pad-dle on oneside; insteadof just drift-ing a little,the canoedrifts a lot.

In most cases, controlling a canoe is a matterof minimizing (not “eliminating” but “mini-mizing”) a canoe’s natural drift in order to gostraight, and of using drift in order to turn.

It’s that simple! And while new paddlers areoften frustrated because a canoe drifts, they’remissing the point. A canoe will drift – acceptthat fact, and don’t fight it, learn to use it!

Wind is a similar issue. It can effect a canoebadly, minimally, or beneficially. You must

Don’tfight drift,learn touse it!

18

How much a canoedrifts is governed byif the paddles are onthe same or opposingsides of the hull.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 18

Page 19: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

deal with wind just as drift, meaning: mini-mize it when needed, use it when possible.

We’ll get to the specifics shortly. But first, onetopic applies to tandem canoes alone, and it isso important that it must come before all else:

Paddling tandemis a team effort!

The magnitude of this point can’t be over-stated! People who are paddling tandem cannot take independent, unexpected actions ifthey want to succeed in controlling a canoe.

And for people to work as a team, productivecommunication is required. The decisionsabout what to do must either be made jointlyby communication, or they must be made byone person and communicated to the other.

As you can imagine, this may cause problemsfor certain pairs of people – specifically youngsiblings, but even a few adults. We won’t elab-orate, except to say that, occasionally, specificpersons can’t paddle well together since theycan neither share authority nor delegate it.

A true inability to work together, however, isuncommon. Most people could coordinate fine,they simply aren’t doing it… which might bebecause they didn’t know they needed to.

With any paddling partner, you must decidetogether upon “the plan.” A common plan, butnot the only workable one, is for the better-and/or-stronger paddler to occupy the stern,to make the decisions, and to give neededinstructions to the person in the bow, whodoes only what he/she has been told to do.

There are some reasons for the stern person tobe in charge: 1.) The stern person can see thebow person, but not the reverse. 2.) The sternperson can speak to the bow person more eas-ily than the opposite. 3.) The stern person, byvirtue of having greater leverage, has morecontrol over the canoe in typical situations.

Deal withwind thesame aswith drift.

Communi-cation isrequired.

Decidetogetherupon “theplan.”

19

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 19

Page 20: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

The bow person has advantages, too, the mainone being a better view. But if the bow personsees an obstacle, he/she should first alert thestern person, rather than taking independent,unexpected action to avoid the obstacle.

If having the stern person be in charge worksfor you, great. But if some other plan makesmore sense in your case, that’s fine, too. Thedetails of your plan aren’t so important asthat you have a plan, and that you stick to it.

Just by deciding who’s in charge, you’ll makeprogress in gaining control of the canoe.

Four, basicpaddle strokes:

In nearly all cases, you can control a canoeusing just four paddle strokes. They are:1) Forward, 2) Backward, 3) Sweep, 4) Draw.

And for people who perform their forwardstrokes well, they will only occasionally needto use the other three types of strokes.

Establishwho’s incharge.

To controla canoetakes just4 strokes.

20

Forward

Paddle for-ward simul-taneously onopposingsides of thehull. Thecanoe goesstraight for-ward (well,almoststraight for-ward).

Backward

Paddle inreversesimultane-ously onopposingsides of thehull. Thecanoe goesbackward.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 20

Page 21: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Performing forward strokes well means sev-eral things. The bow and stern persons shouldpaddle in unison, performing strokes that areof the same duration and pacing. In otherwords, the paddlers should be synchronized.

Although short, fast strokes are more effectivethan long, slow ones, you can do as you like…provided both paddlers are together. Peoplemay have differing preferences about the pad-dling rhythm, but you must find one that isacceptable to you both. And you may need tovary it to speed up or slow down the canoe.

In addition to being in unison, you shouldnearly always paddle on opposing sides of thecanoe. There are some exceptions to this, butonly when you need to turn sharply. To gostraight – which is usually the goal – the pad-dlers must be on opposing sides of the hull.

Finally, you should switch paddling sidesoften, which also means that you must switchsides in unison. This won’t happen by acci-

Paddlein unisonand onopposingsides ofthe canoe.

21

Sweep

Sweepstrokes bythe sternpaddlermake thecanoe turnaway fromthe sternpaddlingside.

Draw

Drawstrokesby bothpaddlersmake thecanoerotatearoundits centerpoint.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 21

Page 22: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

dent. You need to establish an oral signal,upon which both paddlers switch sidestogether. Some people say “hut” or “hup,” oth-ers say “switch.” What the signal is doesn’tmatter, as long as you decide upon one.

Although some people think that switchingsides is too much trouble to bother with, it isactually the most effective tactic available tocontrol a canoe. Switching sides takes aboutas much time (and less effort) that performingone paddle stroke, so we don’t understandhow it constitutes being “too much trouble.”

And to not use switching requires you to usesome other control strategy, all of which aremore work! By switching sides appropriately,you can keep a canoe on course, avoiding theeffort spent to recover after it has wandered.

How to make acanoe go straight:

As we said, a tandem canoe tends to drift,even when both persons paddle on opposingsides. You seldom can eliminate this totally,but you usually can minimize it so much thatthe drift becomes virtually nonexistent.

Before explaining how, a word of advice: It’soften helpful to have a reference, a target, bywhich to judge direction. In many cases – on asizeable lake, for example – it’s hard to tell ifthe canoe is going straight, drifting a little, ora lot. Pick a tree, rock, cabin, or whatever, toaim for. This alone will improve your success.

Be aware, also, that two factors influence howmuch your canoe tends to drift, and hence

Switchingsides isthe easiestmeans ofcontrol.

Pick atarget toaim for.

22

Switching sides is asimple act that, aftera few repetitions, isas fast and easy asstroking the paddle

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 22

Page 23: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Longercanoes gostraighterthan shortones do.

The key isknowingwhen toswitchsides.

how much action you must take to control it.The two factors are: the design of the canoe,and the match-up of the paddlers.

(Wind and waves can also play a role, butwe’ll explore those in the next section.)

Some canoes are more apt to track straightthan others. Longer canoes track better thanshorter ones, and canoes with straight keel-lines track better than ones with rocker.

We’ll skip the technicalities of why, but wewill say that you must invest more inputs tocontrol drift with some canoes. If you have acanoe that is short and/or rockered, it willrequire more attention to keep on track thanwould a hull that is long and straight.

If your paddlers vary greatly in strength, or inpaddling skill, these too can influence thetracking. Putting a much-stronger paddler inthe stern will amplify the tendency to driftaway from the stern-paddling side.

But this “problem” may be an advantage indisguise. If putting the stronger paddler inthe stern amplifies drift, then putting thatperson in the bow minimizes it. This is pre-cisely what many male-female or adult-childteams do in competition. Swapping the bowand stern roles usually is only partially effec-tive, and it may cause other problems, but it’sworth trying in order to learn the outcome.

Normally, though, to keep the canoe on courseyou will paddle on opposing sides, and youwill switch sides periodically. To make thiswork, the key is knowing when to switch!

Here’s the answer, and it’s a simple one:switch paddling sides before the canoe driftsperceptibly. In other words – anticipate!

It seems, however, that some people hope amagical transformation will occur, and thecanoe will begin to go straight on its own. So,after the canoe has veered off course, they do

23

A canoe with astraight keel-line(top) tends to gostraighter than onewith some rocker(middle), and tendsto go much straighterthan one with lots ofrocker (bottom).

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 23

Page 24: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

something to recover, then ignore the issue,expecting the canoe to go straight thereafter.

Trust us: It won’t happen.

A canoe always tends to drift away from thestern-paddling side. But – here’s the crucialpoint – it takes time for drift to develop. Thecanoe will go straight briefly, then will beginto drift, and then the drift will grow!

If you switch paddling sides early enough, thedrift never has time to begin, and it won’t growout of control. Viola! You go nearly straight!

If you try this on the water, and it doesn’twork as well as you hoped, we can predict theproblem: You aren’t switching often enough.

How often must you do it? We can’t state theanswer as a number of strokes. It differs withthe canoe, the paddlers, and sometimes theconditions. You must discover the frequencyby experiment. If you are veering badly, youmust switch more. If you are having no prob-lems, you can try less to see what happens.

Once you are familiar with a certain canoeand partner, you will know from experiencehow often to switch. Some pairs then set astandard – every ten strokes, for example – toavoid announcing each switch; they both do itevery ten strokes. If a change is needed, it canbe announced by calling a new number, or bycalling for switching to be suspended (the rea-sons for which are in the next section).

So far, this discussion has concentrated uponkeeping a tandem canoe on course, but youuse the same technique – switching sides – ina solo canoe. In one sense a solo is harder tocontrol; it drifts more abruptly because youare paddling only on one side. In anothersense, however, it’s easier to control becausecoordination between two people isn’t needed.

To keep a solo on a straight course, you mustswitch sides very often. While a typical switch-

Don’t givethe drifttime tobegin!

Discoverthe properfrequencyby experi-menting.

24

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 24

Page 25: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

ing frequency in a tandem canoe might beeight-to-twelve strokes (more or less), in a solocanoe it may be five strokes, or even fewer.

But with any canoe, solo or tandem, switchingtoo often doesn’t cause trouble. Doing it tooseldom does cause trouble, and it must be cor-rected to gain effective control of the canoe.

How to makea canoe turn:

Many times, to make a canoe turn is a piece ofcake. Since a canoe always tends to drift, youcan often “make” it turn merely by letting itdrift. Select the paddling side(s) to favor a left-hand or righthand drift as needed, then don’tswitch paddling sides until the turn is done.

See there… Piece Of Cake!

Well, truthfully, there’s just a little more to itthan that. When turning, you may need tocontrol how sharply the canoe turns, and youwill need to make it stop turning eventually.

To sharpen a turn, you can take several steps.Before using any of them, however, know thatyour turn will sharpen naturally, even if youdo nothing. This is due to “rotational inertia.”

If you want to turn left, for example, the bowperson paddles on the left side, the stern per-son on the right. This sets up the canoe todrift left, but it doesn’t start immediately.

At first, inertia resists the turn. Shortly, how-ever, your paddling strokes overcome the iner-tia, and the canoe begins to turn left.

Now it has inertia – rotational inertia – thatmakes it want to keep turning. So before youuse even more steering effort, anticipate whatwill happen if you merely let the turn develop.

If, however, you do need to accelerate turning,the simplest method is the “Sweep Stroke."While it can be performed by both paddlers,the sweep stroke is usually performed by the

Turningis a pieceof cake.

Inertiaresists aturn, butthen sup-ports it.

25

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 25

Page 26: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

stern paddler. It makes the canoe turn morestrongly away from the stern-paddling side.

To perform a sweepstroke, the paddle isnot pulled straightback parallel to thecenterline of the canoe.Instead, the strokebegins near the hull,sweeps outward, andthen back in, makingan arc of about 90.°

When the stern pad-dler alone performs asweep stroke, no spe-cial action is neededfrom the bow person,who keeps paddlingnormally as before. If

the stern paddler is the one who’s in charge,no instructions need to be given. The sternpaddler simply performs as many sweepstrokes as need to get the desired result.

To achieve even more steering if needed, how-ever, the bow person must become involved.Communication is then required.

The next step in the hierarchy of steering isfor the bow person only to switch sides so thatboth are paddling on one side – that being theopposite side from the direction of the turn.

The two paddlers can perform standard for-ward strokes, or one or both of them can per-form sweep strokes, depending upon howrapidly you need to turn. With both paddlersperforming sweep strokes on the right side ofthe canoe, it will turn very strongly to the left.

Up to now, all the steering methods describedare done with the canoe in motion. However,the most extreme steering action – the “DrawStroke” – is used with the canoe stopped, ornearly so. With draw strokes, you can spin the

26

The Sweep Stroke ifused by the stern per-son makes a canoeturn more sharplyaway from the stern-paddling side. Thesweep is your stock-in-trade to increasethe speed of a turn.You will also oftenuse it – after switch-ing sides – to stop aturn at its finish.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 26

Page 27: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

canoe around its center, quickly aiming it inan all-new direction as much as 180° away.

To perform a drawstroke, reach straightout from the canoewith the paddle andpull water directlytoward yourself.

One paddler alone canperform draw strokesto achieve sharperturns, but the way toactually spin a canoearound its center isfor both paddlers dodraw strokes simulta-neously on opposingsides. It is done withthe canoe at rest ormoving slowly because it causes a very sharpturn which is unstable at higher speeds.

Use the draw stroke only rarely, but be famil-iar with it, and practice it with your partner,because the draw stroke – while it does haveother uses –is most valuable in threateningsituations to aim away from trouble quickly.

One last tactic is available to turn. We list itat the end because, while it works well andhas some uses, it is not a strategy to employoften. We are referring to the fact that oneperson (usually the bow) can stop paddlingwhile the other person keeps paddling.

If you are turning left, the bow is likely pad-dling on the left, the stern on the right. If thebow removes the paddle from the water com-pletely, the canoe will turn more sharply left.

The problem is that this makes one paddlerdo all the work when two are available for it.Nevertheless, to stop paddling is sometimesan effective tactic that you probably will use,especially to maneuver in a slow, tight area.

Use drawstrokesto escapequickly.

27

Draw Strokes areused by both personson opposing sideswhile the canoe isstopped or movingvery slowly.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 27

Page 28: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

How to stop a canoefrom turning:

Upon reaching your new heading, you mayfind that the canoe wants to keep on turning.This, again, is due to rotational inertia. Tostop a turn, you defeat the rotational inertia.

Thankfully, it’s easy to do. If you have beenturning left, assign the bow person to paddleon the right side, the stern person on the left.With this set-up, the rotational inertia willsubside on its own after a few moments.

But to avoid turning too far, you may wish toend the inertia quickly. To do this, the sternperson performs a sweep stroke on the left.One stroke is often enough, but two or threemay be needed to set the canoe straight.

What you a really doing is ending a lefthandturn by initiating a righthand one, but not let-ting the righthand turn develop.

How to copewith wind:

Wind has a large influence because a canoe,unless it is badly overloaded, has much morearea above the water than below it. A canoe

typicallydraws 3-5"of water buthas 8-12" of

freeboard. The wind has lots to push on, butthere’s not much in the water to resist.

Obviously, you can’t stop the wind, so youmust make it effect you in the least-harmfulor (occasionally) the most-helpful way. This isdone by “trimming” the canoe for the wind.

To “trim” a canoe means to adjust its balanceproperly front-to-back. You can trim a canoeto be level, bow-high, or stern-high. It nearlyalways should be level because canoes aredesigned to perform best that way. The wind,however, sometimes favors a different trim.

Stop aturn byinitiatingone theother way.

28

Wind effects a canoestrongly because thearea above the wateris much greater thanthe area below it.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 28

Page 29: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

When you are in a canoe, though, you can’tsee how it is trimmed. Someone on shore or inanother canoe could tell you, but only if theyknow what to look for. If a wind is blowing,however, the way that it effects the canoe willreveal how the canoe is trimmed.

To adjust the trim, you move stuff fore or aft.If you are on a trip with gear, shuffling itaround appropriately in the hull can work.

The heaviest “thing” in a canoe, though, isusually the paddlers. The purpose of adjust-able (sliding) seats is to easily move the pad-dlers toalter thetrim. If youhave noslidingseats, youcan stillmove thepaddlers somewhat by having them sit nearthe fronts or backs of the seats, or by kneelingon the floor ahead of the seats.

In calm conditions, a canoe should be level. Inmost winds, it should also be level. And whilegood trim is important in a calm, it is criticalin a wind. If the wind gives you baffling steer-ing problems, the cause is likely that thecanoe isn’t level, but you were unaware of it.

If either end of the canoe is too high in a windfrom the sides or quarters, the wind will pushthe high end in the direction of the wind.

If the bow is too high, the wind pushes harderon it, turning the canoe away from the wind.If the stern is too high, the wind pushesharder on it, turning the canoe into the wind.

Slight errors in trim cause surprisingly largesteering problems because the error is com-pounded. Not only is one end of the canoe toohigh, the other end is too low. And while thehigh end has increased freeboard to catch the

To “trim”a canoe isto balanceit front-to-back.

A windpushesthe higherend in itsdirection.

29

The canoes in thesedrawings are rotatedonly 2° from horizon-tal. They show howmuch the freeboardand draught changefront-to-back due to aslight error in trim.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 29

Page 30: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

wind, it also has decreased draught to resist.At the low end, the opposite happens.

That’s why an error in trim isn’t one simplewindage problem, it’s four related ones. Andeven in a moderate wind, the result may bedeflection you can’t overcome with steering.

To correct the trim, move weight toward theend that is being blown off course. For exam-ple, if the canoe is turning away from thewind, the bow is too high. Moving weight for-ward lowers the bow and raises the stern,shifting the wind pressure toward the rear.

What you seek to find is the balance point atwhich the wind pressure is equal all along thelength of the hull. You can do this best byexperiment, and when you find the optimumtrim, the wind – while it will push you side-ways – will stop having a steering effect.

While you usually want the wind to have nosteering effect, in two cases you should use thewind to help you steer. These two are a direct

headwind ora tailwind.A headwindis very trou-blesome; itcan quicklyturn you faroff course.A tailwind

can do the same, although the effect is not asstrong. In these cases, changing the trim canhelp you avoid being blown off course.

In a headwind, trim so the stern is slightlyhigh. This increases wind pressure on thestern, keeping the bow pointed into the wind.Don’t overdo this, however, because you needenough bow freeboard to cope with waves.

In a tailwind, trim so the bow is slightly high.With this set-up, the wind will catch the bowand blow you right where you wish to go.

Equalizethe windpressureall alongthe hull.

30

HEADWIND

In a direct head-wind, trimming thestern a little highwill keep you headedinto the wind.

In a direct tailwind,do the opposite.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 30

Page 31: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Where to getmore helpWe haven’t tried to explain all of the ways tocontrol a canoe. Instead we’ve presented a setof basic skills that you can use to begin canoe-ing safely and enjoyably on moderate waters.

If you wish to learn more – which we highlyrecommend – there are many places to go:

Try the bookstore, library, or magazine stand.There are lots of books about paddling (wehave some in our catalog), and entire maga-zines are devoted to it. These have good arti-cles about technique, plus ads for more books.

Video tapes are just a little harder to find. Wehave one, and others are offered in magazines.Try the video section of your library, too.

The best learning is hands-on, however, andthere are good opportunities to get it in mostareas where canoeing is prevalent.

The groups offering some form of canoeinginstruction may range from local Red Crosschapters and Y.M.C.A.’s, to canoeing clubs, toprofessional full-time paddling schools.

Ask your dealer first. Many offer training. Ifnot, they should know if it exists nearby. Youcan also contact national groups, such as theUnited States Canoe Association and/or theAmerican Canoe Association. Many states andprovinces also have associations. To find pro-fessional schools, look for ads in magazines.

Incidentally, don’t be surprised if someoneteaches other basic paddling methods thanours. Our scheme is a good one, especially touse with our canoes. But there are other waysthat – while requiring more effort – can beeffective. Use whatever canoe control methodsare the most effective and enjoyable for you.

Try thebookstore,library, ormagazinestand.

Manycanoedealersoffertraining.

31

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 31

Page 32: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

PaddlesDo you needa good paddle?To paddle a canoe takes about 500 strokes permile. This fact alone should illustrate clearlythat what paddle you use – and how well youuse it – plays a large role in canoeing

Firstly, don’t skimp when buying paddles.You’ve spent a substantial amount on a canoe,which you won’t enjoy using very much if youhave heavy, awkward, ineffective paddles.

The best paddles are light, strong, comfort-able, efficient, and long-lasting. All of thesevirtues – especially lightness – are highlydesirable, and all of them cost money.

Should the value of lightness not be obvious,we’ll amplify it. A good paddle weighs 11/2-2pounds (some are even lighter). A poor one istwice that, or more. To paddle 10 miles takesabout 5000 strokes. After each one, you liftthe paddle out of the water and replace itback in front of you. So, with a 4-pound pad-dle, a 10-mile trip requires you to move 20,000pounds of weight while simply recovering thepaddle, exclusive of propelling the canoe!

Don’t waste your effort on recovering a heavypaddle through the air; invest your effort onpropelling your canoe through the water!

Topic .............. Page

Importance of ...... 32

Straight vs. bent 33

Proper size ........... 34

Good technique ... 36

A goodpaddleweighsjust 11/2 - 2pounds.

32

Paddles

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 32

Page 33: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Beyond choosing a high-quality, light-weightpaddle, you also need to select its type andsize wisely. Then you need to maximize itsbenefits by using the paddle most efficiently.

Straight-shaft vs.Elbow (bent) paddles:

The Elbow (or bent-shaft) paddle has its bladeangled forward from the shaft by about fifteendegrees. This has several advantages over aconventional paddle. Some of the differencesare technical, and we’ll skip over those.

One feature that’s easy to explain, however, isthat an elbow makes the ending (and strong-est) part of your stroke much more effective.

Once a straight-shaft paddle passes behindyou during a stroke, you begin lifting waterinstead of just pushing it. This still gives somepropulsion, but much of your effort is wastedpulling the canoe down into the water insteadof driving it forward. Since the blade of anelbow is cocked forward, the end of a strokedoesn’t lift the water nearly as much.

To make an elbow work properly, of course,you must hold it correctly. If given no instruc-tion, however, almosteveryone seems inclinedto hold it backward.

If the bend in the bladefaces the rear instead ofthe front, the end of yourstroke lifts even morewater, and thereby iseven more wasteful of your energy.

Used properly, an elbow transmits more ofyour force into going forward. But you mayhave avoided “those fancy paddles,” thinkingthat they’re intended only for advanced canoe-ists. Actually, the opposite is true.

Experienced paddlers tend to use short, fastpaddle strokes that are performed mostly in

33

A straight-shaft pad-dle (left) wastes effortlifting water at theend of the stroke. Anelbow (right) doesn’t.

An elbow (bent-shaft) paddlehas its bladeangled forwardof the shaft byseveral degrees.

Shown is our“Quetico,” anexcellent elbowat a moderateprice. Made oflaminated bass-wood and but-ternut with an8" blade andlengths from48" to 54." Itsweight is about11/2 pounds,depending onlength.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 33

Page 34: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

front of their bodies. These people don’t wastemuch effort lifting water. Newer paddlers,however, tend to take long, slow strokes thatextend well to the rear. This is precisely thecase where an elbow helps the most, thus it isof greater benefit to inexperienced paddlers.

Another misconception is that elbow paddlesare special-purpose tools to go faster on calmwater. While it’s true that elbow paddles arethe choice of most marathon canoe racers,their motives aren’t all that different fromyours. They achieve speed by paddling fast,and by going very far for each stroke.

Doesn’t going very far for each stroke soundlike a good ideal on a regular basis? You don’thave to paddle fast to accomplish that, only topaddle well, which an elbow will help you do.

The only advantage a straight paddle has is todo special strokes (such as a brace) on white-water. Thus, a straight paddle is the special-purpose tool; an elbow is the all-around one.

If you haven’t yet tried an elbow paddle, youshould. Then if you still like a straight paddle,that’s fine, some people do. But most who tryan elbow prefer it and wouldn’t go back.

Getting theproper size paddle:

Having a paddle that is the right length isvery helpful. You do have some leeway; it canbe too long or short by a few inches. But if it’soff by about 6" or more, the paddle forces youto hold it in ways that prevent using it well.

There are a couple of published guidelinesthat deal with proper paddle sizes. We’ll men-tion some of these, but primarily to discountthem, because there’s only one truly reliableway to find the best size, and that’s by trial.

The Red Cross has said that, with the bladeon the ground, the grip of a paddle should beat your eye level. Wow! You could almost pole

An elbowpaddlehelps newpaddlersthe most.

The bestway tofind theright sizeis by trial.

34

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 34

Page 35: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

vault with a paddle that long! Upper chestlevel, not eye level, is much more like it.

The United States Canoe Association saysthat the shaft – the part of a paddle from thegrip to the throat – should be 6" to 8" longerthan your arm with fingers extended. This ismore realistic, but still on the long side.

These guidelines recognize that different sizepeople need different length paddles, but theyignore other issues that matter, such as theheight of the seats in your canoe, and whetheryou sit or kneel to pad-dle, to name just a few.

The way to identify theright size is this: Whenyou are in your canoeon the water, the gripof your paddle shouldbe at shoulder levelwhen the paddle bladeis immersed in thewater up to its throat.

What this means, ofcourse, is that ideallyyou should take yourcanoe on the water totry various paddlesbefore deciding uponwhat size to buy.

But if that isn’t possible, you can simulate thesituation on land and take measurements.

Put the canoe on the ground (on grass, please,not asphalt or gravel) and get into it in yournormal paddling position. Measure from theground to your shoulder. This will tell youabout how long your paddle shaft should befrom the throat to the grip. The dimensionwill be too long by a couple of inches since thecanoe will sink that far into the water. But bytaking that into account, you can estimate ashaft length that is very close to optimum.

Severalfactorsinfluencethe propersize.

35

A paddle is the rightlength for the pad-dler and the canoe ifthe grip is at shoul-der level when theblade is immersed inthe water up to thethroat.

Having the grip atshoulder level is alsothe way to hold thepaddle in use.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 35

Page 36: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Paddles not only havediffering lengths, theyalso have differingblades. Historically,blades were quite longand narrow, but somemodern ones are veryshort and wide. Eitherextreme is problem-atic, and the best blade

size is the midground which is neither toolong or short, nor too narrow or wide.

Very long blades hit bottom more readily inshallow water. This destroys your stoke andharms the paddle. Very wide blades are awk-ward to handle and force you to reach fartherout from the canoe. A blade with a width of71/2" to 81/2" and length of about 18" to 19" isa good compromise that avoids the extremes.

Using yourpaddle effectively:

Although paddling a canoe can be very tiringif you do it poorly, this need not be so. Usingthe paddle well will increase how far you gofor the effort spent. You’ll use less effort to goany distance, and paddling will be less tiring.

How much less tiring is difficult to say. Butpeople who paddle very well can do it all daywithout apparent exhaustion, while peoplewho paddle very poorly get tired in a hurry.

Conditioning plays a role, but technique is asimportant. It’s easy to explain good techniquein general, because it has only two aspects:

1) Use the paddle in ways that give the mostpropulsion for the amount of effort.

2) Distribute the effort by using as manymuscles together as possible.

Putting these principles into use, however,requires being alert to your actions until youbecome habituated to using good technique.

The bestblade sizeis at themedian oflength &width.

Peoplewho pad-dle poorlyget tiredin a hurry

36

Too wide Just right Too tall

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 36

Page 37: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

37

▼ Poor Techniques ▼ Good Techniques

These illustrations are greatly simplified and exaggerated for clar-ity. Probably no one paddles as badly as the left column, nor as per-fectly as the right column. In order to paddle well, your actions need tolook less like those on the left and more like those on the right.

*

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 37

Page 38: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

To get the most propulsion from each strokerequires doing a couple of things that don’tseem obvious, but are once they’re explained.

The paddle should be as nearly vertical as ispossible, as often as is possible. “Vertical”means front-to-back, and side-to-side. Manypaddlers seldom have it near vertical in eitherway, and much of their effort is wasted creat-ing directional forces other than forward.

It’s common to see people move their paddlesin an arc front-to-back, somewhat like thepaddlewheel of a steamboat. First the paddlepushes down on the water, then pushes backon it, and finally lifts it up. With this motion,much of the effort is not driving the canoe for-ward but is making it bob up and down.

Swinging the paddle in an arc sideways iswasteful, too. It amounts to doing a sweepstroke by accident. This gives turning forcesthat are counterproductive to going straight.

To help you avoid these problems, some bookssuggest that you adopt an imaginary view ofthe paddle. They say to regard it as a polewhich is firmly anchored and sticking straightout of the water. Then, because you can’tmove the pole, you pull yourself up to it.

If this method helps you, fine. But it may not,if it suggests that the paddle must always beperfectly vertical. You can’t do that, nor shouldyou try. You want to keep it as near to verticalas is practical, which probably means keepingit much closer to vertical than you have been.

In addition, use the paddle as close to thecanoe as possible, and use it parallel to thecenterline of the hull. The further out youreach to paddle, the more your strokes try toturn the canoe instead of pushing it forward.Moving the paddling in other than a straightline to the rear also has this effect. Suchactions may be useful if you’re trying to turn,but they are very wasteful otherwise.

Keep thepaddle asnear tovertical aspossible.

38

This motion wastesenergy by making thecanoe rise and fall.

This motion wastesenergy by making thecanoe want to turn.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 38

Page 39: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

The final point, and a crucial one, about howto paddle well is what muscles to use for it.

The obvious answer – your arms – is thewrong one. Most people do use only theirarms, and many really use only one at a timeto apply power. This will tire you rapidly.

Good paddlers apply little power with theirarms. They mostly use their back and shoul-der muscles, which are stronger. And whenthey use their arms, they use both together.

To explain this technique is difficult, which isunfortunate, because if you can learn it, youwill paddle farther, faster, while tiring less!

Firstly, your arms stay nearly straight. Youmight have a slight bend in them to hold thepaddle, but you don’t move the paddle by flex-ing your arms. Not much, anyway. You domove it by bending and turning your upperbody, possibly extending down to your waist.

Imagine that your arms are sore, and it hurtsto flex them. To paddle in this condition, youwould naturally shift the effort away fromyour arms onto your shoulders and back. Thisis exactly how you should paddle all the time!

To tell if you are doing it, however, note yourbody positions while paddling. If you areapplying power mainly with your body notyour arms, your shoulders will rotate quite abit relative to your waist, but your arms willmove very little relative to your shoulders.

You do use your arms, but not to paddle assuch. Your arms are comparatively weak, soyou limit their use to an easy task, that beingto recover the paddle between strokes.

We hope that this explanation is clear. But ifnot, try to discover the technique for yourselfwhile paddling. Or, find qualified hands-oninstruction, because learning to spread theeffort among more of your muscles will greatlyimprove your enjoyment of canoeing.

Do lesswork withyour armsand morewith yourshouldersand back.

39

Paddling far outfrom the hull createsturning forces.

Paddling not paral-lel to the hull createsturning forces.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 39

Page 40: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

PortageHow to portagewith less troubleAlthough its dictionary definition is widerthan this, when we say “portage” we meanspecifically the act of one person transportingan upturned canoe carried on the shoulders.

Most canoes are portaged, at least to somedegree, even if just from the garage to the car.Where good skills are crucial, though, is onlonger treks over bad ground and on slopes.

Having a light canoe is advantageous, espe-cially as conditions worsen. The wise choice ofportage yokes and pads is important too, as isthe use of techniques that keep portagingfrom being more difficult than it need be.

Practicing in easy conditions is very helpful,both to assess and improve your skills. Youmay find that portaging is impractical for you.More likely, however, you’ll find that portag-ing is easier than you thought, and that a lit-tle practice quickly improves your abilities.

A word of caution, however: Wind can causebig trouble when portaging. A canoe whenheld aloft in even a moderate wind has toomuch surface area for one person to control.To transport a canoe in a wind, play it safeand have two or more people carry the canoe.

Topic .............. Page

Introduction ........ 40

Yokes and pads .. 41

Good technique ... 42

Don’t tryto portagealone ina wind

40

Portage

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 40

Page 41: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Portage yokesand pads:

Portage yokes range from very simple to quiteelaborate. Not everyone needs the optimumset-up, but having at least a good set-up easesthe task of portaging substantially.

The yoke thatis most-com-monly fittedto our tandemcanoes is a basic, ash one that has somesculpting but no padding. It is an economyyoke that is suitable for short, easy portages.

For more difficult portages or greater comfort,this yoke can be upgraded by fitting pads to it.

Two types of pads are available from us tomount to our basic yoke. They attach easily,either with temporary clamps, or by drilling acouple of holes. Both types adjust for spreadside-to-side,which is a goodfeature thatsome very-expensive yokesdon’t have.

If yourWe.no.nahCanoe has our basic yoke, the easiest, least-costly upgrade is to order pads from us to fitit. Your other option is to replace the yokewith an improved (although more-costly) one.

If your canoe has no yoke but you want to addone, you have several choices. You can mountour basic yoke, either with or without pads.

Hardware is available from us to mount ourbasic yoke permanently in place of the centerthwart, or to mount it so as to be removable.

We offer another type of tandem yoke that hasmore durability and greater comfort. This isour laminated yoke that has pads which are

41

These pads fit ourbasic yoke. Bothadjust side-to-side.

The clamp-on style(left) mounts tem-porarily and is foroccasional use.

The bolt-on style(right) is sturdier,more comfortable,and semi-permanent.

Our basic, ash yokefor tandem canoes. Itcan be mounted to bepermanent or remov-able using hardwareavailable from us.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 41

Page 42: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

adjustable andremovable. It iscontoured to givegreater clearancefor your neck, andit can be mountedpermanently or

temporarily using hardware from us.

Mounting a yoke to a solo canoe is differentsince the yoke must go where the seat is. Thusthe yoke must be removable, and it must ele-vate the canoe to clear your head.

We have an excellent, aluminum solo yokethat goes on and comes off in seconds becausethere are no fasteners. Leverage alone holds itin place. It has adjustable shoulder pads andit provides ample clearance for your head.

Portagingsuccessfully:

Portaging is rarely easy, but it need not beoverly difficult. A problem that many peoplehave is fighting with the canoe to control itsbalance while portaging. This makes carryingthe canoe much more arduous than it need be.

Getting the canoe onto your shoulders andbalanced properly is crucial to success.

There are some fancy-looking ways to get thecanoe onto your shoulders alone, but these areimpractical for many people The easiest tacticis for two people to perform the task. Yourpartner lifts an end high off the ground, whileyou walk under the canoe to engage the yoke.

When two people aren’t available, one can usea similar means, but it’s quite a bit trickier.

If your yoke faces the bow (as it should), liftthe stern above your head. Keep lifting thecanoe by the gunwales as you slowly move tothe yoke. You repeatedly push the canoe intothe air a bit, moving forward 6"–1' each time.For various reasons, this gets harder as you

You don’twant tofight withthe canoe.

42

Our best tandemyoke is hand-madefrom 7 laminationsof wood. It is deeplycontoured, hasadjustable pads, andis extremely durable.It weighs 21/2 lbs.

Our solo yoke ismade for quickmounting andremoval. Built-inextensions giveproper clearance.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 42

Page 43: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

near the center. Practice is needed, but manypeople can do it, especially with a light canoe.Be aware that, on hard or slippery surfaces,the canoe will skid forward as you lift it, andyou may need to butt it up against something.

Once the canoe is on your shoulders, it shouldbalance so that the back is a little heavierthan the front. We’ll say how much heaviershortly. But for now, accept that you don’twant the hull level; you want the front higher.

An obvious reason is that you can see aheadbetter if the front end of the canoe is higher. Areason that isn’t obvious is that you can con-trol the canoe’sbalance muchbetter that way.

To portage acanoe, you carryits weight onyour shouldersusing the yoke.You also useboth hands tograsp the gun-wales in front.You will useyour hands tosteer the canoeleft or right, but this isn’t their primary use.

You mainly use your hands to balance thecanoe front-to-back. But you don’t do this inthe way that you probably are thinking.

Looking at a photo of portaging, you mightthink that the person was using his/herhands to partially support the weight of thecanoe by pushing up on the front. Or, withequal logic, you could think that the personwas pulling down on the front. But neither ofthose things should ordinarily be happening!

Use your hands to balance the canoe, but useonly the weight of your hands (and arms) rest-

43

With two people,one lifts the canoewhile the secondmoves into position.

When portaging, youwant the front end ofthe canoe higherthan the back end.

One person can usethis method, but

please don’t doit on rocks or

paving.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 43

Page 44: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

ing on the canoe. You typically apply no forceup or down with your muscles while standingstill; those actions are used only to control thecanoe if it pitches while you are walking .

This leads to the explanation of how muchmore of the canoe’s weight should be behindyou while portaging: There must be justenough extra canoe weight behind you that itwill be exactly offset by the weight of yourhands and arms when you grasp the gunwalesin front of you. With the canoe balanced thisway, you are ideally prepared to control it.

For contrast, consider a canoe on your shoul-ders with so much weight in front that youmust support it with muscle power. If while

portaging you stumble so as topitch the front up, it would pitchstrongly, because you are alreadypushing up on it. Even worse, ifyou stumble so as to pitch thefront down, you may not be able tokeep from falling forward, sinceyou are already over-balanced inthat direction.

On the other hand, if the canoewere balanced with too much

weight behind, the situation would bereversed, but equally uncontrollable.

With the canoe balanced properly, you are not“pre-loaded” either forward or backward.Thus you can react quickly and effectively toany pitching motions that happen while youare walking. After a little practice, thisbecomes quite natural; then you can concen-trate on your route and the terrain whileportaging, instead of fighting with the canoe.

At this point, you may be wondering how toachieve this optimum state of balance. Inmost cases, it’s a fairly easy thing to do.

Firstly, the yoke must be placed in the canoeproperly. If your We.no.nah was made with a

Use onlythe weightof yourhands tobalancethe canoe.

44

The canoe is perfectlybalanced if just theweight of your handson the gunwales infront keeps the canoeat the desired angle.You shouldn’t needto apply force up ordown while standingstill – those actionsare reserved to con-trol the canoe whileyou are in motion.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 44

Page 45: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

45

The yokemust beplaced inthe canoeproperly.

yoke, its location is proper, providing thatnothing was done later to alter the balance.

If you install a yoke yourself, mount it aboutan inch in front of the center thwart, whichyou must remove. This will put it very near tothe optimum balance point. You do have somemargin for error, but just an inch or two.

The way to tell if your yoke is poorly placed isif you can’t balance the canoe properly usingthe fine-tuning methods that follow. If thecanoe is always front-heavy so that you mustkeep it balanced by lifting the front, then theyoke must move forward. If the back end isalways too heavy, the yoke must move back.

We can’t say how much to move the yoke; thatdepends on how far off it is. You can only findthe proper yoke location by experimenting.

With the yoke placed properly (or very close toit), you can fine-tune the balance of the canoewhile it is on your shoulders in two ways:.

1) You can move the canoe fore or aft on yourshoulders. Little movement is possible, soyou can’t fix a large imbalance. This is forfine-tuning, and it works better with apadded yoke that helps keep the canoewhere you put it. Bounce the canoe upslightly with your body, then shift it foreor aft while weight is off your shoulders.

2) Since you add weight to the front of thecanoe with your hands, you can controlwhere you add it. If you need more down-force in front to balance the canoe, moveyour hands forward. This, too, is only forfine-tuning, not for large adjustments.

By using both adjustments, you can usuallyget the canoe into nearly ideal balance. Youdon’t need to achieve perfect balance, but youshould try to get quite close to it.

Portaging will then be as easy as possible,because you aren’t fighting with the canoe.

Fine-tuning

1.

2.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 45

Page 46: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

MotorsUseful only inlimited situationsUnless you are careful, motorizing a canoe canbe asking for trouble. If you wish to do it, youmust be aware of the potential problems.

One is that any motor has more power thanany paddler. Since a paddler can upset acanoe by applying muscle-power unwisely, amotor is even more prone to cause trouble.

A motor also may be heavy. And since it mustmount outside the canoe, a motor’s weight caneasily cause a large imbalance, unless you dosomething specifically to compensate for it.

For these reasons, we strongly recommendagainst using even a small outboard motor ona canoe. You can use a trolling motor success-fully, providing that you are sensible about it.

Square-sterncanoes:

Instead of a pointed stern, a square-stern hullhas a transom in back to mount a motor. Thisdesign does reduce the problems with motoriz-ing a canoe, but it doesn’t eliminate them.

While transom-mounting keeps the motor’sweight centered side-to-side, the canoe maybe much too heavy in the rear. If so, the bow

Topic .............. Page

Introduction ........ 46

Square-stern ....... 46

Conventional ....... 47

Use only atrollingmotor ona canoe.

46

Motors

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 46

Page 47: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

will ride far too high. This will reduce direc-tional stability, will increase wind deflection,and will exaggerate the impact of waves.

You must offset any weight in the back withenough weight in front. If you are alone, thismay require carrying deadweight in the bowfor no reason other than to balance the canoe.

A square-stern canoe can use a slightly largermotor, but we stress “slightly.” A 2-or-3HPoutboard is risky, and more so if its weightisn’t counterbalanced. We suggest using onlya trolling motor, even on a square-stern canoe.

Conventionalcanoes:

To motorize a conventional canoe presents theproblem of where and how to mount a motor.There are ways to do it, but they are necessar-ily makeshift, and fraught with compromise.

If there’s a way to mount a motor directlybehind, we haven’t seen it. What we haveseen that works marginally is to extend amount off the side. You’ll need to make some-thing that lashes, clamps, or screws on firmlyacross the hull, and which has a surface out-side to mount the motor. You must place themotor as close to the canoe as possible, andyou must aim it directly forward or backward.

In no case should you use even the smallestoutboard motor like this! A trolling motor isthe limit. Even then, you must be careful.

Although a trolling motor is light, its weightoff the side can be trouble. Counterbalance itside-to-side (and front-to-back) if needed. Andwhile a trolling motor isn’t overly powerful, itsforce on the side can make a canoe behavestrangely. Use low power for trolling only.

Trolling – not transport – is the only properuse of a motor on a conventional canoe. Ouradvice is to paddle to the fishing spot, thenuse the motor only to maneuver around it.

Trolling,not tran-sport, isthe properuse for amotor

47

While a square-sterncanoe is designed tomount a motor eas-ily, this doesn’t solveall the problems ofmotorizing a canoe.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 47

Page 48: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

UpkeepWoodgunwalesWood gunwales need regular maintenance.And if you’ve never had a canoe with thembefore, you’re likely to find they need consid-erably more upkeep than you expected.

This isn’t unique to our wood gunwales; itapplies to those on a canoe from any builder.

Water and sun together are very tough onwood. Protective finishes are required, but theeffectiveness of the various types differs, andthe life of any of them can be short, dependingon how you use and store your canoe.

To preserve wood gunwales, store your canoeindoors. If that’s not possible, at least keep itaway from moisture and sunlight. If storedunwisely, wood gunwales can weather just asfast in storage as they would have in use.

Preserving newwood gunwales:

When we build a canoe with wood gunwales,we apply three coats of finishing oil at the fac-tory. This is enough to make them look nice,but it is not intended to be the final finish!

The other parts of our wood-trim package,such as wood thwarts and seats, are var-

Topic .............. Page

Wood Gunwales .. 48

Composite hulls . 51

Royalex hulls ....... 53

Storea canoewith woodgunwalesindoors.

48

Upkeep

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 48

Page 49: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

nished, which is how we receive them, andthey need no further attention when new.

Wood gunwales are different. We make ourown, and we apply only enough oil to protectthem in transit. Our intent is to leave you thefreedom either to apply more oil to completethe finish, or to use another finish if desired.

An oiled finish is attractive but not very dura-ble. If oil is your choice, however, apply threeor more coats to new gunwales. Furniture oilswork but need very frequent touch-up. Try tofind an oil that at least claims to be for exte-rior use. Lightly rough the gunwales withmedium-fine steel wool or sandpaper betweencoats. Use a tack cloth to remove the debris.

In the future, you’ll need to apply at least onecoat of oil each year, but you’ll probably needto apply more, depending on the conditions.

Watch the gunwales closely for weathering.Pay special attention to the underside of thegunwales on the outside of the hull. This areagets the most exposure to moisture, and it isdifficult to penetrate with sufficient oil.

Before applying oil, and between coats of it,rough-up the gunwales as described earlier.

Varnish or urethane are more durable butharder to apply, and many people dislike theirappearance. Not only are these longer-lasting,they seal openings that oil would not. If this isyour choice, apply three or more coats of exte-rior-grade Spar Varnish or Spar Urethane.

Because varnish and urethane are muchthicker than oil, more-aggressive sanding isneeded between coats. Try to keep the coatsvery thin and even. Irregularities will stilldevelop, however, and to get a smooth finishyou must sand down the high spots down.

The use of a tack cloth is especially importanthere because extensive, goopy deposits willcollect when sanding varnish or urethane.

You mustapply afinish tonew woodgunwales.

49

The area underneaththe gunwales, on theoutside of the canoe,gets high exposure tomoisture, tends tostay damp, and isdifficult to refinish.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 49

Page 50: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

You might get a few years from these finishes,especially from urethane. Or you might notget that much life, depending. Watch the gun-wales closely, especially the troublesome area.

Restoring oldwood gunwales:

If your wood gunwales ever need a full restor-ing, you face quite a task. It’s not difficult butis very tedious, even with power tools.

Sand the gunwales down to bare wood. Youwon’t be able to do this very well under thegunwales inside the canoe, but that’s alright,because this area isn’t prone to weathering.

The crucial spot, as always, is under the gun-wales on the outside. Use a vibrating detailsander there, and put masking tape on thehull to protect it from the sandpaper. Whenyou’re done, apply the finish of your choice.

For the greatest durability – albeit with thegreatest effort – we suggest five or six coats ofoil, followed by as much urethane. Even thisfinish, however, will need periodic attention.

A final note: It’s much wiser to lavish effort onpreserving wood gunwales than it is to letthem deteriorate and then to restore them.

Preserveyour woodgunwalesinstead ofrestoringthem.

50

A warning aboutwood gunwales onRoyalex® canoes:

Wood gunwales do not expand and con-tract with temperature changes, but aRoyalex canoe does. Unless special care istaken, this can cause the hull to crackduring storage in cold climates, and thistype of damage is usually unrepairable.

For un-heated winter storage, loosen thescrews holding wood gunwales to aRoyalex canoe near its ends so that it cancontract without being restricted.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 50

Page 51: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

CompositecanoesSeveral things can diminish the “new” look ofyour canoe without truly harming it. Which ofthese may occur depends on how you use andstore the canoe. After cosmetic deteriorationhas happened, it can often be improved, butonly within limits, so it is better to preventproblems than to try to reverse them later.

Exposureto sunlight:

Sunlight will effect your canoe differently,depending upon its type of finish. If you havea colored (“gel-coat”) finish, sunlight tends tofade it. Darker colors may fade quite a bit,governed by the amount of exposure, whilelighter colors may fade hardly at all.

If you have a natural Kevlar® (“skin-coat”) fin-ish, sunlight tends to darken it. While thissurprises some owners, it is perfectly natural.

Although fading or darkening aren’t trulyharmful, you may wish to forestall them. Andstoring your canoe indoors – or, at least, out ofstrong sunlight – is the best thing you can do.

The periodic use of a good cleaner/wax isvaluable, too. There are some products madespecifically for use on gel-coat, but standardautomotive cleaner/waxes will also help toprotect the finish on your canoe.

How often you apply wax is, we think, moreimportant than which wax you use. Wax yourcanoe at least once a year, but probably more.And always clean it thoroughly – includingwaxing the canoe – after any lengthy trip.

If the finish of your canoe has faded, you canrestore it somewhat by polishing using theprocedure explained later under “abrasion.”

Store thecanoe outof thesunlight.

Wax yourcanoe atleast oncea year, butprobablymore.

51

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 51

Page 52: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

Dirt, gritand grime:

Frequent waxing will go far to keep yourcanoe looking new, but wax won’t remove cer-tain types of dirt, and the process of waxingitself can cause scratches if the hull is gritty.

Rinse the canoe inside and out periodically,and especially after you’ve been on salt wateror taken a long trip, or if you intend to wax it.

Unfortunately, rinsing won’t clean oily goop,such as pine sap. Nor will waxing remove it,but will spread it around into a bigger mess.Try using household spray cleaners, especiallythe ones meant for bathroom use. Some ofthese have a citric acid component which is,we suspect, what seems to make them workbetter for a gel-coat finish and the types ofgunk that collect on a canoe.

Small scratchesfrom abrasion:

By abrasion we don’t mean deep scratches butthe minor wear that may happen if, for exam-ple, you repeatedly run the canoe hard onto asandy beach. Firstly, you can avoid doingthat, but not all abrasion can be avoided, soyou may wish to polish out the wear later.

Because the gel-coat color layer on a canoeisn’t thick, you don’t want to make mattersworse by polishing through it. After a thor-ough cleaning, first try polishing by handusing the mildest automotive finish restoringproduct – usually called “buffing compound.”

If this isn’t strong enough, you can escalate toa powered buffing machine and/or to the useof a more aggressive product such as “polish-ing compound.” Actual “rubbing compound,” iseven more aggressive, so only use it with care.

If you have used a more-aggressive productduring the process, finish up with buffingcompound, and then apply a good coat of wax.

Rinse offthe canoe,especiallyif you’vebeen onsalt wateror taken along trip.

You canpolish outthe wearcaused byabrasion.

52

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 52

Page 53: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

53

Paint isavailableto matchRoyalexcanoes.

Check &tightenfastenersif needed.

Royalex®

canoesBecause Royalex canoes don’t have a glossyfinish, preserving their new appearance isfairly easy, but there are a few things to do.

Rinse the canoe periodically, and always afteryou’ve been on salt water or taken a long trip.Clean pine sap and other scummy depositsusing household cleaners or alcohol.

Royalex canoes don’t fade quickly, but it iswise to store them out of strong sun, and touse protective products. Standard automotivecleaner/waxes will help, but a product thatcontains more UV inhibitors will provide bet-ter protection from sunlight.

Concerning scratches: The color of a Royalexcanoe is not impregnated throughout thematerial but is a surface layer. Therefore,scratches will reveal a different color.

Minor scratches might be polished out withautomotive products such as “polishing com-pound” or ”buffing compound.” Because theseare mild abrasives, be careful to avoid polish-ing through the entire color layer.

Another way to repair scratches is usingpaint. We offer spray paint to match ourRoyalex colors. First sand the surface withvery fine sandpaper, paint it, and allow thepaint to cure overnight, then apply a protec-tive product if desired.

If you have scratches deep enough that youwish to fill them, sand the area with finepaper, fill the scratch with an epoxy putty,then sand and paint as described above.

Because Royalex canoes are quite flexible, thefasteners that secure various parts mayloosen. Check and tighten them periodically.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 53

Page 54: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

RepairsCompositecanoesOur composite canoes are painstakingly madeusing superior materials and methods. Theyare tough hulls that aren’t easily damaged.Should the unexpected happen, however, a bigadvantage of a composite canoe over any othertype is that it can be repaired quite easily, byordinary people, using basic techniques.

We’ll give a brief description of some types ofrepairs here, but we have also produced a spe-cial videotape on this topic that you may wantto see before starting any significant repair.

How to repair agel-coat finish:

Gel-coat is thickened, colored polyester resinthat is sprayed into the mold before a compos-ite canoe is made in it. The gel-coat is not astructural part of the hull; its only purpose isto impart the canoe’s color and smooth finish.

A gel-coat finish can acquire scratches, cracks,or blisters. Scratches come, of course, fromscraping sharp objects. Surface cracks canhappen if the hull is bent or twisted. Blistersare caused by moisture or dirt trapped underthe gel-coat during manufacturing. Blisters,however, normally won’t appear until after a

Topic .............. Page

Composite canoes 54

Royalex® canoes .. 59

Compositecanoescan berepairedquiteeasily.

54

Repairs

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 54

Page 55: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

canoe is used. So if they are present, we aren’taware of it when a new canoe leaves our shop.

None of these problems are structural. Theycan be left alone, but if you wish to repairthem, the materials are available from us.

The shelf-life of our Gel-coat Repair Kits islimited, so order one only when needed, andspecify the precise color of your canoe, sincewe have offered differing shades at times.

The repair procedure is as follows:

1) Remove loose gel and deepen scratcheswith a utility knife. Sand the area using#600 wet-and-dry sandpaper until theshine is removed. Clean the area with ace-tone or lacquer thinner. (Acetone is highlyflammable and must be used with care.)

2) Place a little more than enough gel to fillthe area on a piece of cardboard. Addhardener at four to five drops per tea-spoon of gel. Mix thoroughly for about aminute using a paddle. (The hardener is atoxic irritant – avoid all contact with youreyes, and excess contact with your skin.)

3) Using the paddle, apply the gel mixtureimmediately and spread it into the repair.Remove any excess with a knife or withacetone. Dry the repair for two to fourhours to allow full shrinkage. (To impart asmoother finish, cover the area with waxpaper or cellophane while drying.)

4) Using a sanding block, and while applyingwater liberally, sand with #320 or #400wet-and-dry sandpaper until the repair isalmost level with the surrounding area.Finish wet-sanding with #600 sandpaper.

5) Polish the repair with a mild automotivefinish restoring product such as “polishingcompound” or “buffing compound.” Use apowered polishing machine if desired.Finally, apply automotive cleaner/wax.

Surfacescratches,cracks, orblisterscan be leftalone.

55

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 55

Page 56: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

6) With colors other than white, a few weeksof aging are needed for the repair to reachits proper color. If your canoe has faded,some difference may remain between thecolor of the repair and the canoe, but youmay be able to match the colors moreclosely by polishing the entire canoe.

7) If you need to recolor a large area, gel-coatcan be sprayed from an automotive gun.Explaining how to make such a largerepair is beyond the scope of this book, socontact your dealer, or contact us directly.

How to repairstructural damage:

A composite canoe is usually damaged in oneof two ways. Compression cracks can occur ifthe canoe is high-centered on a log or rock, orif something heavy lands on it while upturnedin storage or transit. Holes are uncommonand are usually caused by serious mishaps.

Holes must be repaired, of course, but a crackmay not if it doesn’t leak. Use judgement, butit’s wise to be safe and to repair a crack.

For a composite canoe with structural dam-age, it’s usually better to strengthen the hullon the inside rather than the outside. Veryrarely will a structural repair be needed onboth sides. Typically you can patch the inside,and touch up the gel-coat only if you prefer.

All the needed materials including cloth, rov-ing, resin, catalyst, gel-coat, interior color,gunwales, and ribs are available from us.

The repair procedure is as follows:

1) Remove the gunwale(s) if needed.To remove aluminum gunwales, drill

out the rivets using a 3/16" bit. To reinstallthem, use a rivet gun. If new gunwalesare being used, drill new holes in the hullfor them. Place the gunwale on the hull,and drill through the flange and the hull

A crackcan be leftalone if itdoesn’tleak.

56

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 56

Page 57: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

together. Space the holes about 9" apart.Wood gunwales are a tricker problem.

On standard-weight canoes, the gunwalesare only screwed on. Removing them isn’tdifficult, but replacing them is. On ultra-light canoes, wood gunwales are screwedand glued in place. You must chisel themoff, which will destroy them. With eithertype of wood gunwales, the most practicalapproach is to remove the wood gunwalesand rivet on new aluminum ones.

2) Remove any loose pieces from the dam-aged area. Rough the inside of the hullwith a disc sander or by hand sanding. Itis unnecessary to remove all the interiorcolor coating, but roughing the surfacewill improve the adhesion of the repair.

3) Apply a quality masking tape (such as3M, cheap tape leaves adhesive residue)to the outside of the hull covering the areaof the repair. The tape prevents resinfrom leaking to the outside. If the hull ismisshapen due to the accident, you maybe able to reform it by hand, and use tapeto hold it in position until the repair dries.

4) Cut several pieces of cloth an inch or solarger all around than the damage. (AKevlar canoe need not be repaired usingKevlar cloth, unless weight is important)The number of pieces needed depends onthe type and/or location of the damage.

To repair a crack, three pieces are typi-cally sufficient for adequate strength.

To repair a hole, you need as manypieces of cloth as the number of layersused to build the hull in that area. All ourcomposite canoes are made from varyingnumbers of layers, totalling up to seven inthe areas of highest stress. So to repairsuch an area, you need that many pieces.

5) Mix resin and catalyst in the ratio of 1/2pint resin to 1/2 teaspoon catalyst. The

57

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 57

Page 58: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

precise ratio isn’t critical to the strengthof the repair, but it will change the dryingtime, perhaps causing the resin to drybefore you are done, or causing the repairto dry very slowly, especially in low tem-peratures. If you are not concerned withslow drying, use slightly less catalyst.

6) Using a small (1/2" to 1") paint brush, coatthe damaged area entirely with resin.Then apply one layer of cloth, pushing itinto the resin to become saturated.

Apply more resin and cloth alternatelyuntil you are done. (If you wish to matchthe appearance of a hull who’s inner layeris woven roving, apply roving at the end.)

7) Dry the entire lamination simultaneously.This should happen in a few hours atroom temperature, but the time can varygreatly at temperatures below 60°F orabove 80°F. To be safe, leave the repair atleast overnight before disturbing it

8) If you have a Cross-rib or Center-rib hull,broken ribs can be repaired or replaced,but it’s not often necessary. The rib addsno strength; the cloth laminated around itdoes. Thus a rib can be repaired simply bypatching over the crack. In severe case,the rib could be ground out and replaced.Please contact your dealer or us directlybefore making this type of repair.

9) Outside structural repairs are rarely nec-essary and are difficult to finish with gel-coat. But should an outside repair beneeded, start it after the inside repair isdone. Please contact your dealer or usdirectly before making this type of repair.

10) To finish the repair on the inside, sand itsmooth, mix inside color coating with cat-alyst, and brush it over the repair.

11) The exterior can be touched up as notedearlier in the section on repairing gel-coat.

58

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 58

Page 59: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

59

Dents canusually bepoppedout withheat andpressure.

Smallcuts canbe fixedwith shoeadhesives.

Royalex®

canoesRoyalex canoes are very difficult to damage,and they seldom need substantial repair. Thisis fortunate because, unlike with a compositecanoe, making any large-scale repair to aRoyalex canoe is necessarily makeshift.

Dents are fairly uncommon because, beingquite flexible, Royalex will usually absorb animpact and spring back. If a dent remains,however, you can often repair it easily byheating and pushing the dent out. (Sometimesa dent will pop back on its own when heated.)You can try a hair dryer if you like, but itprobably won’t be powerful enough. Ask at ahardware store about renting an industrial-type heat gun. Use it very sparingly.

A few other things do happen to Royalex can-oes with some degree of frequency. The mostcommon is damage or wear on the very end ofthe bow. You can install a Kevlar Skid Plate(page 15) beforehand to protect against this,or you can install one afterward as a repair.

To match its appearance to the canoe, you canpaint it using spray cans available from us.

Royalex canoes can also be cut by sharpobjects. This rarely happens near the center ofthe canoe where it is quite flexible, but it mayhappen near the ends which are quite stiff.

Small cuts or punctures can be repaired byfilling with adhesive products meant to repairshoes. The one that we use is called “ShoeGoo,” although there probably are other brandnames. This can be sanded after drying, butnot very well, so try to be neat when youapply it. Use a paint scraper, popsicle stick, orsomething similar to apply the adhesive andclean the excess away quickly before it has

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 59

Page 60: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

had time to dry. If you wish, you can paintover the repair after it has dried overnight.

A large gouge might be patched with shoeadhesive, but if it is substantial enough toweaken the structure, it is best to repair thegouge as if it were cut entirely through.

Large cuts or holes (both of which are veryrare) can’t be fixed with shoe adhesive, norwith any sort of Royalex-like material. This isthe point at which fixing a Royalex canoebecomes makeshift, because you must repairit as you would a composite canoe, by addinglayers of composite fabric bonded with resin tothe inside and/or the outside of the canoe.

Unfortunately, the composite repair will notadhere to the Royalex canoe as strongly as itwould to a composite canoe. Moreover, the dif-fering expansion/contraction rates for therepair compared to the canoe will constantlybe taxing the adhesion of the repair.

To achieve success, you must use epoxy resin.Other types won’t stick well to a Royalexcanoe. Also, you must thoroughly sand thearea, because the adhesion will be purelymechanical (not chemical), and it needs all the“grip” it can get. Finally, make the repair nolarger then absolutely necessary in order tominimize the variances in expansion/contrac-tion caused by temperature changes.

A gouge can be repaired on one side only, butrepair cuts or holes both inside and out usingbasically the same procedure as described onpage 56 to repair a composite canoe. Useepoxy resin and about three layers of fabric(both on the inside and outside for cuts andholes.) Then sand and paint if you wish.

Gunwales can be replaced by drilling out therivets and pop-riveting new ones on asdescribed for composite canoes on page 56.End caps are also available from us and canbe easily replaced by drilling out the rivets.

Repairlarge cutsor holesjust like acompositecanoe

Gunwalescan bedrilledout andnew onesriveted on.

60

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 60

Page 61: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

61

GroupsValuableresourcesWhether your interest is instruction, cama-raderie, competition, exercise, environmental-ism, or anything else related to canoes andpaddling, organizations exist that can helpyou. We highly endorse the nation-widegroups that are listed here, and we’ve beenfavorably impressed with most of the regionalor local clubs that we’ve encountered.

Being that we are dedicated paddlers, we arevery supportive of any group seeking to pre-serve the environment and, especially, to pro-tect our waterways. Some organizations, suchas “American Rivers,” exist just for this pur-pose, but many other paddling organizationshave some environmental activities, and westrongly encourage your participation.

United StatesCanoe Association:

Organized in 1968 as an educational, non-profit organization dedicated to unifying pad-dlers, the U.S.C.A. is the governing body ofsit-down-style marathon canoe racing.

The group also encourages paddling as a rec-reational sport, not just a competitive one.Their activities include conservation and

Topic .............. Page

U.S. CanoeAssociation .......... 61

American CanoeAssociation .......... 62

American RiversCouncil ................ 63

Regional andlocal clubs ............ 64

The USCAgovernsmarathoncanoeracing.

Groups

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 61

Page 62: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

62

preservation programs, training clinics, races,cruises, and camping trips. The U.S.C.A. isactive in educating the public to safety pre-cautions, and in formulating standards ofexcellence in the design of cruising canoes andkayaks, paddles, and other paddling equip-ment. Generally speaking, their mission is todevelop a sense of camaraderie among all pad-dlers of watercraft.

We.no.nah Canoe is affiliated with theU.S.C.A., and we encourage membership.

With your membership, you will receive theUSCA Canoe News, the bi-monthly publica-tion of the organization. Members are invitedto contribute articles, photos, reports ofextended trips, and other materials whichmay be of interest to the membership

The organization can be contacted at:

United States Canoe Association, Inc.John Edwards, Executive Director1929 Arrowhead Dr. NE.St. Petersburg, FL 33703Phone: (727) 522-3348E-mail: [email protected]: uscanoe.com

American CanoeAssociation:

Since 1880 - longer than any other recre-ational organization in U.S. - the AmericanCanoe Association has been dedicated to theprotection of the nation’s waterways, and tothe promotion of safe and enjoyable outdooractivities. The ACA is committed to theadvancement of canoeing, kayaking, and raft-ing as wholesome lifetime recreation.

A national nonprofit organization, the ACAprovides programs and services in waterwayconservation and access, amateur athletics,safety education and instruction.

With more than 50,000 members and other

The ACApromotessafe andenjoyableoutdooractivities.

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 62

Page 63: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

63

AmericanRivers isdedicatedto protect-ing rivers.

affiliates, the ACA is the largest organizationof its kind and is affiliated with theProfessional Paddlesports Association, andPaddlesport Publishing, Inc., publishers ofPaddler and Paddle Dealer magazines.

Annual membership dues in the ACA are $25for an adult and include a subscription toPaddler magazine.

The organization can be contacted at:

American Canoe Association7432 Alban Station Blvd., Suite B-232,Springfield, VA 22150Phone: (703) 451-0141Fax: (703) 451-2245E-mail: [email protected]: www.acanet.org

AmericanRivers:

American Rivers is a national conservationorganization dedicated to protecting andrestoring America’s river systems. The groupwas founded in 1973 to expand the number ofrivers protected by the National Wild andScenic Rivers System. Based in Washington,D.C., American Rivers also has regionaloffices in Phoenix and Seattle.

The group has preserved more than 22,000miles of significant rivers, and over 5.5 millionacres of riverside lands. In addition, its pro-grams address flood control and hydropowerpolicy, endangered species, western instreamflow, clean water, and urban rivers.

The staff works with conservation groups,local citizens and businesses, and federal,state, and tribal agencies to provide technicalsupport to strengthen conservation efforts.

American Rivers, Inc. is a nonprofit organiza-tion with a membership of 18,700. Annualpublications include a quarterly newsletter,annual report, and an in-depth report on

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 63

Page 64: We-no-nah Canoe Owners Manual

64

North America’s Most Endangered andThreatened Rivers. The group receives fund-ing through contributions from members, cor-porations, and private foundations.

The organization can be contacted at:

American Rivers1025 Vermont Ave. N.W., Suite 720Washington, DC 20005Phone: (202) 347-7550Fax: (202) 347-9240E-mail: [email protected]: www.amrivers.org

Regional and localpaddling clubs:

A recent edition of the Beginner’s Guide toCanoeing and Kayaking (published annuallyby Canoe & Kayak Magazine and available atnewsstands) lists more than 250 paddlingorganizations. They are located in more than40 states, and in most of the Canadianprovinces. In addition, we are certain thatthere are hundreds more clubs which were notincluded in that list.

If you are located even remotely near water,therefore, the chances are that a paddlingclub exists somewhere near you. To find one,ask your We.no.nah dealer, or get a copy ofthe Beginner’s Guide mentioned above.

You could also query members of local chap-ters of Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited,Izaak Walton, or other outdoor and/or envi-ronmental groups. Inquire at the Y.M.C.A. orother exercise-oriented groups, too

The size and scope of paddling clubs varies, ofcourse, but many have some form of instruc-tion program, and most sponsor some type(s)of outings or races. All of them will certainlyhave lots of good ideas about where you can goto enjoy paddling your new We.no.nah canoe.

There aremore than250 localandregionalclubs

WCOwnManInside 6/19/07 10:01 AM Page 64