Know How CAMPCRAFT | EXPERT TIP | TECHNIQUE | FOOD | GEAR
Get your sea legs on. PHOTO: HAP WILSON
[ exPert tiP ]
More Than Duct Tape
THE ULTIMATE REPAIR KIT
Multi-tool with Pliers: Invaluable for undoing various nuts on a canoe, pulling stainless steel thread, boring holes and tightening screws.
Nylon Zip Ties: Take an assortment of lengths. Repairs broken seats, thwarts and gunwales.
Stainless Steel Wire: Bring 19-gauge on a flat card spool. A great substitute for bolts of any size.
Square of 80-grit Sandpaper: For roughening surfaces to be glued.
Vinyl Patches: Cut up old water toys for these pieces. Repairs almost any equipment with holes, from dry bags to spray decks.
GOOP: A tube of this glue—that works as both an adhesive and a patch—will repair almost anything from tent flies to hiking boots. Include latex gloves for working with glue.
Aluminum Tape: A very aggressive water resistant adhesive that sticks to anything and never comes off. Use for quick repairs on torn equipment, from canoes to raingear. Aluminum tape has a backing; so instead of packing the entire roll take what you need to save weight and space.
Tent Pole Sleeve: Slides over a broken pole, turning a tragedy into a non-event.
Four-inch Nail: Heated over a fire or stove, this tiny tool will easily burn holes in a canoe. Thread your stainless steel wire through the holes and you can lace a severely damaged canoe hull.
13-mil Duct Tape: Polyken by Covalence Adhesives has a tensile strength of 45 pounds. Pack no other.
Large-eye, two-inch Needle: For repairs on torn materials, from quick-dry pants to canvas Duluth packs. Use dental floss as thread.
Eyeglass Screwdriver: Repairs sunglasses. —Brian Shields
24 EARLY SUMMER 2010 [ teChnique ] Rig the Sails J
ust south of the treeline in northwest Mani- toba, the Cochrane River runs fast and tem- pestuous along the Saskatchewan border. Rig- ging two canoes into a catamaran, we set sail to travel up the river for half its 200-kilometre length. The jury-rigged boat turned out to be so proficient that we ascended some of the smaller class I rapids without difficulty or hav- ing to paddle. Every year I see a proliferation of makeshift
A CANOEIST’S GUIDE TO HARNESSING WIND POWER Directions:
1) You will need enough wood for cross- supports, masts and the gaff pole. I often carry trimmed spruce poles for the mast and gaff pole because it isn’t recommend- ed that paddlers start cutting down trees to build sailboats. In some areas, there’s typically a lot of available deadwood that can be used for cross-supports.
boats, sails aloft, heading down big lakes and rivers. Canoe sailing is a great adventure and a wonderful way to make headway and com- bine a rest day in one shot. But it can be a dan- gerous undertaking if not done right—never underestimate the vagaries of wind, weather, distance or tide. There are as many ways to rig canoes for
sailing as there are sailing terms. But it doesn’t have to be that scientific or complicated. Many canoeists simply tie off a jacket or small tarp to paddles and hand-hold a quick sail that works well, until their arms give out. The seafaring Paravas warriors of Tamil Nadu,
India, used the square-sail catamaran. It can’t be beat for speed and stability. The typical, quick, field-assembled catama-
ran that can easily and swiftly cruise down a lake can be completely rigged and ready to shove off in less than an hour.
2) Catamaran two or more canoes together with cross-supports, keeping a distance of two feet between canoes.
3) Rig a single mast or an inverted “V.” Make sure the mast is tied off securely.
4) Tie a tent fly or a kitchen tarp to the gaff pole and lash it to the top of the mast. The loose bottom corners of the sail can be tied off to the running lines and adjusted to trim the sail and prevent luffing (flapping).
5) A wide-blade paddle or traditional steer- ing-board can be used as a rudder, usually dipped and held from the starboard side of the two boats. Spray decks can be fas- tened down to keep the wash out, or just have bailers handy.
—Hap Wilson
PHOTO: BRIAN SHIELDS
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