Offline
I am looking at a solo trip in the Fall (I know that's a long way off, but come on I think about it all the time). I'm looking at the stretch of Tim River between Long Bow and the portage to Queer, and from what I read, it is a series of beaver dams occasionally interrupted by the Tim River. I've only ever had to clear one beaver dam of consequence and that was a really long time ago. There were two of us, and we were able to feed the boat over the dam no problem.
I'd be in my canvas canoe, so I'm not going to be running the boat over partially submerged beaver dams or dragging it over top of elevated ones. I'd have to pretty much empty the boat each time, lift it out, reload, rinse and repeat. What I can't remember is how much of a hazard I'm presenting to the boat. Am I just begging for a rip, tear, or puncture because there are just sticks pointing out in all directions, sharpened by rodent teeth, or is this do-able provided I exercise a reasonable level of care?
I don't feel like I'm asking this question very well, but I think you get the idea. I'm not so much worried about an extra few minutes of horsing around to be careful with the boat for concerns that wouldn't exist with other boats, I'm more concerned about this being a slam dunk oh yeah, if you put fifteen beaver dams in front of your canvas boat, you're coming back with duct tape on it. If that's the case then I guess I would just take old hefty (the 68 pound Merrimack) instead.
This always seems to come back to slighting one of the boats over the other. The conversation becomes uncomfortable. Look, canvas, it isn't you, its me.....and well, you got to go last year, and......stop looking at me like that!
Offline
With that level of care you'll be fine - beaver dams are well constructed and don't have random sticks poking up everywhere. But, you're definitely picking the wrong craft for that route. Running beaver dams is often doable and great fun besides.
Offline
I agree with uppa that beaver dams are well constructed, but I have a different view if you need to unload your boat. I found the beaver dams on the Tim ( past the first portage ) a pain in the neck. With a solo pakboat, I was not able to run the dams,some were to high, on one I got hung up. The worst though was that the sides of the dams were anchored to floating grass masses which started sinking under my weight, and made getting around the dams a challenge, as I too had to unload a pack before being able to get the canoe across the dams.
The whole experience was a bit deflating, but a sense of humour helps!
And Duct tape does not hold up well on a leaking canoe......I ended up with a pinhole, and made it back just in time to the landing as it was letting go after a few hours in the water.
So maybe the old canoe would be a safer bet?
Offline
tentsterforever wrote:
And Duct tape does not hold up well on a leaking canoe......I ended up with a pinhole, and made it back just in time to the landing as it was letting go after a few hours in the water.
Tenacious Tape. Trust me - add it to your pack. I slapped a piece over a bottom-of-the-hull hole and then paddled another 8 hours that day. That was the last day of my trip but I have no doubt it would have held up another week if I'd needed it to.
Offline
+1 for tenacious tape - never had to repair a canoe with it, but laying down the tarp for my backyard rink I found 3 slices in it and panicked! Ran inside, found that tape in my canoe gear, and hoped for the best. It stuck to the tarp great even in -17C, I waited 5 minutes and turned on the water. 1500 gallons or so and it never leaked a drop . . . I'd trust that on a canoe hull any day! which reminds me, I NEED SOME!
Offline
How does tenacious tape hold up when teardrops get underneath it, because if I had to do that to my hull there'd be a stream of them.
Thread StarterOffline
How does tenacious tape hold up when teardrops get underneath it, because if I had to do that to my hull there'd be a stream of them.
Haha. I had nobody to blame but myself for my hull puncture. It was an 80 meter portage (signed) that was more like 20 meters. I had a crazy long day ahead of me (Catfish Lake to the Kiosk access point) and just didn't want to unpack my kayak for the sake of such a tiny portage. So I dragged it fully loaded - so dumb.
I didn't know I'd damaged anything until I pulled up at the next portage, opened up the rear dry hatch and found everything floating in about 6 inches of water. Good thing I pack everything in dry bags ;)
Offline
Good question, patching up a smooth gel-coated hull is much easier than anything with texture to it.
There were a lot of trapped air pockets under the tape when I applied it to the tarp, as it was also sitting over my lawn. I can't say it will work for sure for you, but this was far from an ideal patching scenario . . . . .
Given you can use it for tents, tarps, rain gear, etc. as well, it'd be worth throwing a roll in your pack either way.
Offline
Is Tanacious Tape the name brand? Where can i get myself some? I live in a small town, so which stores sell it? Thanks for the helpful tip Uppa and Craiger!
Offline
Is Tanacious Tape the name brand? Where can i get myself some? I live in a small town, so which stores sell it? Thanks for the helpful tip Uppa and Craiger!
Tenacious Tape, yes. MEC carries it. I'm sure I've seen it at Canadian Tire, but I can't find it on their site at the moment.
Offline
That's the ONE advantage of our big, heavy (85ish pounds) Old Town ABS canoe....when we see a beaver dam around the corner, it's "Ramming speed! Full speed ahead!" Never a concern about damage to the canoe. We'll do pretty much anything NOT to have to portage that beast of a boat...
Offline
This is making me want to take the Merrimack instead. 68 pounds, not indestructible, but it can take a hit and has its' fair share of battle scars. I'll break the news gently to the Old Town Canvas (lightweight - about 55-60 pounds).
Thread StarterOffline
There are a lot of beaver dams. Sometimes they are very close to each other. I was there in August a couple years ago, and there were spots between dams that were only about 2-3 inches deep of water. There was a lot of dragging.
The bigger concern might be whether the side branches are trimmed, or at least when they were last trimmed. They can close over the whole creek. You might be able to find out by talking to the staff at the Kearney permit office how recently anyone had gone thru to trim.
1 of 1