Open canoe on Lake Superior

[cowboy]

I’m not an expert w/the canoe but I’m working on it. Would like to get up on Superior with a canoe but all the info/articles/etc. on it I see has to do with sea kayaks! What is a person in for with an open canoe? Recognizing one needs as much skill as possible, the right canoe, etc… What level of danger is one in for? Any info on this would be appreciated. I have two canoes at the present; an Old Town, kevlar, Canadienne 17′ and a Bell, royalex, Prospector, 16′.
Thanks ahead of time!

[Dan Miller]

Run (don’t walk) to whereever you have to go to latch onto a copy of Bill Mason’s film “Waterwalker” (http://www.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/?id=15095&v=h&lg=en&exp=$%7bwaterwalker%7d)

Cheers,
Dan

[houlibar]

I canoed on Superior over the summer. I’m just a recreational paddler with a heavy, flat bottom boat that’s easy to tip. So I canoe on sections of the lake with sandy beaches and avoid the rocks and cliffs. That way if we become swimmers it’s an easy reach to pull the swamped boat up on the beach and start over again.

The big danger of Superior is of course the low water temperature. Other challenges to paddlers are wind, swell and choppy waves.

Beyond recreational canoeing on the lake, posessing both skill and a canoe you have confidence in should be a must. That is, you and any passengers should know how to refloat a capsized canoe and get back into it quick enough to avoid hyperthermia.

[Charlie]

I’d add, if you plan to do actual tripping on the big lake, that you have a very patient attitude when it comes to the weather and conditions.

I haven’t tripped on Superior, but I have been on other big water/cold water bodies. I think keeping yourself out of bad situations to begin with is good strategy.

Have a geneerous schedule, plan to paddle mornings and evenings, and wait out the bad stuff when it comes.

[cowboy]

Thanks for the responses. I’d been looking at a used copy of “Waterwalker” for about $11.00 and was holding off (don’t ask me why!!) and of course now it’s gone! I’ll work on it though! Again, thanks for the information!

[AndyB]

I’ve paddled a fair bit of Superior, including nearly the entire MN shoreline, some of Pukaskwa, the Slate Islands, and the Apostle Islands – all in an open canoe without a spray cover.

I’m on Lake Erie now, and Lake Erie is a more difficult lake to paddle b/c it’s choppier (seems windier too) – I suspect Superior may be the easiest. That said, Superior is cold almost every where. If you dump, you probably die.

You need to have 100% confidence in your ability to paddle flat water without dumping before paddling on Lake Superior. The Apostles are a fun and relatively safe place the paddle (the water’s a bit warmer there, there are some people around, and the islands offer some protection from the swells).

[kayamedic]

You need to prepare for the dumping. A canoeist with sea experience is always preparing for a dumping at any time.

If your little voice tells you this is not a good idea, listen to it.

I am not 100 percent confident that I can paddle flat water without dumping. It can happen at any time from a simple head turn to anything throwing you off balance. So I am always ready for one.

Lake Superior is not the easiest lake…it is the most ocean like of the Great Lakes. It has longer period swells that can be quite high. Erie with its shallower bathymetry will chop up faster with lower winds. The shallowness causes the waves to break, however the period of the waves is quicker.

Yes I have paddled Superior(Canadian side only), and Huron and Ontario but mostly the Atlantic Ocean..in open canoe.. I am going solo on the Atlantic this fall so the canoe is now going to have a full spray deck and me in the drysuit.

Superior does have warm spots but a thermocline about three feet down. The beaches can have decent swimming.

Evenings never worked for me on Superior. It has a seiche (like water sloshing in a bathtub) and when the winds died down the waves did not till after dark. Paddling before sunrise to about noon worked just fine.

[paddletramp1818]

I am so glad you posted the question about Lake Superior. I live two hours south of the lake, and have always wondered why I never read anything about canoes on Lake Superior. I know it makes common sense to not be in a canoe on a huge lake when there is bad weather or big waves, but since I never read anything about canoes, I thought if I tried it then something bad would automatically happen, like there was some Wise Unwritten Rule in the canoeing world about a canoe touching Lake Superior. A silly thought I know….

Canoeing early morning til Noon or so is something I definitely need to try this Spring! Thanks for the advice!

[Armory1956]

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[Author]

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