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First off I would like to thank the people for starting this site & forum.
Hello to everyone! I will be known as Bushman (aka Randy) Have been paddling canoes for the last 6 years here in Northern Lower Michigan, The Strugeon river (Fastest river with 14′ of fall per mile in lower Michigan) is our game. I/we have 3 Old Town canoes, First was a 14.7′ Guide from Dunham’s Sporting goods for $450.00 & it has been in my opinion a great tight river boat after some mods. Started by taking the seats out & going with a solo weave seat with removable backrest, Added foam padding to the yolk for a backrest & some hooks on the sides for strapping a cushion pad for a seat that either my wife or daughter use. Watched the people in rental canoes aka Divorce Boats struggle with the mighty Sturgeon for years & they freak out when our group of 4-14 boats (depending on the day) go by having fun. Somehow getting the person out of the front seat & letting the captan do his or her job just works wonderfully & also frees up room for the portable table-grill-coolers & folding chairs that always seem to make the trip in my boat. Somthing about a having a table & grill setup on a sandbar grilling River Steak & watching the kids have a ball playing in the water or tormenting the rental canoes-tube & rafters with the wonderful smell of tender finger steaks being passed out to those who ask.
Second boat was a Old Town 16.9 Guide also in green (Yup it heavy) But with a keel makes for a good slack water boat or a loaner for those friends in need of a Great day on the river.
Third boat was also a Old Town but this time a solo Pack also in green that my wife claimed, This thing rocks on the tight rivers & works well on the slack water with the mini keel as long as we dont use too much paddle, My home made cedar bent shaft has too much power as well as my Bending Branches (Spare Paddle) Sun Shaddow. The old Beaver Tail picked up @ a garage sale that I refinished it the ticket for the pack.
Three years ago I wanted a bent shaft paddle after a gal on the Stugeon let me use her Carbon Race paddle, Some say a B/S paddle is not a good choice for a swift river & I cannot disagree more. I made my B/S out of one of the cedar tree’s I cut down one winter to feed the winter stressed deer on my property in Indian River. Using nothing more than a chainsaw-Belt sander & wood chissle I got busy with a idea & 8 hours later was paddling with my new 58″ home made cedar Bent Shaft for paddle palooza. Paddle Palooza is the name of our group of friend that paddle on the weekend & wednesday night canoe leauge. Canoe Leauge? Why not? There are all types of leauges & our canoe leauge is a riot for getting rid of the work related stress & a mid-week evening on the river.
We have 30-40 trips on the sturgeon this year with a trip down the Betsy & was in Mio last weekend, Have paddled the Jordan in the past & plan on doing the Pigeon soon again.
Look for our logo of skull & cross paddles or the smell of BBQ on the river & say Hi. It’s all good! Good people, Good Friends & Good Times!
Sorry so long but for a first post you now know somthing about Bushman the paddling Freak.:p
hello bro!!!!:D
now that we have the kipawa i’m gonna really miss that “tank” (green OT guide 16) im so used to paddlin while on the sturgeon!!!!thank you for so many good times… ah yes its so fun when we see couples cussin each other before the next bend (so we all) stand up and italy stoke on by , wish’m luck on the river with a grin:eek: dang cant wait to get up there…if for anything your tasty river bites..
cya soon
OBA
aka scott
aka paddles with whining black labrador!!!!keep callin it the “italy stroke”….someday when we are world renown paddlers bro we’ll be able to have our first chapter on how it was born and mastered by these two yahoo’s on the sturgeon just tryin to keep it cool!!!!:D
Good to meet you Bushman! I enjoyed reading your first post!
I have a Guide 147 too, that we also got at a Dunhams’ in Marquette. Thanks for the ideas on the seat modifications. Wifey loves the front seat, so I don’t think that will change. It does look comfortable because being at the bow, it’s tipped back in a comfortable position. The rear seat is just the opposite, tipped forward so my butt wants to slide off of it and I have to fidget too much to stay in the seat. I then removed the seat back which helped some because it conspired to push me off as well.
Also the manufacturer missed when they drilled through the gunwale and the seat to secure the bolt. They missed the seat flange and drilled through the very edge. So the bolt pulls out and the seat drops an inch or so. Did I mention I have to fidget to stay seated? :p I made a quicky repair by using some larger washers behind the nut. But on the last day we paddled, it pulled out again. So now you really have my attention… where can I get a woven seat to replace the back seat with? A middle seat would be cool too. To keep the center passengers rear off the wet deck and prevent them from sitting on the carry yoke.
OBTW, I tipped over the Guide twice the first day I got it. :rolleyes: Seems it prefers to be stroked gently. Get crossways to the wind and give it a hard stroke and you instantly become a swimmer! I didn’t understand what happened the first time. I had to repeat it to learn my lesson! 😀
Welcome aboard Bushman….I used to drive a Guide 147 as well…loved that damned boat….had to sell it cause I only have room to store one boat….fortunately I sold it to my Bro-in-law so I still get to paddle it on occasion!
Kirk
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this is very nice post
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