Trumbull Canoe Trails - Solo comfort

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After moving back to Ohio from Florida I'm slowly getting back into the outdoors .

I fitted my Old Town Discovery 16.5 with an old Prception solo seat I had for years . I enjoy solo but It took a toll on me today . I canoed the West Fork of Beaver Creek (12 miles ) and had to stop several times to stretch my knees .

Is there a certain heighth formual for a solo seat or is it that my knees are just not used to it ? I have to look for a more comfortable situation .

Thx Gonzo

Most Solo canoes are equipped with a foot brace, when adjusted properly you should have just a slight bend in your knees when your feet are planted on the brace. If you are paddling "Canadian style" (kneeling), you need knee pads and foot braces, the foot braces are shin distance from the pads and glued to the deck of the hull.

Rich

Alternating the "genuflect" position (one knee on the bottom of the boat and the other one in the air bent at nearly a right angle) from one side to the other over the course of a trip is the most tolerable way I've found to deal with sore knees.

Thx guys ,

I do paddle Canadian style . JP , your idea used to work for me but now I'm not as agile in the boat to keep switching .

Rich , can you elaborate what shin distance is ? I'm not following you there.

Also , should the knee pad have stops in the front of the pad to keep knee in place or be able to slide if need be ?

Thx ,
Gonzo

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonegonzo (Post 316)

Gonzo,

Was that your white van with a trailer and about 6-8 canoes in the parking lot at Beaver Creek State Park yesterday?

I took my mom down there for a picnic....would have killed to be on the river.

jp

No JP ,

We had a blue van that was parked at our put in . We canoed the West Fork from Gavers to West Point . It's about a ten mile run . Had to pick our routes . Needed about 3 more inches to make it ideal. It became a game however and we had a good time.

The water was great as far as temp. goes . The weather , well , you seen it . We seen 51 Blue Heron nests within 1 mile shortly after put in . Seen a beautiful Osprey but no Eagles which are seen at times.

We seen a van with a trailer but he wasn't going to the West Fork. Very few paddle the West fork or even know that it's canoeable.

Another good trip ( water permitting ) is to put in at Franklin Square and canoe to the river . That's a two day float with a camp out at the group camp at Sprucevale . I have canoed it all the way to Wellsville where I live .

This seat that I installed however about killed my knees. I'm thinking of raising it a little and adding new knee pads as Rich suggested . The Knee pads need replaced anyway . Might as well do them all .

I just want things to be like they were 80 pounds ago .

Gonzo

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonegonzo (Post 322)

ok, thanks....that heron rookery sounds pretty interesting.

Even the main fork could have used a few more inches, but it appeared runnable. Yeah, I'd like to do all three forks of Little Beaver from as high in the drainage as possible. Problem would likely be all the wood that one could expect to encounter in the upper parts of the watersheds. That would have been a neat adventure to go from Franklin Square to Wellsville. One of the guys in our club has paddled the main fork of Little Beaver from where it crosses Route 14 between Salem and Washingtonville.

The county park district just acquired some property adjacent to the West Fork and it's called something like Hellbender Park where I think there is also boat access. Part of the new park as I understand is reclaimed strip mine land that they are reforesting.

Maybe it's time to go over to the dark side (kayaks) to give your knees a break....;?)

jp

Hey JP ,

That's interesting as to putting in Beaver Creek in Washigtonville . I'll have to check it out the next water surge .

Actually on our trip we didn't encounter any log jams or strainer situations . All the blow / snow downs had already been washed out with the last high water run off .

Another sleeper trip is Yellow Creek . You can put in at Bergholz , Ohio and paddle to the Ohio River at the south end of Wellsville . Guessing I'd say it was a 20 miles float .

Then we have Little Yellow Creek , running from Highlandtown lake to the river . We've put in 2 miles upstream from the river and hung on until the ride came to a full stop . It's a "rip snorter" in high water . Need scouted for strainers as well.

Now getting out of the Beaver Creek basin area , we have Sandy Creek to our west . That's the creek that they hooked Beaver Creek with when forming the Sandy Beaver Canal. You can canoe the Sandy from Minerva , Ohio to the Tusc . wanter permitting . We did encounter some blow down and did a little bushwhacking on that trip . There's a lot of unknown trips around .

I'll have to check the new canoe launch too . Wasn't aware of that .

I'd love a kayak but find them very restrictive . I'm a big guy , not kayak material . LOL

Later on ,
Gonzo

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonegonzo (Post 324)

Thanks for that travelogue/catalog of nearby streams....they all sound very intriguing. I'd like to catch the middle fork of Little Beaver as high in the watershed as where it crosses Route 62 north of Salem. Hope to see you on the Grand on Saturday.

jp

Actually Gonzo, a kayak maybe better for you. I have an Old Town Loon 138 up for sale that has a large cockpit opening & is easy to get in & out of. Not confining at all. At 13' 8", it isn't small & the opening is big enough for a child ( or a dog) and you. Not confining at all. Foot braces, adjustable high back seat & lots of storage. And , I'm a big guy too. Its easier than a canoe ( used to paddle them & won't go back now) and easy to control/paddle. There is a photo of me in the boat in the "User Albums" above. If interested, hit me up.