I am wondering how many people carry a spare and/or if anyone has ever needed a spare.

Lash it in the canoe and forget about it...until you need it.  In 34 years of tripping, I've only needed a spare once (well not me, but someone in the party) but wow were we glad we had one!

You don't need a spare in each canoe if you have multiple canoes.  I usually figure one spare per 2 canoes.

Love my Meany paddles, and also love to paddle shallow creeks.  We always take one plastic outfitter beater paddle to push off bottom, rocks, etc.

Always one spare/canoe.  To go without is stupid.

Both my paddles get used every trip.  One is a straight otter-tail, the other a bent-shaft.

Things get lost & broken.  I've never lost nor broken one yet, but every type of calamity awaits each of us if we spend enough time out there.

One spare for 2 canoes?  That sounds like saying, "I have seat belts in my other car, so I'm covered."   

Old Salt wrote on Jul 19^th, 2010 at 8:20pm:

Well said and cornerstone to what we do and why we do it.

I always carry a second paddle but I don't consider it a spare.  My preferred paddle is a Stringer style and is very light and responsive - perfect for resonably still, deep lakes and rivers. But when I hit big wind or shallow streams I need something else.  So I couldn't really imagine taking only one paddle with me.

Kerry wrote on Jul 20^th, 2010 at 12:58pm:

This is how I feel about it as well.  The right tool for the right job.  Long narrow blade for deep water.  Short wide blade for shallows.

Old Salt

One spare paddle per two canoes.  Makes sense if the two canoes are together, but what if the two canoes are not close to each other.

The other consideration as I pointed out previously, is that the park rules require a spare paddle for each canoe.  The rules also require a number of items, I bet a lot of people don't have such as a whistle.

Westwood

We broke a paddle on Alice and did not have a spare. Since, I've always carried one. And once we needed it.

OS
You are correct.  The 2010 rules and regulations do not require a spare paddle.  The rule has, however, changed.  After reading your post, I wondered if I was getting senile, so checked the rules again.  I went back to the rules for 2006 and there in paragraph 7-Canoe Equipment- it read "An extra paddle or anchor (with not less than 15 m of rope or chain)."  I don't understand how an anchor is the equilvant of a paddle.  Maybe you throw the anchor out and then pull yourself forward.  Or do you anchor and wait for the wind to change?
Westwood

I remember reading somewhere that an empty canoe anchored offshore is a distress signal. I can see why it's required in that regard. I don't understand how it replaces a paddle, though.

we carry one spare paddle per group, a tiny collapsible plastic one that would be horrible to actually paddle with. but it is just in case, and we havent ever needed a spare. i cannot think of a time when youd need a spare RIGHT NOW. plus paddles float if you manage to drop it, and we always do tandem canoes so one paddle should be enough to move the canoe to pick up the lost one.

on a further note, if someone broke one of my paddles, bending branches rock guard tip bent-shafts, i would certainly kill them. therefore i could use their paddle if i needed the spare.

paddling solo, I always my favorite bending branches viper and (I don't care who knows,) a bending branches adjustable length kayak paddle. It breaks down for portaging. So I guess I have three paddles with me.  So I use a kayak paddle, please don't whine.

I have always followed the one extra paddle for every two canoes rule.  In 19 years of trips, we have only needed the extra paddle once. 

Ironically, it was this year when I stepped and broke a nice wooden paddle.  The humerous part is that we were day tripping with two canoes and forgot the extra paddle.  My 10 year old son enjoyed the long row home from the bow as I did all of the paddling while he got to watch the sunset.  It was interesting to note that paddling my SR17 solo from the stern I was able to keep pace with my brother and my son's 10 year old friend with no problem (they were in a Old Town Guide canoe that goes ~ 75 lbs).

I have carried one with me every time I paddle and have never needed to use it...until this week.  I was out paddling solo on a local lake I hadn't ever been on and I was checking the water depth using the paddle when it popped out of my hand.  It went behind me and the wind pushed the canoe forward. Grabbed the spare and all was well.

I almost always carry a spare. I say almost because sometimes I forget or just get lazy when I'm just out paddling locally. It's a plastic straight blade that cost me around $16 at a local sporting goods store. The extra weight on a portage is insignificant, and there are times when I like using a straight blade vs. a bent shaft.

My bent shaft is that $40 plastic thing from Spring Creek, nice and solid, don't have to worry about busting it up on rocks. But it could happen, or I could lose it.

One time I almost needed a spare... I was fishing on Devil's Lake in ND two years ago in the spring, and anyone who's ever been there is probably familiar with how choppy that lake can get. Long story short, the wind picked up when I was ~1/2 mile offshore jigging a walleye reef, and I stupidly had the straight paddle just sitting on the gunwale and cross beam in front of me. Chop picked up, paddle went overboard and started drifting away fast, lucky I had a line in the water and I was able to quickly wrap it around the paddle shaft and pull it back to me.

I would have been in a bad spot right there, as the wind was blowing off shore at a pretty good clip. I would have drifted out into the big open water and had no good way to align myself against the increasing waves. Temps were probably in the mid 30's that morning too... wasn't too long after ice-out (ND doesn't close fishing seasons like MN does).

I always have a spare.  It is an older straight wooden paddle with a big blade that is excellent to fillet on.  Fits across the canoe in front of me and dip it in the water when done - no mess.  I would hate to paddle for days with it but did many years ago when that was the only choice of paddles there were.

Quote:


Hey "Jax,"

That's hilarious. But I agree. I have two Bending Branches -- a Viper I use for when I'm in the bow, a Sun Shadow for the stern. Please don't touch them.

As for extra paddles, we've gotten lazy. We usually bring one extra one for the group (two or three canoes), but because I'm paranoid about dropping a paddle, I keep it within reach in my canoe.

It's usually a basic bent-shaft wood one, nothing fancy, because we clean fish on it.

- kypaddler

mastertangler wrote on Oct 8^th, 2010 at 11:30am:

More room?  I'd say that is a function of how you put it into your canoe.  For me, as a solo paddler, I often take a Bending Branches bent-shaft as my backup paddle (although this year, I experimented with 'yak paddles as my backup).  When my bent-shaft is placed into my canoe, one lash point is the rear thwart (just behind my seat) and then the wide end of the paddle is secured inside a nylon strap loop that is anchored to the side of my canoe.  In this position, the paddle actually follows the contour of the canoe as it bends toward the aft end.  The paddle stays in this spot unless needed (meaning that I portage with it in that position ... it tends to offset the the weight of other gear lashed in toward the front).  

As for a fillet board, I was lucky enough to have purchased a triangular-shaped thwart bag (I seem to remember it was from Granite Gear) many years ago.  I use it primarily for fishing and related gear.  However, it has a 1/4 inch plastic plate in a zipper compartment in the bottom.  It was probably intended to be a fillet board since it has a hole with hanging strap in one end.  This is also where I store spare zip lock bags for storing fillets (after having to trek back to camp more than one to get one on earlier trips).

dd

mastertangler wrote on Oct 8^th, 2010 at 5:58pm:

I picked up some cheap plastic clips from a local discount store (its called Big Lots here.)  They have a foam/adhesive back to them, which I get rid of in favor of a stronger bond to the canoe.  I then super glue them to the interior hull.  (I start with the gel form of the glue and once its dried, I'll fill in any gaps with the liquid form.)

The clips have a circular plastic loop that is a permanent part of the clip at one end and has a "latch" on the other end.  I slide one side of a plastic strap guide (it looks like a squashed number 8) into the circular clip and then run the nylon strap through the other side.  The straps I use are 1/2 inch nylon (with their own buckle) and perfectly fit the strap guide.  I use two of the clip arrangements, vertically about 8 inches apart, to secure the blade part of the canoe.

One word of caution.  I have a kevlar hull which will flex and I'm also dropping a back beside the lashed down paddle.  Eventually, the clip will pop loose.  So I always take a couple of spare clips and super glue for "in the field" repairs ...  1 such repair over a 2 week trip is not uncommon.  To minimize the flex issue, I'll generally place the clips near one of the internal stiffeners of the canoe. (It seems that the top clip pops much more often than the bottom one, so I suspect the detachments are more a function of a pack load/unload than portaging.)

BTW:  I use these same clips as mounts for the golf club sleeves I use as rod/eyelet protectors ... on each side of the bow ... and as a lash point for the back-end of the rod/reel.  I use velcro straps for the sleeves and "deal-e-bops" around the butt end of the rods.  This is part of the "counter weight" that the paddle balances out.  This makes for a pretty workable rod "holster" from which the rods can be easily extracted.

My canoe is sufficiently balanced with these "extras" inside that I rarely have more than 1 hand on the gunwales while I'm portaging the canoe ... if the terrain is relatively flat ... sometimes no-hands.

dd

mastertangler wrote on Oct 8^th, 2010 at 8:54pm:

Here ya go!  Edge width of the clip is 1 inch.  They are called "Super Clips" and seemed to be marketed directly to Big Lots ... at least their name/logo is on the back side of the packaging.  You can see the latch release on the upper-right clip.

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Well, I thought about a stronger adhesive ... bottom line, I'd rather occasionally re-glue rather than patch holes in my canoe.

dd

I always take a spare when solo or in a group of two that won't be splitting up at some point. A group intending to stay together for a whole week long trip? One spare might be overkill.

The last tandem trip I did was planned as a three week outing into new territory. Three/four hours from the put-in I heard a crack that sounded bad. Bow paddler's graphite (fairly new) paddle busted at the grip. I offered epoxy - he countered with return policy and our spare. He used the spare for the rest of the trip with good results.

My own paddle is a really old Styrofoam, kevlar, epoxy combo that you don't see any more. It came as a free perk with my canoe. The store personal said no, no, no - that's not the paddle you want for where you are going. Hey, it was the most expensive paddle in the store and the one I thought I could deal with. Still have it, use it and I trust it a whole lot more years later. Still take a spare incase mother nature's waves rip it out of my hands.

Use to go with a guy who would drop his paddle in mid stroke and yell "fish on!" If I were him I'd take two spares on a solo.

I take a cheap but rugged paddle for my back-up and use it as a walking stick when portaging. The worse the portages and heavier the loads the more it protects me from injury.