I'm struggling. My newbys are thinking of picking up a couple solo bell canoes while they still can. Whats the scoop with stacking for transport?.........the thought makes me a bit uneasy. I think I remember seeing it done but never paid any attention to how. Whose got the skinny on how it's done?

4 bell merlins..........1 roof rack..........I wonder if I can run them sideways? Strap 2 gunnel to gunnel? Rinse and repeat?

This is a different concern but I'll still throw it out there..........I'm not sure I want to see the 14 year old in a solo on Lake Superior. We will be on protected waters for the most part but that water can take your breath away in a hurry...........and this being his first time in a solo.........I'm a bit troubled.

We had them set up in a kev Bell Northwoods but they are liking the solo idea. Np problem with transport before as we put one of the solos inside the Northwoods.

Just found all this out yesterday.........been turning it around and around. any thoughts?

DITTO...DITTO...DITTO  SoloTripper.

I just can't  support a 14 year old or any newbies soloing in Lake Superior. Too risky.

Well that didn't take long............
At first I was pleased to think he would make the investment of 2 boats indicating that after 2 trips he liked it..........Alot

But the uneasiness set in shortly thereafter when I started thinking about the big water........ You have stiffened my resolve. I'll suggest he still pick up the boats but they need to stay home this summer. They can get some practice time in this fall and next spring and then maybe they can take them to WCP next summer.

2 solos, 1 tandem is the right mix.

Good advice MP.........I will pass it on that there are indeed other good solos out there.

I hadn't even known they were entertaining the thought of picking up some new rides. I expressed my concerns to them this evening about the cold water and they were completely receptive and were in fact one step ahead of me wanting some practice time and are considering a trailer.

New boats or not I still intend to discourage them from paddling solos on Superior. Still going to be frigid in June. (hopefully the gigantimungus northerns will still be shallow........another reason for a bigger boat )

[quote]Otherwise don't sweat too much over it.  Odds are that nothing bad is going to happen.
Painters on all boats.  PFDS on at all times.  Most boating accidents are the result of poor judgment & plain honest stupidity. [/quote

One way to look at it. I'm assuming your " group leader"?
My question to you is, " IF something bad happens, what would you be willing to do to save a life? Risk others lives no matter the odds? Do what's prudent and live with the consequences? When something bad happens there's little comfort in knowing it was a long shot.

Practicing the self rescue techniques Preacher mentioned in a inland lake may or may not help your cause. Even if they can do everything mentioned, in the frigid waters of Superior with your body going numb in minutes, I doubt any but the most experienced canoeist's could pull it off. It might give them a false sense of safety/competence that won't translate in the frigid Superior waters.
PFD's are great, they'll keep above water and save energy you'd use treading water without them. Painters are great too, but unless you could secure a line to the PFD of the dumped canoes occupant they probably wouldn't be able to hang onto a line for very long if at all.
I have a D-Ring on the chest of my PFD. I suppose if you rigged a Carabiner with a spring loaded gate to each canoes stern painter and could somehow clip to PFD of person in the water, you could then kneel and tow them into shore?
I mentioned before that on one backpack trip on Isle Royale, we were camped at Windingo waiting to take the shuttle back around next day to Rock Harbor and our flight home. We ran into a solo kayak-er that had dumped coming into Windingo Harbor running from a sudden squall on the open water.
He had a full wet suit and it was all he could do to get his kayak righted/bailed even in the calm waters. In the open waters, he didn't think he wouldn't been able to do it. Said he probably would of bailed and swam for shore.
I still think the tandem/ 2 solo's is the best compromise between prudence/safety and the odds that nothing is probably going to go wrong.
IF you can convince them to go that route, maybe you can try a real world experiment. If I remember correctly, there are some very nice campsites right out on Superior. One I remember had a nice little protected bay, sand beach, relatively shallow shelf.
Put on your bathing suits/PFD's go out waist/chest deep and dump your empty solo canoes and see who can get back in on their own. Who can feel their extremities after a few minutes
Then you can talk about a 4 solo trip

I think ST is overthinking it.  Maybe this, maybe that, what ifs.  Maybe there's a nuke strike and the whole lake is vaporized.  <- Reductio ad Absurdium.   

There is no downside to knowing your limits & abilities compared to not knowing.

Painters are there for any implementation requiring a line attached to the canoe.  I'd rather be looking at rope I don't need than looking for rope when I need it.

Quote:


Every year around here, someone dies in a ice/cold water boating accident. More often than not, the person that falls in, is the one who survives and the would be rescuer is the one who pays the price
The media then tell everyone it was a " tragic accident".

Accident is a word that is used way to often. Too me, an accident is something that can't be avoided. Putting yourself in harms way needlessly and calling the result if poor an accident is just PC feel good talk. It's negligence, pure and simple.

Quote:


I couldn't agree with you more a Preacher. And taking newbies/first time solo paddlers onto Lake Superior is the very definition of poor judgment/stupidity IMHO, over-thinking it or not.
You might not be legally culpable, but I wouldn't want it on my conscience.
MT's little voice was telling him true, or he wouldn't of mentioned it.
I'd listen, but that's just me being "Reductio ad Absurdium"

Facetious el maximus

Don't want to offend anyone here.  But but the notion of taking newbie/novice/inexperienced paddlers onto Lake Superior in solo or tandem canoes seems just plain nuts.  I don't know the words in latin for just plain nuts.   

pine_knot wrote on Apr 26^th, 2011 at 11:22pm:


No offense taken. I suppose my newbies aren't totally new.......Two week long trips under their belt. They did well......

I quote from Jim DuFrense book on Isle Royale.........
"At the east end of the Isle Royale is a collection of long, narrow channels, fiord like harbors, and secluded coves and inlets loved by all who pass through. They are known as the Five Fingers. Isle Royale is a beautiful place, but for many the five fingers are the diamond at the end of the pendant.
These long, steep ridges that reach into the lake offer rugged beauty, calm water and visual links to the islands past. You could easily spend a week exploring this area that covers the far eastern portion of the park and includes 7 campgrounds.
Canoes and kayaks are well suited for the five fingers etc. etc."...............

There is but one spot that concerns me and it is a 1.5 mile open water paddle on the big lake itself. Fortunately there is safe water to wait until the time is right. Should that not happen (who knows) there is an intra island ferry that we could make use of as a "rescue" ship of sorts. But I'm thinking at that time of year early in the morning or in the evening we should have a 30 minute window to make the dash. I get the idea of big rollers and would be obliged to wait for ideal conditions before departing.

I have a lot of confidence in the seaworthiness of the Northwoods. It is quite a good boat. Stay near shore, stay off if it is rough.........I think we will be fine.

Have never tried 4 canoes.  2 tandems and a kayak in the middle on Thule long bars is my record. Not being an expert canoe stacker guy, I don't even want to do that again.