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Post by hosehound on May 31, 2012 10:37:57 GMT -5
I saw a few posts on here regarding poles and poling but haven't been able to find them again so I thought I would start a new thread,,,,, One comment was regarding a hardwood pole which snapped soon into a trip,, and another comment about poling up river,,,,,, for my self ,, I have been making my own poles from dry spruce for many years,,I like them a little over 12 feet long( when new), ,, which is good for most water levels,, since I got my first electric hand plane some 25 years ago I have been tapering them even on both ends about 2 1/4"-2 1/2 " in the middle to 1 3/4" -1 1/2" on the end,,,I always soak them in the water for a few min before using them and several times each day,,,gives a good grip and keeps them flexible some,,, ,,the best tip I have gotten so far was watching an native in Quebec preparing a pole by burning it in a fire on the end,, apparently this tempers and hardens the wood , I did this to my poles last year and it seems to help keep them from wearing as quickly,,,,,,,As for poling up stream,, it's takes practice,, I have poled up past the old dam remnants in Marysville on several occasions ,,, it will get your skin leaking on a warm day,,,happy trails
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Post by Ken Corbett on May 31, 2012 20:19:52 GMT -5
Poling is popular with canoeists in New England, most of their rivers are dammed so they have taken it up big-time. Most folks down there use aluminum two-piece poles. My buddies Scooter and Hal are experts at it, they go upstream with a pole where a paddler would have to get out and haul his boat up by hand.
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Post by hosehound on Jun 1, 2012 10:25:37 GMT -5
I think aluminum would be dirty unless it's coated,,,I have never used one ,, spruce is so easy to get here,,,and easy to replace,,, and for traveling up or down stream I don't usually paddle unless there is a lot of water or it's flat with few rocks
Ken:Did you see my comment about canoe repair's?
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Post by Ken Corbett on Jun 1, 2012 10:39:38 GMT -5
Yeah, I did, but since I ditched that boat, I'm not so much interested in that subject. The boat I have now doesn't have a keel, so I don't expect cracks like that one now.
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Post by riveraddict on Jul 19, 2012 7:51:33 GMT -5
Just got back from a poling course on the LSW with Kevin Silliker and Tim Humes. They use structural 2X6 destined for rafters and rip them into 2X2, then they have a system for shaving them down at both ends by marking every foot and not shaving the middle. I understand it is only black or red spruce that actually passes the stress tests for the rafters. The feet are curtain rod ends for a jacket and then a lag bolt turned in and the head cut off. Makes a nice light pole with lots of grip. Also tried some aluminum one-piece poles. Nice and light and quick but what a racket! No blackness on hands but these seemed quite new so I'm not sure what they would be like after a few hard years. It is a nice way to get around when the water is very low.
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Post by Ken Corbett on Jul 19, 2012 8:23:23 GMT -5
How long is each pole? I'm always looking for a nice pole in the lumber yards. I'm not worried about capping the ends with jackets and bolts.
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Post by robertjohnneish on Jul 19, 2012 10:55:32 GMT -5
They use 12' poles.
If any of you or anyone you know is interested, I am putting on an Intro/Intermediate Poling course near Fredericton July 28-29. This would be the same course you took "Riveraddict".
I just took a 6 day instructor course from Kevin Silliker et al. and am looking forward to getting more folks interested.
robertjohnneish@gmail.com
If interested let me know...still some space available.
Rob
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Post by hosehound on Jul 19, 2012 15:43:25 GMT -5
I usually look for a young spruce tree in a thicket, dry and plane it ,, using a whole tree makes them very sturdy,, I like the cap and lag screw idea,,I must make one up and try it,, the one pole I have been using the most for the last 2 summers is now at least 2 ft. shorter than the other,,,
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stick
Lily dipper
Posts: 3
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Post by stick on Apr 11, 2013 11:35:55 GMT -5
I've made a number of poles from 12' closet rods sold in Home Depot. Whether these are spruce or something else, I couldn't say. I've always capped the ends after seeing how quickly one that wasn't capped disintegrated at the ends. I get two copper sleeves from the plumbing department with an OUTSIDE diameter the same as the pole and two lag bolts. The ends are whittled down so the copper sleeves can be pushed on and secured with a few small nails, and the lag bolts screwed into the ends then the heads hacksawed off. These work very well and I have used them when I do clinics on poling. But my aluminum pole is my favorite. It's a little thinner and it screws apart into two pieces, which is real handy. Yes, my hands get a gray coating, but I've never got a splinter from it! And though it has bent a little several times (little enough that I have straightened it), it has yet to break. Now the closet poles they will eventually break. When they do they look exceptionally scary - like a 6 foot lance with a lethal sharp end. You wouldn't want to fall upon it when it broke.
I've tried making my own from lumber but have not been able to round it nicely. Twelve feet is a long way to whittle a nice round cylinder from a square. I've tried using a router and that works well on two edges, the third it gets a little dicey, and the fourth it gets completly out of control - because you loose the flat sides which provide a stable reference as you work.
If you just want to try out poling, try the closet rods. It's a cheap and simple way of obtaining a pole.
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