Tips Sail

With winter in full swing, I've dove into another gear related project for future trips - a new shelter for shoulder season usage.

First off, I'd like to give credit to the inspiration source for this new project. Robin L (operator of CanoeTripping.net) has often posted pics and outstanding tripping videos featuring his customized canvas hot tent. The shelter started off as an 8'x10' but Robin felt it was too big and heavy for solo use so he cut it up and re-stitched it to a 6' x 7' with a reduced height of 54 inches.


Instead of using the standard steel pipe for an internal frame, he ended substituting with more weight manageable pine closet rods...



An old nylon tarp serves to fully waterproof the roof and with a small wood stove, he is comfortably setup for chilly temps of early or late season paddling.


Inside his tent looks super comfortable with the cot, wool blanket, stove and other accessories.



The setup looked so good that I've decided to try and make a custom homemade version. Not sure if it will be a success but it will at least serve as a prototype of sorts for a future decision to go with a proper tent maker.

As a sidenote, I've also liked the idea of the classic Baker or Campfire tent (popularized by Bill Mason) which is essentially half of a wall tent.



After many sketches and ideas bouncing in my head, a decision was made to make a sort of hybrid shelter that could be a fully enclosed wall tent along with an option to convert to a Baker with open side and canopy. That way, I'd have one tent that could be multipurpose.

To meet these needs, the planned dimensions were to be 7' x 7' x 6' high with 3' side walls. It helped that we have a small 7ft ping-pong table in the basement that served as a work station. Once again  I would be using a Canadian-made drop cloth (12' x 14') that is unlike any others I've seen in stores. The weave is tighter in a twill pattern rather than an open cross weave more commonly seen with other brands. It is also heavier so a full tent at this size would be quite a load.



Other wall tent pics on the internet showed that some folks suspend their tent from a ridgeline and use side supports to prop up the walls. I wanted this flexibility built in too so copied the idea of grommets on a ridge flap as well as side flaps or eaves. This way if the full pole frame is too heavy for a trip, there is a lighter weight option using  a few side poles.




Also noticed that many other DIY canvas tents sometimes have sidewalls from nylon or other material to reduce weight while preserving the breathable canvas roof in order to limit condensation. So to save some weight, one back wall, two side panels and a single removable door were to be made from a polyethylene tarp. I ended up with a heavier duty 12x12 weave of polyethylene tarp from Amazon that again seemed better than the supply at local stores. I had calculated that a 10x20 tarp would be sufficient for the material needed and provide some leftover in case of a mistake.


Before doing anything on the main tent, I washed the massive 12'x14' dropcloth multiple times in hot water and dried it using high heat. In the end, it shrunk 6" in width and 9" in length. The new length worked out so that when I accounted for the various seams allowances, side eaves, and a top ridge flap of grommets, the canvas tarp would cover the roof and one side wall without having to cut any fabric lengthwise.

Then work began on the poly tarp back wall and side panels.  Here is a photo of one of the side panels after cutting. The vertical flap in the foreground is a two inch folded flap were the ground grommets would be installed for pegging in the ground. The remaining 12" sod cloth in front will fold back into the tent preventing drafts and openings on uneven ground.




Here the rectangular back wall piece from the poly tarp is being cut and shaped. White Gorilla tape was used around the cut perimeter edges


After these parts were cut out, I began the process of attaching the pieces. The flat felled seam required a lot a repositioning and flipping over to get right but everything worked out in the end. Below the rear canvas roof is being attached to the poly back wall.




Mentioned earlier that 3 of the side panels were to be made from poly tarp. The remaining door would be from left over drop cloth material. This is where I plan to eventually put a stove jack for when a future wood stove is in the tent.

More pics and discussion of the internal frame in a subsequent post.

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Finally got the chance to complete the Maple Northwoods paddle I had been working on since last fall (see Part 1 & Part 2). It's been a while since I've been able to post a new paddle pic in the slideshow gallery.

Over the last few months, I kept it in my den and worked on the decorative pyrography whenever the boy gave me a chance. Nearly complete last month, I heard a ruckus as he grabbed the paddle when I wasn't looking and proceeded to drag it by the blade letting the grip scrape across the stone flooring. Then he decided to run it over with with toy truck and walk up and down the shaft as a kind of trapeze act.


Goofing around


Caught red handed
Good thing I made this out of maple, it came out of the ordeal unscathed. The chip carving pattern along the edges of the blade was continued up the shaft - the first time I ended up decorating a paddle from grip to tip. Here are some shots of the final work before oiling the paddle. The decoration on the tip was meant to be replica of the antique-style copper tips protectors I had posted on earlier.


Completed Paddle


Blade Closeup with "Copper Tip"


Grip Closeups

The leather canoe tumpline has been constructed, but before I could give it a test run, I wanted to learn more about its correct method of use. Given that this piece of equipment is seen as "outdated technology", most sources that discuss its use are old archived texts. This online article in Popular Mechanics (June 1952) outlines the technique for lashing the tump to the center yoke and securing paddle blades as a shoulder rest. Although, their method calls for drilling holes into the thwart and using copper line to keep paddles in place.

This article by a canoe tump enthusiast suggests a contoured centre yoke is a horrible innovation. His method requires the replacement of the "stinky" centre yoke with 2" diameter round aluminum tubing. Might work for him but not going to happen with my boat.


Contoured Yoke Protest
I also came across a recent article Portaging a heavy canoe with a Tump Line (PDF Format) from a staff member of Camp Nominingue in Quebec. This full colour, clearly written article outlines all the technical aspects although they tend to use canvas & cord based tumps. Interesting that their lashing method involves securing the tump cord 1.5 inches ahead of the actual centre thwart.


Camp Nominigue Setup
Since my leather tump is akin to the Northwest Woodsman's site, I've used his photos and accompanying YouTube video to learn the correct method of lashing it in. The video shows the method for a wanigan first and then for a canoe around the 3:50 mark. His canoe also has a contoured portage yoke just like mine.



NW Woodsman Tump Pics
However, one thing I never quite liked about the paddles being lashed in the claustrophobic space created by sandwiching your head between the blades. While re-reading the classic birchbark canoe text, The Building of a Chippewa Indian Birch-Bark Canoe by Robert E. Ritzenthaler I came across a paragraph (p. 96) describing one native way of using the tumpline.

It involved lashing the grip end of the paddles to the centre thwart with the blades pointed towards the bow. The position is such that the the shafts of the paddles are flared away at the yoke resulting in a much more open triangular space. The arms are wrapped around the shafts with the hands loosely griping the sides of the tumpline on the forehead. Here's the accompanying photo on pg. 95


One Native Tump Method
This last method appealed to me the most. With all tumplines however, trial and error to get it adjusted just right to work properly. While up north for a brief fall getaway, I got a chance to test out the setup. The tump was secured to the yoke with simple hitches but it took me about about 45 minutes of fiddling to finally find the right length. In the end, I figured out that for my boat and yoke, the best measure was when the centre of the tump's headpiece just touched the bottom of the hull when pressed down with my finger. This will make it much easier to attach/adjust in the future so as not to waste much time.


Laying out; Clove Hitch to Yoke; Re-adjusted length
The slack was used to tie in the grips of two paddles and a piece of 1/2" wide leather strip was used to secure the blades to the seat. In the end the setup was quite secure.


Grips lashed in; Blades secure; the final setup


Canoe tump portage
The results: I'm totally impressed with the use of tumpline. While my boat isn't a heavy beast to begin with, the tump and paddle setup really make for an seemingly lighter carry. I walked around the property with the canoe (including uphill) to a parking lot area drawing some funny looks from neighbours and while it wasn't an authentic bush portage, the tump carry did make a difference on the shoulders. From a safety standpoint, if I slightly shrugged my shoulders up and tilted my head back, the tump would slip off and roll backwards because of the way it was lashed in. A simple hand motion would swing the tump back into place onto the top of the head so it is relatively easy to get in and out if needed.

Especially significant was the ability to let go of the paddles and rest the arms while the tump & shoulders balanced the boat. Also, with the bulk of the weight borne by the tumpline, you only really need one hand to secure the boat while moving. To take the picture above, I set up a sawhorse in the driveway, placed the camera on it, set it on a 10 second delay and walked into position, all the while efforlessly balancing the canoe with the tumpline. It may have its critics, but for me, I can see the potential in this piece of gear.

Just around the corner from home, I spotted an amateur "Antiques for Sale" sign pointing to an industrial warehouse. Intrigued, I went inside and found a huge haphazard collection of stuff that had seen better days. I was on my way out when I saw the shape of a paddle behind a pile of rusty tools. It turned out to be a half-completed, 57" paddle blank made from what appears to be yellow or white birch.


The partially complete Birch blank
The wood stock seems to have been 1" thick as this is the maximum thickness of the shaft. Not ideal for a heavy use paddle, but still workable for light use. At least the grain in the shaft is well contained and runs perfectly parallel down its length so the original builder was either lucky or knew exactly what was needed for paddlemaking. The bulk of the blade had been power planed down to about 1/2" with some noticeable areas of tear out but these should be easy to clean up with some spokeshave work. A small, crudely shaped pear grip had been rasped out. Basically the hard work had been done and now only final shaping needed to be completed. In pencil along the shaft was the name "Skyler". It seems someone started this project but then abandoned it. The paddle was mine for $5 and I immediately began visualizing reworking it.


Small Pear Grip
My first observation was how huge the blade area was relative to the length and this caused the paddle to be extremely blade heavy...not ideal. The 5.5" wide blade had a beautifully rounded tip and I wanted to preserve this feature. But to make the paddle more balanced, the blade area had to be reduced. After being please with the Attikamekw design as a favoured solo blade, I wanted to try another close style to this slender shape. In particular, I've been eager to try some of the Cree Style paddles I've posted on before.


Cree Paddles - Canadian Museum of Civilization
In the end I chose the sweeping, recurved blade design of the middle paddle. After marking out some of the basic points on the blank, I used some clamps and a flexible metal ruler to draw out the curves. Here is the result...


New blade shape marked out for cutting
The Mrs. did some planting and cleaned up the balcony last weekend. I can tell she doesn't appreciate the wood dust and shavings in her flowerpots, so in order to minimize any domestic disturbance, I headed to the nearby park with the paddle, a saw, and my two crooked knives. Rather than saw out the entire paddle shape, I thought I take a shortcut and make some perpendicular cuts, chip out the rough shape, and clean it up with the crooked knives. While I had brought both knives to the park, the recently completed Orien Knife outperformed by own homemade version, mostly because of the steeper bevel being better suited to the kiln dried hardwood, birch stock. Here's where the paddle stands now...obviously not an exact replica but I had to work with the limitations of the existing dimensions.


Chipping out the outline; Cleaned up with the crooked knife
The sharper angles will be eventually worked down. But it's a funky shape and I'm curious to see how it'll perform.

SEPT 21, 2010 UPDATE: Paddle is now complete and decorated. See post HERE

For decades, the canvas canoe pack was the basic piece of storage gear for a canoe trip. People today either continue to expound on their virtues or curse them in favour of modern, high tech alternatives. In the U.S., they are marketed as Duluth Packs and the company (started by French Canadian Camille Poirer in 1882) still churns out beautiful (and expensive!) packs today. One such pack was recently listed on Ebay for $100,000 US!

In this country, Woods Canada made their own versions beginning in 1909. These packs simply referred to as "Woods Packs" feature prominantly in the paddling films of Bill Mason but had a much more common utilitarian role of hauling forest fire hoses and axes in the bush. Below are the two models, the No.1 Standard and No. 200. These designs were later adapted by Duluth Pack to make their famous Northwoods Pack.


No.1 Standard and No. 200 Woods Packs
The company closed up shop a few years ago, but their their trademark and product line have been acquired by another company and many of these items are being produced again. Here's a pic from their 2009 Catalog.


From the Woods '09 Catalogue
In keeping with the direction of making my own gear, I decided to try and attempt a basic canvas pack for the planned canoe trip next summer. This fastastic Tutorial on making a Canvas Pack was detailed enough, but not having access to an industrial sewing machine limited my options. I also had a hard time sourcing out heavy duty 15oz mildew treated canvas from a local source and wasn't about to pay the expensive shipping and import duties if I ordered from abroad.

Instead, I stumbled on the page of Backcountry Gear Exchange, a small outfitting company based in Kearney (just outside the western access points to Algonquin Park) that was setup to recycle and reuse old gear. I picked up a battered old Woods #200 pack for $25 CND (brand new retail for $115 + tax). It needed repair to the leather components and was missing the tumpline strap, but overall the heavy duty canvas on the faded pack was sound. Here are some pics with it partially filled with a bag of wood shavings.


Views of the pack - front, side, back
The leather straps on the pack needed replacement. Removing the simple splash rivets was simple enough with a pair of pliers, but a former repair job on one buckle area used Slotted and Robertson screws that were preened over square bolts as a makeshift rivets.


Torn tumpline buckle strap; Makeshift rivets
Removing them required sawing the face of the bolt into quarters with a small hacksaw and then chipping away at the metallic fragments. Once loosened, the screws came off easily enough.


Sawing the bolt face; one screw rivet removed
With the other leather pieces removed, the canvas pack will get a thorough washing to get rid of the grimy stains on the exterior. Then the bulk of the leather components will be replaced. More of the next stage posted here.