OFFICIAL CANOE BUSINESS: Mini Assembly recap

[Brad Fisher]

Hi paddlers,

As I’m sitting at home shivering in the gray October chill, it looks like we caught the last glory of Indian Summer over the weekend at Gifford Pinchot State Park. If you weren’t able to join us, here’s what you missed:

Baby got a new frock
My West Hollow Otter was recanvassed by an expert crew led by Craig Johnson and Alice Brylawski. I learned a lot about canvassing while Craig did the stretching and Alice guided the tacks and staples. Fred Capenos made sure we didn’t screw it up. Much was discussed over the eight solid hours of hard work in the warm sunshine, including the price of decent varnish. Overheard from one Chapter spouse: “70 bucks a pint? So that’s why she doesn’t want me in the room when she’s buying varnish!” Next step is stripping out bad varnish, then filling, paint, and new varnish.

It wasn’t all fun and games
While the cool kids were recanvassing, other paddlers had to content themselves with other activities and demos, including:

• 
• Fly fishing practice
• 
• Birch canoe construction
• 
• Learning Fred’s secrets for constructing brilliant, perfect stem bands
• And more!
  • Paddle carving and tool sharpening
  • Drinking coffee, eating brownies and shooting the breeze with our Delaware, Susquehanna, and Upper Chesapeake colleagues.
  • And of course, plying the waters of Pinchot Lake in our wood canvas beauties, in perfect weather and fall color.

Oh, what a night
Saturday night’s pot luck dinner, hosted at a tiny cabin on the lake by paddle carver Sue Christie, was delicious and rewarding. Entertainment was provided by yours truly on the guitar and Bryce Bryloski on bass. It was a freakin’ hoedown.

Thank you to…

• Craig, Fred, Alice and the rest of our Chapter for the excellent work and learning.
• Jean and Al Bratton of the Delaware Valley Chapter for spearheading.
• Members from other Chapters for bringing the fun and fellowship.

New business

• Get ready for our planning meeting at 11 am on November 8 at Waterfront Hall, Wheeling WV. We’re getting lots of great ideas for 2025 events. It’s been suggested we have a zoom link for this meeting for folks who can’t make it in person, so they can stay at home and watch the rest of us drink beer. Watch upcoming email for more information.
• I'll be phasing out posting this kind of info to our Facebook page as more folks move over to the Forum.

Cheers!

Brad

 

[samb]

I feel I need to know more about Fred’s secrets for constructing brilliant, perfect stem bands if that's possible.

Sam

 

[Brad Fisher]

All I tell you here is it involves some jigs he's made for drilling the holes and some very disciplined tapping with a metalworker's hammer to create the curve. Should we think about planning a winter meeting where we demonstrate this and other tricks?

 

[Dan Miller]

And then take it on the road (overseas) so Sam can participate!

 

[Brad Fisher]

…. And here’s the group photo, courtesy of Scott Johnson.

 

[Brad Fisher]

And here's a couple of canoe hippies disturbing the tranquility of Camp Gifford. Photo by Patti Jones.