...Things are getting tight on the roof...
Boats, canoes and kayaks, just seem to multiply like knives don't they?
A few years back I found that it had not only become more difficult to load my canoes on the roof due to bulk and weight, but also to carry more than one. My solution was to buy a jet ski trailer and convert it to a canoe hauler. You might consider doing something similar.
The bed, box and paddle locker let me keep gear loaded while being fairly secure from theft. And the deck height lets me load even the heavy Old Town by myself without worry of damaging my car or canoe. The rig worked fine for hauls to local rivers in Tennessee and, with new wheel bearings and grease, traveled just fine behind a U-Haul truck during my 1,800 mile move here to Idaho last fall. I still need to tweek the rack to hold more canoes, preferably three at once since I have family here that will be going on some river trips with me. And I am looking for a third canoe.
As to paddlesport drownings, I do informal surveys every year using web searches. The majority of drownings occur when paddlers don't wear PFDs. I used to be complacent about it myself in my earlier years. Simply having one in the canoe to comply with laws and avoid a ticket was enough. They were hot, uncomfortable and restricted movement. I don't do that any more. PFD technology and design has vastly improved in the last 20 years and I have become a stickler for wearing one and insisting that my partners and companions do as well. Yes, there are still a few deaths every year from pinnings, entanglements and river hazards like dams, but the majority are due to not wearing PFDs. Often in a crowd of rentals on the river I am the only one wearing one.
It certainly isn't because I can't swim. I can swim very well. And so can my paddle partner Jake. But I am determined that we don't become statistics because PFDs are inconvenient. In fact I bought myself a new one a while back, a vast improvement over my old flat panel vests, and bought Jake a new one too. And one for my five year old grand daughter. I cancelled a canoe trip with her last summer because her father provided her with a PFD that rode up over her ears in a swim, providing little if any protection. This spring it will be up to my daughter to buy new PFDs for herself, her older daughter and her husband. Or they will stay home.
