There was this time once, when I came across a 17 foot aluminum canoe, and figured out that I should own a canoe, you know? I was tired of rubber rafts, it seemed as though they always leaked. So the canoe was the answer. I used it extensively up at the lakes. At 17 feet, it was a handful for sure. But I was determined. The problems would start when the wind started to blow. Way up the arms of Lost Creek Lake on one of my days off, the wind came up about 25 mph. If you have never been up the arms of Lost Creek, let me tell you what its like. The lake was made when they built a dam on the Rogue River. The Rogue River at this point flows through canyons, so the sides of the lake up the arms are rather steep. No way you are going to carry a canoe up those canyons. Especially not by yourself. Well anyway, back to the wind. Did I mention the wind was in my face, coming out? By the time I had fought my way out of the upper arms of that lake, I thought my arms were going to fall off!
I also ventured down the Rogue River itself in that canoe. Made several fishing trips down from Tovelle Park to the backwater above Gold Ray dam. At the time, there was no whitewater there. I have not been there for years, so things could have changed.
Let me tell you of an adventure a friend and I had. One day, as I was telling him of the canoe trips down the river, he said "We really ought to put in at the Lost Creek dam and go to Shady Cove, a nice 1/2 day float". I remembered going down that stretch before they built the dam. In the summer there were places that were only about 5 inches deep, and if you did not watch out, your bum would scrape bottom while you were floating in an inner tube. So it sounded like a great place to go. I asked him if he ever canoed before, and he assured me that he had. So we made the plans, and off we went.
One problem though. Since they built the dam, the rules had changed. Instead of 900 cubic feet per second going down the river, there was now 2100 feet per second. A small fact I failed to consider.
So here we were. Tossed all the junk in the canoe, and off we went. I had a somewhat bad feeling rising from my gut as we rounded the first bend, and there before us was a series of about 4 five foot standing waves with crests on top. I looked around at Lynn, and he did not say a word, just sat there with these real wide open eyes. Back paddling like a couple of crazy people, we hit that first series of waves. We took on water. Quite a bit of water. But we made it through. As we paddled over to shore to bail, I told Lynn that I hoped there was not too much more of that kind of float ahead of us. I don't remember what he said.
After we re-grouped, we proceeded on. But not for long. Moments later as we were rounding another bend in the river, we came upon a fisherman, anchored, doing a bit of bait bouncing. As he noticed us moving swiftly down the river, he yelled " Stay to the left, get over to the left", but alas, the warning came too late. The swift current had its way with us, and before we could take action on the advice he had given, we found ourselves facing another series of standing waves. I think I counted about eight this time. As we maneuvered through the first two, the bow of our craft pitched down, and there I was, looking up at a wall of water towering over my head. Moments later the canoe was swamped, and we found ourselves floating beside it, bouncing down the river.
Did you know that a swamped 17 foot canoe weighs about 2000 pounds. At least it seemed like it as we tried to swim the canoe over to the shore.
After a few minutes of this, we managed to swim the craft over to the shore, at which point I hiked up to the highway, and caught a ride back up to the dam to get the truck. I left Lynn laying on the bank in the sun. During the spill we had lost one of the two paddles, flotation cushions, and I don't know what all. That was enough of that kind of fun. I sold the canoe shortly after. Lynn and I never went canoeing together again.
After I sold the 17 foot canoe, I discovered I really missed the enjoyment of canoeing, and so I made up my mind to build one from scratch. Down at the Jackson County Library I found plans to build a canoe out of wood and canvas. I checked out the book, purchased the materials, and went to work. After 2 1/2 months of working nearly every morning and evening, and most of the day on my days off, the canoe was complete, you can see it pictured above, resting on it's custom built trailor. 12 feet long, covered on the front and back, with a cockpit 4 feet long by 39 inches wide, its a canoe built for one. It weighs in at 46 pounds, and I use a kayak double-bladed paddle to propel it. The seat is made out of an old life jacket innards, covered with leather. I also installed expanding foam in the front and back 2 feet of the craft. I can fill the canoe with water while sitting in it, and it still floats about 2 inches out of the water. I can paddle it in a stiff wind with no problem. I learned a tremendous amount building that boat, had a lot of great fishing and touring with it, and no, I am not going down the Rogue River with it anytime soon (if ever).