Okay, I've got my Prism and have been having a blast paddling and portaging on little day trips around the cabin. In my maiden voyages, a couple portage issues have come up that I don't have with the tandem canoes.

(1) I need a way to lash the paddle into the canoe for portaging. On day trips, I just want to single portage, and the paddle in the hand is a pain, so I want to lash my paddle in quickly for the portage. On future overnight trips, I will want a spare paddle lashed in. The problem is that the thwarts on the Prism are too far apart to to secure a paddle to them with bungee-dealee-bobs at each end of the paddle shaft, which is what I do with the spare paddle in the tandems (attached to one thwart and the yoke). I guess it's because there is no yoke in the center of the Prism. So how do you attach a paddle to your solo canoe? I wouldn't mind finding some piece of equipment that attaches permanently or semi-permanently to the gunnels that you could just snap a paddle into. But I'd appreciate any suggestions.

(2) Maps. In the tandem canoes, I use bungee-dealee-bobs to attach a map case to the thwart right in front the stern, and I just leave it there when I portage (the map case hangs down behind me while I carry the canoe). The problem with the solo is that if the maps are attached to the thwart in front of the seat, they dangle in front of my face when I portage. This is okay for a very short or straightforward portage, but it did not work well on a rugged debris-strewn one. What do you do with your maps in your solo? Ideally I'd like them to be securely attached to the canoe for constant hands-free viewing while paddling, and either leave them there or have some easy no-hassle way to deal with them at portages.

(3) When you're on the water, do you attach your removable portage yoke thingy to the canoe or just let it sit in the bottom?

Thanks in advance!

I use velcro straps and lash both parts of my 'canyak' paddle to the seat supports. A BDB would probably do just as well. My 6'6" fishing poles lash from a seat support to the front thwart without breaking them down.

I leave my maps loose and laying on the pack in front of me and then stuff it into a pack at the portages.

I have a pretty simple yoke mounting system that's basically two ratcheting clamps. It ain't pretty but it's fast. The clamps are attached to the yoke by a short rope so I don't lose them. When on the water I'll clamp the yoke to the front thwart just in case. I'm sure the thing floats but if I dump I've got plenty of other concerns other than chasing my yoke downstream.

JD

D-rings.

Bogs has a prism. Maybe he'll chime in.

1) I think Bogs attaches his to the base of the pedestal seat.

2) is there a loop at the bottom of your map case? You can tie it up when portaging.

3) I just leave mine loose but mine is wood and floats. You could use a BDB around it and the rear carry handle.

1. I suppose you have the tractor seat(?)
In my magic and in the stearn of my other canoes, I installed the Bell paddle clips on both sides. They screw to the underside of the seat frame. When portageing, just slide the paddle under the seat and it just snaps in place. I would never go without these. Having them on each side allows me to either carry my spare paddle on the other side, or at least have clips on the side that I am exiting.
2. I use fold down Spring Creek seats in my tandem and a similar seat in my solo. These seats have a velcro strip that I installed that holds them down for portageing. When paddling, my map lays on the floor in front of me. When portaging, it gets folded up under the backrest of the seat.
3. My yoke lays in the bow while paddleing.

Paddle clips: http://www.bellcanoe.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=100

My mapcase attaches to the back of my pack, which sits right in front of me for viewing.

Attach spare paddle to removable yoke with BDB, when you take the yoke off to paddle, just set it on the floor with the paddle, still attached with bdb.

Thats what I am planning to do anyway.

HoHo,
I drilled holes through my gunwales and then untied my bungee dealy bobs, threaded them through the holes and then retied them. This allows me to put them where they are needed. Then I just stap in the paddle and away I go. Worked for me, as wasn't bothered by holes in gunwales.

Oh and I forgot Maps.
I use the CCS Thwart Bag with Map Case. Remove it at every portage and attach it with the straps to my pack.
That is what I do anyway.
SunCatcher

Interesting question and comments, Ho Ho. I've not paddled a true solo canoe yet, only a tandem. I usually just jam the paddle from the stern end under the seat or thwart, it being held in place by friction. Only had it fall out once on a portage last year. As for the map case, you could just get a couple lightweight carabiners and attach the map to your pack while portaging. I would think you'd want to tie the portage yoke to something in rough/fast water, just in case...

Thanks, everyone!

I think I'm leaning toward the idea of putting maps on the front of a pack that's in front of me. (I got a separate email from Bogs who suggested a CCS thwart bag for this, but putting them on a bigger pack as bamubu and other suggest may make sense too.)

In terms of the paddle(s), I'm going to experiment with lashing to the base of the seat frame, as many suggested. Start with BDBs or velcro to try it out, but if I like having the paddles there, I might install some of those Bell clips suggested by PK. PK - do you have to drill into the seat frame to attach those or is there some place to do it already? SunCatcher's suggestion is more what I was originally thinking, but if attaching to the seat base works, the paddles may be even more out of the way there than the gunnel idea.

As for the portage yoke thingy, I guess I'll keep putting it on the floor of the canoe when paddling as I have been doing, that looks like what most everyone does.

wood thwarts and seats really make those problems easy to solve.
(note bungee cord)

I had to drill tiny holes into the wood cross members of the seat for the provided screws.

Losing the removable portage yoke thingy would really screw up a trip. This must be attached to something that floats.

quote kanoes: "wood thwarts and seats really make those problems easy to solve.
(note bungee cord)"

The one on the rear thwart would be handy for the rain coat... hmmm.

Kanoes,

I'm going to install your system on my Merlin this weekend. Great idea!

JD

i cant claim that as my idea, i believe is saw it in one of cliffs books. it sure turned out to be a handy tip. for portaging i slide the paddle blades under the front thwart bungees then slide the grips under the short seat bungees...works great.

My map case is always attached to the flap on my GG portage pack. It's right in front of me all the time I'm paddling, and right behind me on the portages.

I never attach a paddle. I stick it under the flap of my pack.

Bungee Dealee Bob my paddle and pole to my canoe. BDB my map case to my pack.

quote LoneWolf: "Bungee Dealee Bob my paddle and pole to my canoe. BDB my map case to my pack."

+1 on the BDB's. But I tend to bdb the map to a handy place on the seat mount.

quote bumabu: "My mapcase attaches to the back of my pack, which sits right in front of me for viewing.

Attach spare paddle to removable yoke with BDB, when you take the yoke off to paddle, just set it on the floor with the paddle, still attached with bdb.

Thats what I am planning to do anyway."

Tip one didn't work because Prism was too narrow to have pack in any other way except on edge. I just attached the map case to front thwart and then moved it to rear thwart when portaging.

Tip two didn't work either but i did just slide it under the seat pedastal and left it BDB'd there the whole trip.

Thanks for all the tips and ideas on this, everyone.

quote canoe212: " D-rings. "

212 -- I really like this idea. I can keep my spare attached at all times. What kind of adhesive did you use?

Paddle attached with BDBs and map in map case.

Thanks for the advice everyone, it was very helpful on my trip. Feedback on what worked for me -

(1) I attached the spare paddle to the base of the seat pedestal with BDBs, and attached the tarp poles to the other side of the pedestal base. Since I was double portaging I carried the paddle I was using on the trip across without the canoe. But when I day tripped and wanted to single portage, I BDB'd that paddle in where the tarp poles were when I was traveling.

(2) I attached the map with BDBs to the thwart in front of me and just moved it to a pack when portaging. When I didn't need the map and there were frequent portages (e.g., the creek from Mudro to Fourtown) I just kept the map on the pack. Moving it back and forth was still a little cumbersome and probably added a minute at each end of the portage, so I'd still like to find a way to avoid that. But keeping it on the pack all the time did not work for me, because it was too far in front of me to consult when paddling. I might get a CCS thwart bag and attach the map to that, as Bogwalker suggested in an email.

(3) I decided to attach the portage yoke thingy with a BDB to one of the packs while paddling. It's metal and I don't think it would float, and as someone said, it would be a real negative for the rest of the trip to lose it. The portage yoke is made by CVCA and is a thing of genius, by the way, it is really easy to attach and remove for portaging and is super comfortable (it helps that the canoe is as light as a feather).

Thanks again for the advice.

quote Ho Ho: "Okay, I've got my Prism and have been having a blast paddling and portaging on little day trips around the cabin. In my maiden voyages, a couple portage issues have come up that I don't have with the tandem canoes.

(1) I need a way to lash the paddle into the canoe for portaging. On day trips, I just want to single portage, and the paddle in the hand is a pain, so I want to lash my paddle in quickly for the portage. On future overnight trips, I will want a spare paddle lashed in. The problem is that the thwarts on the Prism are too far apart to to secure a paddle to them with bungee-dealee-bobs at each end of the paddle shaft, which is what I do with the spare paddle in the tandems (attached to one thwart and the yoke). I guess it's because there is no yoke in the center of the Prism. So how do you attach a paddle to your solo canoe? I wouldn't mind finding some piece of equipment that attaches permanently or semi-permanently to the gunnels that you could just snap a paddle into. But I'd appreciate any suggestions.

I have some hook-loop straps that I used for attaching the paddle on the first half of my recent trip. For the later portages, I kept the paddle free, but still with one end under the seat and the other under the front thwart (over, when the canoe is overhead). My paddle was long enough that I didn't need to worry about it slipping free.

"(2) Maps. In the tandem canoes, I use bungee-dealee-bobs to attach a map case to the thwart right in front the stern, and I just leave it there when I portage (the map case hangs down behind me while I carry the canoe). The problem with the solo is that if the maps are attached to the thwart in front of the seat, they dangle in front of my face when I portage. This is okay for a very short or straightforward portage, but it did not work well on a rugged debris-strewn one. What do you do with your maps in your solo? Ideally I'd like them to be securely attached to the canoe for constant hands-free viewing while paddling, and either leave them there or have some easy no-hassle way to deal with them at portages.

I move my map case to one of two places: either attached to a pack (as others have described), or strap it to the small thwart at the back and of the canoe (I fold the case roughly in half so both straps are attached). That keeps it behind me and out of my line of sight.

"(3) When you're on the water, do you attach your removable portage yoke thingy to the canoe or just let it sit in the bottom?

Thanks in advance!"

I'd leave it loosely attached unless I the next portage was a short way away. Then I would leave it clamped in place. By leaving it loosely in place, rather than putting it on the bottom, I could hang my camera bag and water bottles close to me (the front thwart in the solo I was using was too far ahead). Of course, if you have long legs, you might have trouble getting in and sitting with the yoke in place, so keep that in mind, too (sometimes, short legs have their perks).