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Author	Message Text
Cedarboy	06/22/2012 11:11AM   I always put painter lines on my canoes for lining and tracking. Also for tieups at portages and at camp. They stay attached, I bring seperate lines for camp. CB
LuvMyBell	06/22/2012 11:18AM   My painter is tied at the front of the canoe and again on a rear thwart. When the canoe is upside down the painter has a slight bow in it hanging down @ halfway between my shoulders and waist. Other than lifting the canoe at the start of portage and setting it back down at the end my hands almost never touch the canoe. My left arm is resting comfortably on the painter and is used to balance and steer the canoe down the portage trail. My right arm is free to do whatever. I. Never experience arm fatigue this way.
wetcanoedog	06/22/2012 11:21AM   i have always had a line at the bow and stern at least 20 feet long to tie the canoe off at landings or camp.even with the boat out of the water i'll run the line around a tree or rock to keep it safe. the line comes in handy for short pulls around beaver dams or swifts and maneuvering around landings.i find lining canoes to be sort of tricky with the leaping from rock to rock with a rope and would rather make the carry.
fitgers1	06/22/2012 12:25PM   Up until recently I have only had one and that was on the bow. 20 feet I believe it was. I am now at a 25 on the bow and stern. Used for tying off an anchor bag, along side another boat, a dock, a tree, lining up a river. At a campsite I will pull the canoe up on shore and only tie to a tree in high winds. I have on a few occasions tried using the bow line to hold the bow while portaging as you described LMB. It works but not that well for me. I think because I was always on bumpy, rocky portages and the up and down motion of the shoulders makes it hard to keep the canoe balanced. Especially when doing it with an aluminum canoe. Perhaps if doing it on a flat portage or with a lighter canoe it would work better for me. Cedarboy - could you please explain what you mean by using it for tracking? Thanks
LuvMyBell	06/22/2012 02:03PM   I am surprised that no one else uses the painter while portaging. Perhaps the lighter kevar canoe that I use makes a difference. Unlike fitgers1 I find that the painter is more valuable to me on the longer bumpier portages. I purposely have the canoe slightly off balance towards the stern and use the painter to level it out while portaging using my forearm to press down on the painter. Having the bow of canoe slightly up allow me to see the trail ahead. I can also steer the canoe very easily when the trail isn't so straight. I've. Been toying with the idea of using 2 painters but I like having one hand free.
arctic	06/22/2012 02:43PM   quote LuvMyBell: "I am surprised that no one else uses the painter while portaging. Perhaps the lighter kevar canoe that I use makes a difference. Unlike fitgers1 I find that the painter is more valuable to me on the longer bumpier portages. I purposely have the canoe slightly off balance towards the stern and use the painter to level it out while portaging using my forearm to press down on the painter. Having the bow of canoe slightly up allow me to see the trail ahead. I can also steer the canoe very easily when the trail isn't so straight. I've. Been toying with the idea of using 2 painters but I like having one hand free." Try that through thick brush or while bushwhacking... :)
butthead	06/26/2012 06:36PM   butthead
kanoes	06/26/2012 07:21PM   butthead has his painter holes located properly. kev skin advantage in the first pic and mocassin in the second. i was too chicken to drill into the tanks on my magic. :)
LuvMyBell	06/26/2012 05:43PM   quote jerfra: "Can we see some pics these painter setups?" I'm out of town on business this week but will be glad to take and post a picture or two this weekend. I don't think I have any pictures of me on a portage carrying my canoe.
kanoes	06/26/2012 06:16PM   quote jerfra: "Can we see some pics these painter setups?" both are actually set too high for real lining purposes though, they should be at the waterline.
LuvMyBell	06/22/2012 10:38AM   Do you use a painter on your canoe? If you do is it for tying off the canoe to fish or as an aid while portaging? I've watched numerous Youtube videos on portaging and rarely do I see anyone using a painter. In fact I rarely see a canoe with a painter even attached. I'm thinking that's because the majority of canoes are rented and the outfitters just don't supply this handy piece of equipment. Rented or owned having a painter and using it properly can make portaging a more pleasant experience. Instead of your arms being constantly above your head getting tired and sore I find mine fresh and relaxed and ready to paddle across that next lake. If you do rent a Conoe for your trip bring a 50' length of rope and use it as a painter while travelling. Back at camp the painter can be removed and used to hang a tarp or food pack or used as a clothesline. A good length of rope is never a luxury item to be left at home because you are being weight conscious. What do you think?
Goby	06/22/2012 11:01AM   I use a painter on my canoe. I haven't mounted the thru hull tie on the bow yet, but it stays connected to the bow handle. I tie on there and coil it, secure it with double sided velcro and wedge it into the space by the handle. It stays there during car transport as well. I use it as you said while fishing to tie off to something, and to secure the canoe in camp at night or during a storm/wind. I don't use it during portages unless I'm lining the canoe up a stream or something. It can also come in handy if someone needs a tow or a canoe dumps and you need to throw a line to people in the water.
billconner	06/22/2012 11:23AM   It's funny that I have never had a painter on any canoe I've paddled but I don't find much lining where I go in the Q and simply pull - lift - the canoe further up on shore rather than tie up. At campsites, we carry it way into camp. Painters are probably a good idea - just haven't missed it yet.
Ho Ho	06/22/2012 12:51PM   I always have one bow and stern. I do NOT using them for portaging. I DO use them to - tie off the loaded canoe in the water during stops for lunch or the like - tie down the canoe to trees at night - line the canoe through rapids (this use is less frequent than the others, but really important at certain times)
Zulu	06/22/2012 02:46PM   I have always been curious as to why they refer to these ropes as painters which to me is what some college kids are over the summer. But thanks to the internet I found out that it is believed to be derived from the old french word "pentoir" which means strong rope. Probably named by the Voyagers.
jerfra	06/26/2012 04:04PM   Can we see some pics these painter setups?
butthead	06/27/2012 04:16PM   Drill hole, apply RTV adhesive, fit tube. I've done a few and no leaks, all went thru the flotation tanks. No leaks and the oldest is an f-glass canoe from 1985. Take your time composites are slippery to drill, mark well, tape the surface, pilot hole and even a mid size doesn't hurt. I used PVC tube about 8 inches (easy to handle), trim the excess after the adhesive sets. Clean up the tube ends and tie on your line. butthead
nctry	06/27/2012 05:51AM   Boy was I glad I had painters on when my canoe capsized in May... Or I'd say my rescuers were. :)
jerfra	06/27/2012 03:18PM   Any tricks or tips for installing? I have a fiberglass canoe. Do you have any issues with water coming in the holes?
Beemer01	06/27/2012 05:03PM   quote Cedarboy: "I always put painter lines on my canoes for lining and tracking. Also for tieups at portages and at camp. They stay attached, I bring seperate lines for camp. CB" +1
jerfra	06/28/2012 08:39AM   Thanks butthead. That's weird to say.
LuvMyBell	06/22/2012 03:16PM   Good point arctic. Thankfully the portages I've used have not been through thick brush, except for the occasional blowdown. In that case all bets are off - you just get the canoe around or over the obstruction any way you can. I'm not much of a bushwacker on my BWCA trips. I do that enough during my fall hunting trips for elk and deer. Many of the BWCA portages, while challenging (steep, rocky, muddy, long), are fairly open so my portage style using painters works great.
fitgers1	06/22/2012 03:40PM   quote Zulu: "I have always been curious as to why they refer to these ropes as painters which to me is what some college kids are over the summer. But thanks to the internet I found out that it is believed to be derived from the old french word "pentoir" which means strong rope. Probably named by the Voyagers." Didn't doubt you Zulu, just wasn't hip with the idea that the voyaguers named it so I had to look. Here is what I found. A line made fast to the bow of a small boat. This rope has nothing to do with painting but is used to "snare" a cleat on shore or alongside another boat. The French word "pantiere" means a noose. A Line used to make a boat fast by its bow. When used underway, the painter causes the boat to breast out from the side of the ship. Painters are the light line secured to a small boat's stern post it receives its name from the French word "Peyntours," meaning a noose or bight. The only thing I remember about it from being in the navy for 20 years is that it is a small line attached to the bow of a small craft. I doubt the voyaguers came up with it. I'm sure it was a term used in the French and other navies long before the voyaguers were around.
IBFLY	06/22/2012 03:49PM   Yes.
kanoes	06/22/2012 04:44PM   "a somewhat dangling painter might be just the ticket." you could bolt a couple loops of nylon strap to the gunwales, within reach and about a foot long. i did that to my P16 and it was more comfortable for my shoulders with my arms being at a lower angle.
arctic	06/22/2012 11:57AM   I've always used two painters on my canoes for lining on northern rivers, but in the BWCA/Quetico I only use a single, 25-foot polypro painter for tying up the canoe for lunch breaks or other short landings. I also use the painter to tie down my Kevlar canoe well back from the shoreline during windy/stormy weather. They make good clotheslines, too, on occasion.
wetcanoedog	06/22/2012 05:10PM   when i was in Scouts in the 50's i thought at first it was named a painter because all the ones i saw were frayed at the end like a brush.
Stumpy	06/22/2012 10:19PM   There is a painter on every canoe I use....I'm usually in the stern. ;)
Ho Ho	06/22/2012 04:35PM   Using them portaging as described by LuvMyBell could work pretty well in the BW where the portages are usually well-cleared. The only thing I don't like about portaging my Prism is that with the special yoke, the canoe is up so high that it can be tiring after a while to hold on to the gunwale to keep the canoe level - a somewhat dangling painter might be just the ticket. I don't think this would work on most Quetico portages though - no need to bushwhack to portage through thick brush up there. In terms of etymology, it looks to me like this meaning of "painter" showed up in Middle English, so it would have predated the voyageurs. Most likely it entered English via Anglo-Norman-French, like most of our French-derived words.
Beaverjack	06/22/2012 07:02PM   Okay, why do they call mountain lions "painters?"