Parallax ) writes:
The other post about canoe sailing got me thinking. I grew up with a
Grumman canoe and still consider canoeing to be as natural as riding a
bike. Its an old 18' Grumman Aluminum flat bottom canoe, nearly
indestructible. I always wanted to use it to explore salt marshes and
also sail it in VERY shallow water. The other canoe sailing post
gives me some ideas, thanks

I've sailed one of my small 7.5 ft boats made from a single sheet of
plywood (Loonie on my website) the entire length of a shallow winding
beaver creek without a rudder and only had to resort to the paddle once.
It was a fun thing to do. I've also worked that tiny boat upwind on fairly
narrow rivers. I have another boat (Dogskiff) which is a flat bottom 15 ft
plywood canoe with the back 25% cut off and replaced by a transom. I've
often worked my way upwind on the Rideau River which is wider without a
rudder in this boat.

If the saiilng rig were not so cumberson I think more people would take
sails on canoe camping trips to save paddling against a wind. Fur traders
and natives often carried sails on long trips. I've read of a native
family comming down the shore of Hudson's Bay in modern times in a big
frieghter canoe surfing along under sail. Carrying a sail would be a good
strategy because wind makes paddling difficult and sailing possible. Lack
of wind makes sailing impossible and paddling easy. Hence paddle and sail
would be a good combination.

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