Canoeing in Swift Water 



around the bow, draw it tight and fasten the end to the 

 other end of the forward thwart. Then you slip the 

 rope down and tie a loop in it exactly beneath the bow. 



Tie your tow-rope through this loop, and you get the 

 right effect when towing. The loop is under the bow 

 and in line with the keel. The pull is below the centre 

 of gravity, consequently up on the bow. The problem 

 in towing is to keep the bow of the canoe out of the water. 



It is difficult to describe the behaviour of a canoe when 

 being towed by a painter made fast away above the centre 

 of gravity, especially in a following sea, or beam sea. 

 Guides generally seem to have an antipathy for sitting 

 in a canoe when being towed behind a motor-boat. 

 Probably they have seen so many accidents and tipovers 

 from improper towing rigs that they think it more or 

 less dangerous. It really is not, but quite safe, even in 

 a heavy sea, providing the guide knows how to handle 

 his craft and carries a bailer in case he ships water from 

 a wind lop. 



I do not know of a sensation more pleasing than that 

 of quietly slipping along behind a motor-boat in a canoe. 

 There is no vibration or noise, and you glide along at an 

 apparently impossible speed without effort or even con- 

 sciousness of the propelling agent. 



When towing two or more canoes or boats, I make a 

 practice of placing a guide with a paddle in the stern 

 of the last boat. He can help a great deal when turning 

 or making a landing; or, in case the engine balks, he can 

 keep the canoes straightened out and sufficiently in line 

 so that they are not jerked about when the motor starts. 



Before closing, I may say that I always anticipate 

 trouble with a passenger when he (or she) steps into a 

 canoe and makes any of the following mistakes: 



Wears hobnailed or high- heeled boots; steps in roughly 

 or carelessly on one side or the other; does not wait for 



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