I finally got the canoe wet for the first time. Even though this canoe is decades old, this is one of the few times it has been on the water. It didn't sink. I was happy about that.
The canoe is a two seater. I have decided to sit backwards in the front seat and paddle the canoe in reverse. Since I will be traveling in the canoe alone, I wanted my body closer to the center of the canoe to distribute the weight more evenly. One of my goals in taking the canoe to the water today was to be sure the canoe sat level in the water with my body in this new position and my gear distributed in the general location of where it will be placed during the trip. I like it. I think this will work fine.
Also I have added outrigger flotation stabilizers today. Since I will be sleeping in a tent on top of my canoe, I needed a method of preventing rollover. These stabilizers and perfect for the task. I can retract them during the day when I am traveling and deploy them at night. I will post more information about these stabilizers soon in another post.
Tomorrow I will be measuring, cutting and installing material to make a splash apron for the canoe. Also I will be installing a 12 volt battery and wiring to recharge electronics and will be wiring in a photovoltaic solar panel to recharge the battery.
