Exploring Small Creeks  – The Ideal Boats for the Job

By Alan Mapes

My favorite places to explore on the water are small creeks. These hidden gems are the ideal place to explore, finding interesting plants and wildlife. You will often be the only human around, so peace and solitude come with the territory. 

My usual paddling craft for the past 20 years have been sea kayaks, 16-18 feet long. These are wonderful for the big waters of Lake George or the tidal Hudson River, but not the best craft for small hidden creeks. My boat of choice for these narrow waterways is a small solo canoe.

Small creeks are everywhere. A few memorable ones that come to mind are the Anthony Kill, the outlet of Round Lake; Coxsackie Creek, Mill Creek and Papscanee Creek off the Hudson River; Lake Lonely Outlet near Saratoga Springs; Dunham’s Bay Brook and Northwest Bay Brook, tributaries of Lake George.

Even better, to my thinking, are the smaller, perhaps unnamed rivulets that are just big enough to poke into with your boat. My current favorite is the hidden creek that flows into Fish Creek right near my home. My granddaughter Nora (age 8) and I visit that small stream to have some up-close time with dragonflies, frogs, turtles, belted kingfishers and eastern phoebes. Just inside the mouth of that creek, a huge burr oak tree spreads its branches over the water, offering us a cool spot on the hottest days. Cattails, arrow arum and silky dogwood bushes line the creek margins. 

Now in mid-summer, the creek is a sea of green. Untold thousands of tiny floating duckweed plants cover the surface, but they easily move aside as we glide up the stream. To my surprise, Nora did not think the green mass to be icky. Instead, she showed me how to glide my hand lightly over the floating carpet for a nice tickling sensation.

One challenge to our small creek explorations is making sure we have room to turn around – otherwise, it might be a long backward paddle to get back out. This is where a smaller boat comes in handy. I find a 12-footer a nice compromise between easy turning and paddling speed. The length and beam (width) of the boat you choose will depend on your weight and paddling style. I’ve used a 12’ and 14’ Hornbeck canoes – their 10.5-foot boats might be better yet for smaller people. My current boat, a 15’ RapidFire from Placid Boatworks, requires a bit more care to turn in small creeks, but I am enjoying its solid feel and nice speed over open water.

The biggest challenge to paddling small creeks are the “strainers.” You frequently encounter a tree that’s fallen across the stream, but not all the way into the water. A strainer can pose a seemingly impenetrable barrier. But if you are up to the challenge, you can often find a safe way through. To be sure, I am talking about trees fallen across slow, gentle creeks, not the fast-flowing waters where such strainers can be a life-threatening hazard. 

Two key elements help me get through a fallen tree: the ability to maneuver the boat, and the flexibility to duck under a low trunk or limb. If you are ready to work on your boat maneuvering skills, check YouTube for instruction on sweep strokes and draw strokes. These allow you to turn the boat and to pull it sideways, important skills for getting through tight places in a creek. One more key move to remember – turn your paddle so one blade is pointing at the bow of the boat, and one at the stern as you go through a gap in the branches! 

Ducking under a limb is another thing. Body flexibility is needed, whether you bend forward or lean back. Keep up the yoga exercises! I should mention the “chin-up hazard.” As you bend back to go under a limb, you can hold onto the limb to push yourself under. But don’t do a chin-up with the limb – that is, lifting some of your weight off the canoe. In that case, the boat tends to skid sideways and you will no longer be balanced as you lower your weight back into the seat. Lifting your weight off of the boat that way is a good prescription for an unexpected swim.

As a kayaker changing to small canoe paddling, here are some differences I’ve found:

• Loading the boat on and off the car is so much easier – The solo canoes I’ve been using range from 18-27 pounds in weight. Loading one on the roof racks sure beats doing it with a kayak, even my old Kevlar Meridian that is lightweight at 40 pounds.

• Getting in and out of the boat is easy, if you know how – Entering a small canoe is easy, if you don’t mind stepping into the water. Standing in 8-10” of water with your back to the canoe, press the gunnel against the back of your knees, and you can just sit down in the seat. Then shift your feet into the boat one at a time. Check YouTube for “Hornbeck Boats How to get into a canoe version 2.” The late, great, Peter Hornbeck will show you how.

• Loading gear into a canoe is super easy – Compared to loading the hatches of a kayak, especially if the hatch openings are small.

• You have increased exposure to the sun – As an old guy trying to limit my sun exposure, I find my legs and feet no longer covered inside the kayak. Sunscreen, light nylon pants and some socks inside my water shoes do the trick for me.

• Carrying the boat is easier – Moving, storing, and of course, portaging a lightweight canoe is a joy.

• Drips – With no deck to catch the paddle drips, canoeing can be a wetter affair. To help with that, small canoe paddlers generally use longer paddles with drip rings. It also helps if you paddle with a low angle short stroke. That is a less efficient style of forward stroke, though, so I just put up with some drips and use a higher angle stroke. A sponge is kept close at hand to mop out some water occasionally.

If you decide to shop for a solo canoe, you will find that they are in high demand. They seldom come up on the used market, and often sell within minutes. One that I recently sold took exactly eight minutes. An email went out to the Adirondack Mountain Club paddle group saying that I had a used 14’ canoe for sale – I had a buyer eight minutes later!

A number of makers are producing wonderful solo canoes these days. I already mentioned Placid Boatworks and Hornbeck Boats. In the Northeast, we also have Adirondack Canoe Company, Slipstream Watercraft, Swift Canoe & Kayak and others. Check with businesses advertising in this publication – they can often set you up with a test paddle. These include: Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company in Saratoga Springs and Old Forge; Placid Boatworks in Lake Placid; Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters in Saranac Lake; St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake; Black Dog Outdoor Sports in Glenville; and High Peaks Cyclery in Lake Placid.

Find a boat that fits your size, your tastes and paddling style – the right fit will be a joy for a lifetime!

Alan Mapes (alanmapes@gmail.com) is a kayak instructor and guide, certified by the American Canoe Association. He lives near Saratoga Springs and offers kayak instruction through Capital District Kayakers Meetup.