Webmaster making slow headway against the current on Little River, NC, below Morrison Bridge.
Introduction:
I am on the verge of getting into paddleboating. At this time, I don't know if it will be a kayak, canoe, jonboat, or vee-hull runabout. Was considering an inexpensive Sea Eagle inflatable canoe just to start getting the feel of visiting the local waterways. This would have been a good opportunity to work off some of my waistline as well. So I went to nearby Lake Gladewater so evaluate the facility from a paddling viewpoint. I was rather shocked to find out that it would cost me just as much to paddle a high-tech air mattress with the sides folded up to resemble a canoe as it would cost to run a $30,000 200 hp ski boat. $7.50 for a one-day permit or $50 for an annual permit is too much, in my opinion, to paddle around their smallish lake in a 26 pound rubber boat. I may eventually pay their fee but it won't be for an inflatable craft.

Another problem is a wife who strongly dislikes the water, boats, and anything reptilian. I can just imagine easing silently through Caddo Lake and the only sound that can be heard is my wife freaking out as I try to ease up to get a photo of an alligator or a fine snake specimen. Now just for the record, there ARE things I will steer clear of - elephants, hippos and crocodiles, all of which are extremely rare in East Texas waters.

The Web Site
This site is maintained at my own expense through Blue Host Web Hosting. I gave up on free web sites long ago. You may visit any page on my radiojerry.com, n4ki.us, oldcoasty.info, or railtex.us domains and know that you will not be assaulted with cookies or popups or any kind of advertising. However, I can not speak for sites I may link to. I will not knowingly link to a site that buries the viewer in popups or will not let the viewer easily exit the site. Also, e-mail addresses that may appear are done in gif images so spambots can not harvest the information. I hate spam more than I hate avalanches of advertising from a web site.

The links will include categories such as manufacturers and distributors of human-powered watercraft, places to take your craft, river stage information, weather information, and trip reports and photo sections from my own outings as well as those of folks I become acquainted with during this new adventure. Links to paddling publications and magazines will be included as I run across them.

I am really looking forward to getting into this sport and meeting people with similar interests.

Jerry Lentz, LT, U S Coast Guard (Retired)

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The Links

Organizations and Information
American Whitewater
American Canoe Association
NC Waterways - North Carolina Boating Resource

Manufacturers/Major Distributors

Gravitydex - List of Manufacturers

Ace Kayak
Advanced Elements - Inflatable kayaks
Aire Inflatables - includes Tributary Inflatables
Airis Inflatable Kayaks - by Walker Bay
Alaska Series - rafts
Ally Folding Canoes
American Daysailers
American Traders Wooden Canoes
Aquafusion Kayaks
BIC Sport Kayaks
Blue Water Canoes
Boreal Design - Quebec
Buffalo Canoes
CastleCraft - any kind of small craft imaginable
Catayak - catamaran style kayaks
Clearwater Canoes and Kayaks
Clipper Canoes
Cobra Kayaks
Current Designs
Dagger
Delta Kayaks
Diablo Paddle Sports
Easy Rider
Eddyline Kayaks and Equipment
Elie Kayaks - Quebec
Elite Series Kayaks
Emotion Kayaks
Epic Kayaks
Epsilon Kayaks
Esquif
Fatty Knees
Feathercraft - Canada
Feel Free Kayaks - Moken, Nomad, Gemini, Tri-yak and others
Fluid Kayaks
Flying Scot
Folbot
Freedom Hawk Kayaks
Great Canadian Canoe and Kayak
Hobie Kayaks
Hornbeck Boats
Hurricane Kayaks
Hyside Inflatables
Impex Kayak
Innova Kayak - inflatables
Jackson Kayak
Jammer Canoe and Kayak
Kayak Pro
Klepper America - kayaks and sail kits
Lakeshore Paddleboard Company
Langford Canoe - Canada's oldest canoe company
Liquid Logic Kayaks
Little River Marine - rowing craft
Long Haul Folding Kayaks
Mad River Canoe
Marathon Boat Group - Grumman canoes and DuraNautic boats
Massive Kayaks - freestyle kayaks
Meyers Boats - includes Michicraft & Sportspal Canoes & Walden Kayaks & SeaCycle Waterbikes
Mohawk Canoes
Native Watercraft
Necky Kayaks
North Shore Sea Kayaks
North Woods Canoe LTD - canoes up to 38'
Nova Craft Canoe
NRS inflatables
NuCanoe
Ocean Kayak
Old Town Canoes and Kayaks
Osagian Canoes and accessories
P&H Sea Kayaks - from Britain
Pakboats
Pau Hana Surf Supply - SUP boards
Perception Kayaks
Placid Boatworks - composite canoes
Point 65 Kayaks - Sweden - Tequila break-apart kayaks
Perception Kayaks
Prijon Kayaks
Pyranha
Rawson Boat
Riot Kayaks
RTM Kayaks
Scott Canoe
Sea Bird Designs - Kayaks of Norway
Sea Eagle - inflatable boats/kayaks/canoes
Seaward Kayaks
Seda Kayaks - Ikkuma kayaks
Sevylor Canoes and Kayaks
Soar Inflatables
Sotar Custom Inflatables
Sound Kayaks - distributors of Point 65n Kayaks
Souris River Canoes - (double click back button to exit)
Star Inflatables
Stellar Kayaks and Surf Skis
SUP Atx - Stand Up Paddle Boards
Surf Tech Paddlesports
Swift Canoe
Tangent Kayaks - by Rawson Boats
Tahe Kayaks
Tahoe Stand Up Paddleboards
Think Kayaks
Tide Race Sea Kayaks - United Kingdom
Torqeedo Fishing Kayak
Trak Kayaks
Valley Sea Kayaks - The original British sea kayak
Vanguard (Sunfish and other daysailers)
Venture Kayaks
Volt Boats
Walker Bay - rowing and sailing dinghies
Warren Light Craft - kayaks
Wave Sport
Wenonah Canoes
West Side Boat Shop - custom built kayaks - Lockport, NY
Whitehall Rowing and Sail
Wilderness Systems
Zegul Kayaks

Canoe and Kayak kits
Chesapeake Light Craft
Laughing Loon - Greenfield, MA
The Newfound Woodworks, Inc. - Bristol, NH
Pygmy Boats
Stillwater Boats - boat kits and plans
Waters Dancing Boat Kit Co. - Canada

Instructional and Safety Sites
ACA's Getting Started
Basic Boating Safety Courses
DeReimer Adventure Kayaking
Kayak and Canoe Instruction - from Zoar Outdoor

Places to Go (rivers, lakes, parks, events)
Chesapeake Bay
Coastal Communities, North and South Carolina
Southport, Oak Island and Bald Head Island, NC
NC Southern Coast - Lower Cape Fear and Wilmington
Florida's Lower Keys
Upper James River Water Trail
Visit Maine
Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival - SW Florida
Northern Forest Canoe Trail - Vermont
San Marcos, Texas
Louisiana Coast
Floatzilla - Mississippi River
Mothership Adventures - British Columbia
Charles City Whitewater - Iowa
Small World Adventures - Kayak Ecuador

Launch Sites/Marinas/Campgrounds (Commercial)

The Arcadian Outdoor Guide to Canoeing, Kayaking and Rafting Outfitters

Boat rentals at Texas State Parks
Adirondack Outfitters - Saranac Lake, NY
Arrowhead Resort - Tahlequah, OK
Black Creek Cabin - Hattiesburg, MS
Caddo Lake Canoeing - Texas
Caddo River Camping & Canoe Rental - Arkansas
Chesapeake Bay Marinas - Online Guide
Headwaters Outfitters - French Broad River, NC
Kings River Canoes and Kayaks - Eureka Springs, AR
Lake George Kayak Co. - Green Island, Bolton Landing, NY
Madawaska Kanu Centre - Algonquin Park, Ontario
Many Islands Camp and Canoe Rental - Mammoth Springs, AR
Marina Finder - Online search tool
Marine Quest - Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex marinas
Nantahala Outdoor Center - Bryson City, NC
Paddle Alberta RiverView Resort - Eureka Springs, AR
Salt Marsh Kayak Company - Wrightsville Beach, NC
Snake River Kayak and Canoe - Jackson Hole, WY
Soggy Bottom Canoe and Kayak Rental - Janice, MS
Temagami Outfitting - Ontario, Canada
White Oak River Campground - Maysville, NC

Trip Reports/Photo Galleries

The Paddler Within - by Nova Craft

Magazines
Wave Length Magazine
Paddler Magazine
Kayak Magazine
Canoe & Kayak Magazine
Sea Kayaker Magazine
Stand Up Paddle Surfing Magazine
SUP Magazine

Weather
East Texas Skywarn - personal weather page
National Weather Service - main site

Tides
Tidal Predictions - NOAA
Tides Currents and Water Levels- Canada
Tides Currents and Water Levels - from Fisheries and Oceans Canada

River Stages/Lake Levels
Surface Water Data for the Nation - USGS Site
Texas Sites

Dealers/Boating Malls
Appomattox River Company - Farmville, Richmond and Kiln Creek, VA
Austin Canoe and Kayak
Boater's World Marine Centers - Austin, Webster, Dallas, Galveston
Boats Etc. Marine Centers - Laporte and Seabrook, Texas
Campmor Outdoor Adventure Gear
Cascade Creek Company - Clavey River Equipment - Petaluma, CA
Four Corners River Sports - Durango, CO
Gander Mountain - outdoor gear
Get Outdoors - Greensboro, NC
Hudson Valley Pack and Paddle Inc. - Hopewell Junction, NY
Kokatat Accessories
L. L. Bean - Outdoor Gear and Clothing
Lake George Kayak Co - Green Island, Bolton Landing, NY
The Jersey Paddler - Brick, NJ
Mountain Man Outdoor Supply Company - Inlet, NY
North Cove Outfitters - Old Saybrook, CT
NRS
Oak Orchard Canoe Kayak Experts - Rochester and Waterport, NY
Overton's Boating and Watersports Center - Greenville, NC
Pelican Sport
Placid Boatworks - Lake Placid, NY
REI - located in Dallas and Houston. Sells Mad River and Old Town canoes and several brands of kayaks. Also provides most gear needed for a variety of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, boating, etc.
Rutabaga - Monona, WI
Scotty Paddle Sports
Sea to Summit USA
Seattle Sports
Ships Store - Lake Champlain, NY
Sound Kayaks - Langley, WA - distributors of Point 65 break-apart kayak
SouthWest Paddle Sports - Houston area
Travis Boating Centers - Austin, Abilene, Lewisville, Midland (Texas)
Waterski America - boating center, Dallas, TX

Canoe and Kayak Accessories
Accent Paddles
Alden Rowing - drop-in rowing rigs
Aqua-Bound Paddles
AT Paddles
Bending Branches Paddles
Cannon Paddles
Carlisle Paddles
Core Paddles
Danuu Kayak & Canoe covers
Duralift Trailers
GoPro - wearable waterproof HD cameras
H2O Performance Paddles
Kayalu - LED boat & Nav lights
Kokatat - Water sports wear
Level Six - gear, accessories, apparel
Magneta Canoe & Kayak trailers
Malone Auto Racks - Canoe & Kayak trailers
Mitchell Paddles
Northwest River Supplies - (must accept cookies to see catalog)
Portage Pal - Canoe & Kayak Trailers
RackHaus - car racks and accessories
Rack Wareshouse - kayak & canoe racks
Rollerloader - from Amagansett Beach & Bicycle Co.
Salamander Paddle Gear
Seairsports Adventure Gear - Kayak seats
Seal Line Gear
Snap Dragon Design
Spare Hand Systems - Racks - wallmount & freestanding
SportsRig.com - Microtrailers for kayaks
Sports Trailers - roof rack on wheels
Spring Creek - Mt Iron, MN
Suspenz - Kayak-Canoe Storage Racks
Swift Paddles
Trailex Trailers
Werner Paddles
Wheeleez - beach carts and beach wheels
Whiskeyjack Paddles
Wind Paddle - hand held sail
Yakima Kayak Carriers and Racks
Yakpads - Gel-filled kayak and canoe seats

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Creation date: March 20, 2003


This page was last updated on:
February 03, 2012

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