The upper Arun from the river

[Olly]

That is was Kev - CEMEX - Cement Mexico. Don't know what happened when CEMEX Angling was disbanded and many of the angling assets were sold.

[StalkingLuke]

Nice pictures, we regularly canoe up there and upto Hardham weir on the Rother and even saw a seal once!

[Moley]

The tidal section of the Arun used to have some exceptional roach......in the three pound bracket.

And yes Fat Bloke did spend time after them along with a very well-known ex carper with whom we had a nodding relationship from the Wraysbury years.

Whilst knee deep in the 'mud' on the often steep banks whimsical thoughts of fishing from some form of water craft did enter the tiny mind of the Fat Bloke.....but never acted upon further.

Funny how the mind works in extremis.

Well done Kev D for actioning a remarkable plan to hopefully pay dividends. Take care though as the winter Arun can be totally the opposite to the benign summer river. But you know this already.

Life jackets all round.....dogs, women and children first!!!!


As ever,.....

Moley

[Coral Maestro]

That's a great looking canoe, must have taken ages to build. How resistant is the canvas to puncturing?
I'd be worried about putting it on my local Vezere or Dordogne rivers during the summer as my canoe scrapes the bottom on some of the rapids. It already has a goodly collection of war wounds from trips on those rivers!
This is a deeper section of the Dordogne near Pinsac:

[Kev D]

That's a great looking canoe, must have taken ages to build. How resistant is the canvas to puncturing?
I'd be worried about putting it on my local Vezere or Dordogne rivers during the summer as my canoe scrapes the bottom on some of the rapids. It already has a goodly collection of war wounds from trips on those rivers!
This is a deeper section of the Dordogne near Pinsac:

I do try to avoid running aground! I also glued an extra strip of canvas along the keel to make it double thickness where it is most vulnerable.
I did have a hairy moment in my original canvas canoe though. I was going upstream with the rising tide on the Arun and made a mental note to avoid a submerged branch with a sharp end on the return trip.
You guessed it ; coming back on a fast falling tide in the dark l feld an ominous thump and found myself hung up on the very same snag. With the tide falling l was getting more hung up by the second. Did l feel stupid? Yes. I was also convinced that the impact and subsequent dangling on a spike had surely holed the fabric and l was due for a swim.
However l set myself right at the stern of the canoe and piled my gear and the dog on my lap so the bow lifted right out of the water and l came free.
Still convinced l had holed the canoe paddled the last couple of miles with the front end sticking out of the water like a half cocked float.
On later examination ,the paint wasn't even scratched!
After that l took to carrying a bit canvas and tube of Evo stick just in case though

[Coral Maestro]

That was some quick thinking in a potentially "hairy" situation! It sounds like the canvas is surprisingly puncture resistant and I guess if you treat it regularly with a flexible waterproof compound it would stay that way.
My canoe is made of a material that the manufacturer calls "tuff stuff" but it scratches and gouges easily in shallow rapids. What often looks like a decent depth of water when viewed from upstream on the Vezere and Dordogne can have boulders sticking up from the bottom ready to trap the unwary. They are sometimes festooned with streamer weed so last minute manoeuvres are required to avoid them. I rely on the crew at the front of the boat to give me some warning as I'm usually at the back steering. All in all it's great fun!