I'll never forget my first real paddle stroke on Lake Austin three summers ago. My arms were shaking, my core was screaming, and I couldn't paddle straight to save my life. Fast forward to today, and I'm out on the water 3-4 times a week, feeling stronger and happier than I have in years. That […]

Last spring, I stared at my sun-faded Old Town Vapor 10, its once-vibrant red now looking like a washed-out salmon. That's when I decided to tackle painting my own kayak – and let me tell you, I learned more in those three days than any YouTube video could teach me. After transforming five kayaks since […]

Last weekend at Lake Travis, I watched a guy struggle to scrub algae off his neglected kayak hull for over an hour. His $2,000 composite kayak looked like it had aged 10 years in just one season. That's when another paddler rolled up with a gleaming boat that looked fresh off the showroom floor – […]

Last summer on Lake Powell, I watched a family of five try to squeeze into a standard tandem canoe. The dad insisted "it'll be fine" right up until they capsized 20 feet from the dock. That soggy disaster taught everyone watching an important lesson about canoe capacity - one I'm about to share with you. […]

Last summer on Lake Buchanan, I watched a guy's aluminium canoe bounce off three different rocks like a pinball machine. The thing took a beating that would've sent my old fiberglass Wenonah to the repair shop - or worse. But here's the kicker: that same aluminium beast was so hot from the Texas sun, his […]

Last weekend at Lake Travis, I watched a guy try to load a 20-foot canoe onto his Honda Civic. After 10 minutes of creative rope work and some colorful language, he gave up and called his buddy with a truck. That's when it hit me - most people have no idea how long canoes actually […]

Last summer on Lake Travis, I watched a family's canoe slowly sink lower and lower at the launch ramp until water started pouring over the gunwales. They'd loaded it with two adults, three kids, a massive cooler, camping gear, and what looked like half their garage. The dad kept insisting "the guy at the store […]

Last weekend on Lake Travis, I watched a game warden write three tickets in the span of an hour. The violations? Missing whistles, expired registration stickers, and one paddler who thought his swim trunks counted as a PFD. That's $600 in fines that could've bought a really nice paddle. After 15 years of paddling everywhere […]

I'll never forget the day my buddy Mike went missing on Lake Travis. He'd headed out for a "quick paddle" on a Tuesday afternoon, told his wife he'd be back by dinner. When 9 PM rolled around with no word, panic set in. The problem? Nobody knew exactly where he'd launched from, which direction he'd […]

Last Saturday morning on Lake Travis, I watched a couple struggle with their brand-new tandem kayak for 20 minutes. They were spinning in circles, splashing water everywhere, and getting more frustrated by the second. Their problem? Nobody had taught them the basic kayak paddle strokes. After showing them a few simple techniques, they were gliding […]