Suggestion on marking gear

[Eric Esche]

Our group on the Buffalo this weekend spent about an hour each day brousing the yards sales, and helping folks unpin the canoes they had rented or owned. We returned all the gear we found to their owners, but in no case was anything marked except the canoes from the liveries. Never did see one lawn chair, but it's owner wasn't willing to dive for it, and neither was I

Just an idea, but if everyone marked their gear (particularly before canoe school) you might get it back faster. If you didn't want to put down an address or phone number for some reason, you could add "Arkansas Canoe Club member" with your name and the finder might contact us and you could then contact them. Just an idea.

if you have black gear you want marked, a silver marker works fairly well, but doesn't last quite as long as a black on any other color. I find I have to redo my markings yearly with the silver on all my black paddles. I saw someone who used a pliable white paint marker on their neoprene booties once over in Georgia. He said he had to touch it up yearly, but he also added that the marking had gotten his gear returned to him 6 times, after being left behind at a take out or tossed in with someone elses gear and being road tripped to another state. He said he first did it jokingly so they could identify the body, but he is a firm believer in marking gear now.

Another crasy Idea - Just about every instructor has or has access to a permanent marker. Maybe all instructors could suggest or have their students mark their gear sometime during the schools, both the whitewater and the rec school. OF course this would mean the instructors would probably have to set an example by having their name on all their gear first. Just thinking...... Don't have my name on the Mongoose yet as I knew it was probably just passing through.

Have also seen some very artistic folks with a lot of time or money woodburn their contact info into the wooden gunnels of their wooden gunneled canoes. Script Lettering looked neat and had been done before the gunnels were oiled. My handwriting would never approach that class. They had also lightly wood burned the same info onto the bottom edge of the gunnels in case they were stolen (in a deeper and plainer script), and someone tried to sand off the top edge. You did not see the bottom lettering unless it was upside down and you were at the middle of the boat. The idea was that it wasn't where someone picking up the boat would see it.

[TBC]

I have found that fingernail polish works well. I put a purple dot on all of my paddles. It has worked very well without fading.
-Louis

[OldBlueHoleDude]

Finger Nail Polish Rules!

Been using it on my gear since the 70's and have had many items come back to me by the paddling community who are good at heart. My good woman recommended that I get in touch with my feminine side with the red fingernail polish on my paddles, booties, etc. Put my phone number on them and here they come back to me after I have crashed and burned. Old river woman spoke wisdom and saved me many $$$$.

Get in touch with wisdom from your river partner and mark your gear with the most endurable stuff on the planet----fingernail polish!

Paint rubs off------not fingernail polish!

May you live long and prosper.