hot news... canoe school opening on the buffalo river in arkansas..the ink is still wet on our permit!!! 

Well it's been awhile but now that hockey season is over it's time to start focusing on jstroke.com again!

One of the primary reasons I built the website is to give our community members a great place to invite other paddling fellows out to their favorite watering holes (and I don't mean ye local pub). I am hoping that as membership on the site grows, members will take a minute to create Waterway (or River) pages that allow other members to see where we are all having fun and where the river or lake is that you're paddling.

Some quick directions:

If anyone has any river, lake, or waterway conservation efforts that you're planning or that you know of for next year get them posted on Jstroke. This site is free and seems to have some good traffic so we might as well use it to spread the word. Either create a blog entry or call it a float. Hell, post it as a comment under this article but let's get the word out for any clean-up efforts.

Well, the northeast and much of the Atlantic coast is getting battered by a snow storm right now. Sitting here and wathching the weather channel led me to wonder what everyone who lives in cold weather states does when Mother Nature starts showing how she would feel if her husband came home with glitter in his hair and smelling like strange perfume? Do you guys attempt to stay in paddling shape or do you, like me just do the usual 12 oz. Coors curls?

 "What's the best place you have paddled"
 

One of the things that I've always loved doing has been to day trip on the rivers and sections of rivers that get recommended to me. I ask everyone I encounter... I don't know It's just me I guess. I'll be floating down a river and cross paths with some intrepid paddlers and get the urge to ask the question.The funny part is they always answer. Not only do they answer but they give me tons of details.

One of my goals with Jstroke is to have a great catalog of products that visitors can peruse and purchase. I do not foresee the site as a place to purchase our watercraft (well, maybe tubes but definitely not kayaks or canoes) but I would love to showcase products such as dry bags, key floats, straps, pads, etc.

One of my favorite additions to Jstroke has been the ability to tell each other about the rivers, lakes, and waterways we frequent. By adding that important piece of information to pictures, blog posts,outfitter descriptions, etc. you really give the community and prospective clients (if you're in the outfitter or livery business) a great way to learn about the location and to get a feel for what it is about the waterway that makes it special.

Wow!

I'm so excited to say that Jstroke is starting to gain some traction in the community and that new members have been signing up at a record pace (only a little tongue in check). But what I'm really getting at is that I think we are all going to start gaining a ton of information, new ideas, great trips, and most importantly (in my mind at least), a number of new friends.

If you need a little guidance for creating a new outfitter on http://www.jstroke.com then please follow the four steps below.

1. Navigate to http://www.jstroke.com/node/add/outfitter. Enter in a Title and Description in the two fields in the picture below.

Forget buying your own watercraft. For most people it's expensive, impossible to store, and inconvenient to purchase a personal watercraft. Instead, check out the list of liveries on Jstroke.com. Find one near you or where you will be vacationing and rent a couple canoes for two hours.

It'll cost no more than $50 per boat and you'll remember it forever.