Push pole question

I use an ash pole with an iron shoe that covers that one end. It's ideal for poling a canoe; it would be better if it was fitted with some kind of foot for working with my boats in mud. Some photos here: http://tomahawksadventuretravel.blogspot.com/2010/09/canoe-setting-poles.html

Traditional woods for canoe poles up here are spruce or ash. Ash is stronger; spruce is lighter and springier. Traditional length is around 12 feet. Longer would be better for poling my duck boats.

Here's one source for spruce poles, but they are pricy and shipping will add a lot. Lord knows what it costs to ship a 12 foot long pole: http://www.shawandtenney.com/catalog/detail.php?ID=6615&Category=Canoe_Parts_and_Accessories&pageNum_cart=/catalog/index.php

Here's another source that I've been told sells both ash and spruce poles. Poles are listed on the website, but I couldn't find any other information on specs or pricing.
http://poleandpaddle.com/ordering

Most of us up here used to get our poles from Peavey Manufacturing, who mostly made long handled tools for the lumber and paper mill industry. The canoe poles were a side market for them, and if I remember right I got my current one for something like $40 or $50. I'm told they are out of business now.

To be honest, those poles aren't ideal for the duck boats--too short and no foot. I use it because I already have it. Judging from the posts above, a cheaper and more local alternative is a piece of curtain rod with some kind of marsh foot. I'm surprised, as I wouldn't think curtain rod would have sufficient strength, but you can't argue with experience. I suppose poling a duck boat in the marsh may put less stress on the pole than poling a loaded canoe up a rocky river.
 
One thing I left out-I am poling through classic Delaware Bay marsh mud, often a foot or more deep, and that necessitates something that spreads out on the bottom. If you are using it on a sandy or hard bottom, you would not need anything more than one of the flared pieces on the bottom like others have shown.
 
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inch and nine sixt. full round with mahogony feet . Epoxied screwed and pluged. Anthony knows a good pole when he sees one ! lol Make sure you flatten a good landing for the feet . tricky getting them even all around but that makes it fun. Dont let the price of materials scare you into buying one that woulnt hold up . Ive built alot of them for guys in this area and they work .
 
I've made 10' 1" PVC poles to shove the Killy boat, it works ok but does bend quite a bit, but you can use that bend to help power you as the bend stores a lot of energy. I think the standard wood pole used in the olden days was a shaved down White Cedar pole, a lot cheaper then a bought closet pole.

In any event, if you need a mud foot, get a 1 1/2" PVC tee,
cut the horizontal run in half, and shave your pole to fit the tee, or glue in a pvc reducer that fits your pole, or shave the pole to fit.
may not be "traditional" but will work on all but the softest silt.
 
Give the Track Coach at your local college or high school a call and see if they have any old or broken pole vault poles you can have - fibreglass = great strength, and quite lightweight too. Fit a duckfoot into the end and off you go!
 
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I picked up one of these cypress Push poles for $40.00. Sign off Hwy 1 in Cut Off LA. Older lady answered the door and says her son makes them. Pretty nice PP for the price. He has bolted and glued the two feet to the flat cut dowel. He also flares the other end into a wider knob.
 
Have you tried going to a scrap yard and finding a piece of schedule 40 or thicker aluminum pipe 1 to 1 1/4 diameter at whatever length suits you and buying a store bought duck foot. Connect them together. I did that this year and the pole cost me $7 and I had the foot from an old pole but I think they are about 12 dollars.
 
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