Canoe stabilizing and guide mechanism

A canoe stabilizing and guiding mechanism comprising:

• bracket means for mounting a depending generally planar elongate stabilizer and guide, said bracket means including means for releasably holding said depending generally planar elongate stabilizer and guide, said holding means of said bracket means including at least one yoke pivotally mounted at one end of said bracket means and releasably engagable at the other end thereof with a releasable fastener to releasably hold the handle portion of a canoe paddle with the blade thereof depending downwardly from said bracket means;
• canoe attachment means connected to said bracket means to mount said bracket means outboard of a canoe, said canoe attachment means including opposing adjustable clamps for engaging opposed surfaces of a section of at least one gunwale of a canoe;
• and,
• means for pivoting said bracket means about a substantially horizontal axis, said pivot means including a rotatable elongate member fixed to said bracket means and mounted for rotation with respect to said canoe, said rotatable elongate member extending along said substantially horizontal axis from said bracket means outboard said canoe to a location between the gunwales of said canoe, said means for pivoting said bracket means about a horizontal axis further including tensioning means for resisting pivoting of said bracket means until a pre-selected force is exceeded, said rotatable elongate member being mounted for rotation in spaced adjustable clamps and having said bracket means fixed to said rotatable elongate member at one end thereof, and said tensioning means forming a part of one of said adjustable clamps.

A canoe stabilizing and guiding mechanism comprising:

• bracket means for mounting a substantially vertically depending canoe paddle in a blade down position;
• bracket mounting means attached to said bracket means and extending laterally therefrom and at substantially right angles to the intended plane of a canoe paddle mounted to said bracket means, said bracket mounting means including attachment means for fixedly engaging the gunwales of a canoe and a rotatable elongate member fixed to said bracket means, said rotatable elongate member extending from one gunwale to the opposing gunwale and being rotatably movable relative to said attachment means, at least one end of said rotatable elongate member extending exteriorly of said one gunwale and being attached to said bracket means exteriorly of said one gunwale, said attachment means including opposing adjustable clamps for engaging opposed surfaces of a section of at least one gunwale of a canoe, said rotatable elongate member being mounted for rotation in said opposing adjustable clamps;
• adjustable tension means forming a part of one of said adjustable clamps for selectively restricting said rotational movement of said rotatable elongate member, said adjustable tension means resisting pivoting of said rotatable elongate member until a pre-selected force is exceeded;
• and,
• releasable clamping means forming a part of said bracket means to clamp a canoe paddle in variable predetermined vertical and rotational positions relative to the canoe, said releasable clamping means for said bracket means including at least one yoke pivotally mounted at one end of said bracket means and releasably engagable at the other end thereof with a releasable fastener to releasably hold the handle portion of a canoe paddle with the blade thereof depending downwardly from said bracket means.