He sure was a big influence on me back in the day, when he and Steve
Landick were doing their "Ultimate Canoe Challenge" on all the major
waterways.

I was really impressed by (and somewhat baffled by) his upstream
preference. Their record of 1000 miles in 10 days on the first part of
that Big Paddle also was simply astonishing (made upstream, I
believe).

I liked his 'make it happen' and 'follow your dream' approaches.

He sure did design a nice versatile boat, too, in the Loon.

His steady promotion of regional waterways was inspiring.

I didn't slavishly follow his ideas, but he gave me an important push
when I needed it. I hung around him some and he displayed a generous
and flexible way of living.

His ideas must've percolated in me because recently I was thinking
about what might be the ideal boat for me, because I like big water
paddling and poling and I came up with an idea a lot like his Loon:
good for both canoeing and kayaking; you can raise and lower the seat;
add a skirt if need be; remove seat and stand for poling or stand-up
paddling; add rudder and/or sail as you like; low decks for low
windage---and last but not least: when made in kevlar possible to
strap wheels onto and use as trailer to pull behind bike (light with
low windage).

I've been paddling some wild Michigan rivers more lately than usual
and the other day it occured to me that a better view of a river might
possibly be had when paddling/poling upstream. Oh no! : )

Another angle on the upstream preference might be that I prefer
uphills when biking or skiing. Good technique stands out much more
then with all 3 sports. I just paddled my first time in a carbon pro
boat and it's truly very interesting when you suddenly find yourself
moving right along upstream in a boat. My partner and I weren't always
going fast upstream but a couple times we did and it seemed very nice.
When we turned around and went back down it kinda seemed like a boring
freightliner.

Anyway, it looks like Verlen and his ideas are part of my world for
keeps.

--JP
outyourbackdoor.com