What's a good solo canoe?
Richard Estock
I'm interested in getting recommendations from all you good folks on
a good solo canoe, suitable for river running (WW up to Class III)
and tripping. I already have an Old Town Tripper (nearly one of the
originals), but living in NJ, I find it difficult to get a partner
for my jaunts to the Adirondacks and New England.
A kayak just doesn't fit my style -- too confining, not enough cargo
space, and what cargo space there is is too inaccessible. Large
cockpits exist, I know, but then one might as well have a canoe!
Given my good experiences with the Tripper (except for its weight),
I don't want a keel. What length, beam width and brands/models are
recommended? What are their respective weights?
The Old Town Tripper's Oltonar/Royalex/ABS material, while impact
resistant in warm temperatures, is far too brittle in water below 50
degrees F. It also weighs a ton -- and more -- when portaging on my
shoulders. How does Kevlar and other lighter materials hold up to
rocks at warm and cold temperatures?
Richard Estock (est...@rci.rutgers.edu)
--
Richard Estock (est...@gandalf.rutgers.edu)
Valoc1
Richard-
First boat that comes to mind is the Mad River Courier. Most are Royalex.
Your remark about cold water puzzles me, though. I have run Class III
rivers in the dead of winter, ocaasionally portaging or busting through
ice. Can't tell that the temp makes that much difference. I've paddled
in cold conditions with several different royalex boats. No bad results
(unless I swim!). Could be age is a factor with your OT in cold water.
As to weight, yes a portage with a heavy boat sucks. You would be looking
at 45 to 55 I guess, for a boat like a Courier in Royalex. Kevlar holds
up pretty well, but it will never take the big hits like Royalex, although
it is easy to fix. You might see what boats are available in R-lite, a
lighter kind of Royalex. Also, wood gunwales save you a few pounds. They
are pretty, too. Personally, I would stick with Royalex, rather than
spend all my time on the river worrying about running a rapids just-so
perfect, so I didn't bust up my boat.
Other boats to think of: Dagger Impulse, OT H2O Pro, MR Fantasy, Mohawk
XL13. Those all are geared to river running. Don't know what I'd suggest
for tripping in moving water, while still keeping Class III capabilities.
Are 2 boats a possiblity? I have 4, and could easily find room for more.
How many clubs does a golfer have?
Hey, Wenonah has a boat, the Rendezvous, OK ww performance, OK on lakes.
Fiberglass or Kevlar. Wenonah makes a tough, light boat.
Good luck!
Dan Valleskey
d...@deltafaucet.com
Life's short, paddle hard!
kurt navratil
Rich, you might want to try the Mohawk Challenger. It has become my boat
of choice. I bought mine from Mohawk direct, ($565.00 plus 50 fright) it
was a second. Not sure why it was a second, it looked perfect to me.
Shipping cost should have been more about 75.00 The trucking co. gave me a
break because I picked the boat up in Pa. The whole process from ordering
the boat till I had it home took eight days. NOT BAD.
The challenger is rated to class three. I'm not sure If I would go in that
kind of water with it. Most of my paddleing is the upper Delaware River,
and the pine barrens. Works great in those areas.
I live in north Jersey ( Morris County) if you need more info let me know.
Kurt
72345...@compuserve.com
There are many boats that will do the job for you WRT tripping
in whitewater. The Tripper itself is a popular boat if you're not
going into sustained whitewater. Much of the answer would depend on
how long you'll be out (i.e. how much gear do you need to carry...), and
what kinds of rivers are you most likely to run? It's a mixed bag; a
canoe that will maneuver well in whitewater situations can be a bear to
keep straight in flatwater, and vice versa.
People I know who do such wilderness tripping are fairly happy with
Tripper styles. Kevlar boats are often recommended because they are much
lighter; not only for portages, but less weight that you need to propel
through the water all day as well. I have, however, seen both FG and
Kevlar boats cracked badly on WW rivers.
I'm a little puzzled about the comment regarding brittleness of
ABS canoes in cold weather. Here in NJ we routinely paddle all year long,
and I've done so thru frozen lakes, etc. I've never experienced this
kind of a problem, nor am I aware of anyone else having this happen.
--Joe P.
Gordon Forrest
I own a Wenonah Rendezvous in Tufweave (Wenonah's fiberglass hybrid
layup), about 55 lbs., and it has been an admirable performer in Class
2+ - low 3 water. I have it outfitted with large Voyageur flotation
bags. I currently have a crack in the gelcoat, however, from thumping
a rock but good (I must have landed on it!) on the White River in
Vermont, I haven't fixed it yet. The Rendezvous gives adequate quick
water/flat water performance due to its length, at 15'8" it is pretty
long for a solo boat. For short trips I use just a flotation bag in
the stern and pack a drybag up front. The Rendezvous comes with
Wenonah's kevlar, sliding pedestal seat; this is not optimal for
kneeling in heavy water, but I make do.
If I had to do it over again, however, I would probably get a Royalex
boat. On the other hand, I have yet to see another teal green with
black aluminum trim Rendezvous anywhere in New England. Exclusivity
has its own cachet!
...Gordon Forrest, greater Boston
Shawn Burke
I've paddled my Mad River Independence on solo trips up to 14 days in
length, and it has worked out fine. This is not a "whitewater hull" --
it helps to have a good back ferry with this boat! -- but will make its
way down Class II rivers quite well. I dinged the gelcoat pretty good
rolling it in an easy Class III drop -- perhaps more a comment on my
paddling ability than on the boat -- but I see one every year entered
in the Kenduskeag Stream canoe race, which has some Class III, and lots
of Class II.
This is a pretty fast touring hull, 15' 9" long, capable of eating up
the miles if you use a bentshaft paddle. It handles well in wind and
waves, but likes to spin when you get on top of a wave in following
seas if you don't pay attention. I run it on wilderness trips with a
spraycover; cuts wind resistance, keeps the splash out (note the low
freeboard on this hull), and keeps your lower body warm in colder
weather. It handles a load quite well.
The Independence is available in fiberglass or Kevlar layups. If you
insist on ABS, this isn't the boat: check out the aforementioned MR
Courier, MR Guide, or the Old Town Penobscot 15 for starters.
-- seb
______________________________________________________________________
bu...@bu.edu
WWW: http://eng.bu.edu/Photonics_Center/
GPS: 42 deg 20' 52.8" -71 deg 06' 06"
__O "There is nothing, absolutely nothing
\______\_|]_____/ Half so much worth doing
~~~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~ As simply messing about in boats"
Scott Broam
This response is in the "cost-is-no-object" or "gosh-I'm-worth-it"
category. Recently I tried a Bell Wildfire and have decided that I
have never paddled a flat water / moving water canoe I liked better.
This one was carbon + kevlar ("balck gold"), was 14'3" long, weighed
about 30 lbs, was quick, turned on a dime when leaned, and was
stunningly beautiful. Of course, this comes at a cost - about 2000
smackeroos.
Someday...
Scott
ps The catalog mentions unloading the boat and popping "enders". Can
they mean "enders" like I mean "enders"? I think I'll reserve that
special kind of trauma for my royalex ww boat...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scott Broam
ca...@ix.netcom.com
Columbia, SC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James B. Clark
In article <4qjl5e$4...@sjx-ixn2.ix.netcom.com>, kurt navratil <#kurt...@popd.ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>Rich, you might want to try the Mohawk Challenger. It has become my boat
>of choice. I bought mine from Mohawk direct, ($565.00 plus 50 fright) it
>was a second. Not sure why it was a second, it looked perfect to me.
>Shipping cost should have been more about 75.00 The trucking co. gave me a
>break because I picked the boat up in Pa. The whole process from ordering
>the boat till I had it home took eight days. NOT BAD.
>
>The challenger is rated to class three. I'm not sure If I would go in that
>kind of water with it. Most of my paddleing is the upper Delaware River,
>and the pine barrens. Works great in those areas.
>
I have a Challenger too, and like it a lot. I've paddled some WW solo boats;
in comparison, the Challenger turns really slowly, but since my paddling
actually includes some flatwater, I prefer it. I had Mohawk outfit mine with
flotation, knee pads, and thigh straps. On the flatwater sections, I can
easily stretch my legs while sitting on the comfy seat, then strap myself in
for the rapids. I've paddled quite a bit of class III in it. I can't turn as
quickly as I could in a dedicated WW boat, and the ride is probably a little
bit wetter, but I like its versatility. When I bought mine I considered the
Mad River Courier (the Guide wasn't out yet), but decided on the Challenger
mostly because I was able to go to Florida and pick it up at the factory.
Jim Clark
j...@stat.mps.ohio-state.edu
mneve...@cycat.com
On Tue, 25 Jun 96 jbc said:
>out yet), but decided on the Challenger mostly because I was able
>to go to Florida and pick it up at the factory. Jim Clark
Their factory is about 10 minutes down the road from me.
If I decide to add a canoe to my fleet I'll be sure to drop in there
and check it out.
Mike Neverdosky N6CHV mneve...@cycat.com
`[1;31;44mNet-Tamer V 1.03 - Test Drive
Mark Zen
:> In <4qfjps$r...@newsbf02.news.aol.com> val...@aol.com (Valoc1) writes:
[snip]
:> >
:> >Hey, Wenonah has a boat, the Rendezvous, OK ww performance, OK on lakes.
:> >
:> >Good luck!
:> >Dan Valleskey
:> >d...@deltafaucet.com
:> >Life's short, paddle hard!
:> I own a Wenonah Rendezvous in Tufweave (Wenonah's fiberglass hybrid
:> layup), about 55 lbs., and it has been an admirable performer in Class
:> 2+ - low 3 water. I have it outfitted with large Voyageur flotation
:> bags. I currently have a crack in the gelcoat, however, from thumping
:> a rock but good (I must have landed on it!) on the White River in
:> Vermont, I haven't fixed it yet. The Rendezvous gives adequate quick
:> water/flat water performance due to its length, at 15'8" it is pretty
:> long for a solo boat. For short trips I use just a flotation bag in
:> the stern and pack a drybag up front. The Rendezvous comes with
:> Wenonah's kevlar, sliding pedestal seat; this is not optimal for
:> kneeling in heavy water, but I make do.
:> If I had to do it over again, however, I would probably get a Royalex
:> boat. On the other hand, I have yet to see another teal green with
:> black aluminum trim Rendezvous anywhere in New England. Exclusivity
:> has its own cachet!
:> ...Gordon Forrest, greater Boston
i love my rendezvous, i got the tuffweave, with an extra layer of
kevlar, weighs 54lbs ... i put foam knee pads on either side of the
seat, and glued in "d" rings for thigh straps. i sit all the time,
using the footbrace, except just before i hit a rapid, then i switch
to kneeling, then i go back to sitting again. it doesn't turn on a dime,
but when leaned, turns well, it is faster than any solo royalex boat
i have paddled with. on river trips, with the rocky mountain canoe club,
i usually leave the others in my wake, and have found i take 1 stroke
for every 3-5 of anyone elses!! my dad & i took ours [we each have one]
to the boundry waters, and i certainly had more room for more gear!!
the biggest problem i have with it is wind!! i got the deep version,
back when they offered a 13" and a 15" deep model. now they just make
a 14" deep model...
mark
--
---------...@netcom.com---------------------------------------------
mark zen o, o__ o_/| o_.
po box 6091 </ [\/ [\_| [\_\
longmont, co 80501-2077 (`-/-------/----') (`----|-------\-')
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canoeing, sea kayaking, bicycling, backpacking
snowshoeing, skiing, human powered sports
Fortune:
If you're happy, you're successful.
Dan Dunphy
cano...@netcom.com (Mark Zen) wrote:
>i love my rendezvous, i got the tuffweave, with an extra layer of
>the biggest problem i have with it is wind!! i got the deep version,
>back when they offered a 13" and a 15" deep model. now they just make
>a 14" deep model...
I met a fellow in Mo, who mad a spray cover for his. He
claims much improved wind performance.
Dan