I wasn’t arguing w/you gbg …
– Last Updated: Sep-16-10 8:53 AM EST –
...... I made statements , and I fully support every word I said . You can re-write my statements till the cows fly and they will still be exactly what I said , meaning exactly what they say , not what you want them to say or mean .
Curious how it is that many of us started paddling in the ol aluminum Grummans many moons ago but chose/choose to purchase plastic boats , composite boats and never looked back with any desire to purchase and paddle the aluminum canoe again .
As for those paddles I use and you call super cheap ... I guarantee my paddles will either match or blow the doors off anything you think is better for the river enviroment , I guarantee it . You haven't a clue what kind of paddle is needed in the river gbg or you wouldn't have made that statement . The lightest , powerfulest , toughest , meanest rock eating paddle that can be had is the best one in the river , and the ones I use fit the bill perfectly . Not only do they fit the river bill perfectly , they are a pleasure to use and paddle any water with , all day long from first light to solid dark , miles and miles and miles and miles .
I run rivers mostly , rocky mountain and piedmont . I may push up stream 4-5 miles in about as fast of water as a canoe can go , sometimes my paddle nessasarily becomes a pole ... I may run down stream nessasarily jumping rock ledges , skirting skinny streches as they come up , weaving the rock gardens , having a glancing blow off a barely submerged rock , the usual river stuff , etc. ... the river is constantly changing from deep swirling pools , deep channel flows , to light rapids , roaring fast to near still slow , to unavoidable ledges and drops , to suck shallows (sometimes even scrape shallow) ... my OT Expedition 169 shines like a star with 500-600 lb. load and moves like speeding train when the current runs hard and fast (it could handle another 400 lbs. w/o the slightest concern too) ... it manuvers and turns like a champ ... it may be matched or bested by other canoes and canoeist , but not by much ... that's saying something coming from me ... so take it for whatever you think it's worth .
"ANY" canoe can be paddled around on calm flat waters and be pleasant ... not any canoe can take the river enviroment and shine , the OT Expedition 169 can and it shines like a champ , most plastic canoes can ... the ol Grummans (best of the aluminums) ran many a river but they didn't do it well at all , they took the beating better than wood and canvas of the prior generation , plastic boats are far superior in the mountain river enviroment than either of the former generations of canoe materials ... why ?? ... because they take the abuse the river "ALWAYS" dishes out and walk away smiling , not dented and rivit busted leaks , not torn canvas , rib busted and holed .
Plain common sense should see that no seams , one piece hulls , one part instead of 100 parts are much more practical and care free , the mile wide gap in advantage between plastic and aluminum canoes only starts there , the gap gets bigger with every practical consideration about canoes there after .
Not argument , these are statements ... facts .
and I don't even do WW , just "normal" everyday easy river stuff ... this OT Expedition is also a "GREAT" large reservour canoe , when things get rough and the water blows big , it smiles and we paddle on without concern , like I said the only thing I'd trade it for is Royalex 172 Tripper ... I've paddled enough canoes for long enough to know what I'm saying ... I'm not guessing