So beautiful 
.
Get it all banged up 
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One paddle out on our local muddy water would have either give you a conniption or make you give up on bothering with keeping it pristine.
Wonder what it would take to do the bottom of the Arctic Hawk Iâm fixing up like that first Cruiser but in white metallic.
Exactly!!! My carbon/kevlar Hornbeck is pretty scratched up from just paddling/fishing (shrug). My (expensive) less-than-a-year old carbon/kevlar Sterling Progression has got all sorts of scratches from surf sessions.
My Progression is a beauty not because she is shiney but because of what she enables a surf paddler to do out in the waves. 
sing
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Place on vehicle and ride around and let people ogle it.
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They do make some nice looking and high tech stuff. To bad no real sea kayak.
Yes, the thing with that is the beautiful shiny gleam of a new carbon/kevlar boat will not only get ogles but the attention of the less ethical among us. The ultra light weight also makes it very easy for the unsavory to follow their worse impulse.
I started to use lockable cable straps with the kevlar boats. Never did that with my heavier and very scratched/gouged out RM seakayaks and SOTs. Heck, if they have the strength and stamina to unstrap and lift it off my car top and then to put on top of theirs and strapping it down⊠Itâs a bit of work and risk (given the time involved).
In retrospect, should have ordered an ugly paint job for the SterlingâŠ
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Iâm much more apt to admire a boat on a vehicle thatâs got some well earned use under itâs belt. I always feel a lil bit sad for a boat that looks like itâs owner spends more time looking at it then putting it through honest use. Like a kid looking everyone at recess through a window
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My luck the metal flake paint would scare all the fish away.
I have watched their videos a lot and there is so much to like about those canoes. My Old Town Guide 147 I bought used for 150 bucks weighs twice as much as that Cruiser 148 and is a good eight inches wider. All I can think about is dragging that beautiful thing down a rocky dirt bank to find a put in spot or mid summer switching to poling to get thru some shallow rocks.
Iâm sure there are a lot of folks that paddle from a dock in a deep lake and could keep it pristine just not around here.
I donât know how she would feel about it living in our living room year round because for sure I wouldnât let it out in the snow all winter.
There is something beautiful about having a boat you donât worry about.
Magnificent. Thereâs fine line, emotionally, between a piece of art and a thing thatâs intended to be used. If itâs going to hang on your wall thatâs one thing, but if youâre going to take it outside you have to accept that it will get dinged and scraped etc.
I have a new boat on the way. Custom paint because it didnât really cost anything extra. Itâs going to be beautiful. And I will be cranky the first time I land on a rocky surface and it gets scratched! But itâs made to be outside so I wonât feel as bad as I would if you came into my living room and scratched my 4k tv!!
How? Theyâre all fabulous canoes, and Iâd certainly enjoy paddling that 14-feet Prospector or adaptable Keewadyn 16 in various riparian and latoral scenarios. Just remember,
Keep the open side up.
Keep the sheer and chines clean shiny.
Donât sweat 'n fret as you abet
assaults to hullâs hauled heinie,
for scratch 'n dent will not relent
way to smooth sailing you scratch and claw.
Let rock me on the water play
those grooves of your scrimshaw.
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Swift is based in OntarioâŠCanoe country and canoeists dominate. No reason to go to sea kayaks for them Their base is in the Algonquin Provincial Park area and yep its only 3 hours from Toronto.
I have had some of their boats and they have a background in Canadian wilderness tripping . They do make different layups for those that day trip in the less rigorous demands of some US waters.
They seem to have an understanding of the general market which may not jibe with some Pcom users. I donât really get their twiddling with various color schemes. However that ploy seems to work.
I still have a Swift canoe from 1993 in exp Kevlar. Its seen a lot of Quetico and Wabakimi and Woodland Caribou. And of course Algonquin,
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I had my Osprey out yesterday.
What can it do? Itâs not my fastest solo but itâs a top pick for 20 mile says since it has such an effortless all day pace. Great for rivers and putzing around with freestyle moves since it can spin like a top. With the sliding seat you can make room for a dog and keep the boat in perfect trim. Or slide the seat all the back and lay down and nap and youâre sheltered from any wind.
The Prospector 14 in the picture is exceptionally stable and friendly so perfect for beginners, older folks, fisherpeople, photography, ponds and small lakes or anyone that values stability and isnât in a hurry. Ironically itâs not very maneuverable and has only 1" of rocker (most traditional Prospectors have 3-4") so Swift seems to be using the Prospector name as another marketing feature.
Swifts have some nice details like double fasteners on the thwarts and they offer some nice options like sliding seats or 2-position high/low seats that let one kneel in the high position and sit in the low position.
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It is slightly painful to get those first few scratches on a new boat. I still cringe a little with my 2.5 year old Tiderace - going to have it buffed out later this spring and get it all shiny again. On the other hand my 21 year old Mirage 580 (my Everglades Challenge boat) I donât even think twice about dragging up the beach while loaded with camping gear!
I have owned a lot of canoes and none of them were new. I have never wanted to worry about scratches or keeping them pristine. It is fine that a manufacturer is using innovation. I like the removable seats and detachable yoke. It is surprising it has taken this long for it to show up.
I have painted a lot of canoes over the years. I have never thought of metal flake, because the rocks are going to just mangle the paint anyway.
All my boats have been bought used but my first canoe which was a second. I have not been bothered by new scratches on any. Many boats are functional art in my eyes to be used. I am much more thrilled by using them though I do enjoy looking at them even with their well-earned âScrimshawâ.
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Always remember, itâs just a boat, not a fine piece of furniture. Use and enjoy.
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Use and enjoy with care. I have a 12 yr old Placidboat Rapidfire, very expensive when I first bought it, new ones are much more now, plus a 1 year wait time to build. I race it and train in it in the Adirondacks, and carry it on m back to remote ponds in the wilderness. While it does have a couple of scrapes and scratches, it is still overall in excellent shape. Same story with my 20+ year old cedar woodstrip C2, voyageur, and guideboat.
As with my fleet of 8 other kevlar and carbon canoes, including my first original lightweight model aluminum Grumman, with one exception, they are all in very good to excellent shape and well cared for. The exception is my 10.5â carbon/kevlar hybrid Hornbeck that I carried and paddled 185 miles across the Adirondacks and it got a few painful scratches when paddling on the July low water rocky lower Saranac River, but it is still fully functional. I never ground my canoes forcefully on shore when landing, I stop well short of hittng solid shore,
I carry my canoes, never drag them on the beach, especially over sand, gravel, or rocks (wet grass may be ok). The only direct sun they see is whle paddling. They are stored indoors properly hung or mounted. All of my canoes are strictly wet foot entry and exit. Never load a canoe with gear or people unless it is fully floating first. Donât âbridgeâ the canoe between land and water while loading. My paddles are treated likewise, never resting or pushed on dirt or rocks, either in the water or on shore.
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My RapidFire suffered its major injury when someone ( me) tripped and fell on it with a pack⊠Broke a thwart and dented the bottom⊠Actually an easy fix
It is never bridged and always wet landing but its had many encounters with oyster bars⊠The while bottom hides a lot of sinsâŠ
It has hit rocks on Lake Superior with no fuss. It is now 17 tears old and still strong. Going back to Florida soon for another month of paddling oyster bar Gulf and limestone rivers.
Light equals expensive and sometimes frail ( it is all in the layup schedule) but when done right,strong.
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I own a Northstar Phoenix and I was very careful with it when I first stated using it!!! Then the signs of usage started,it is termed" beausage", beautiful usage! npw I go qith the flow and epoxy recoat it as needed! The scars ALL have a story!!!
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I bought my Swift Cruiser 15.8 in late 2021 and have used it quite a bit since. It is a full carbon canoe, weighing about 32 lbs, and is well made and built to last a long time. Scratches and minor damage to the exterior surface is expected, but I do my best to avoid any damaged, if I can. Scratches and scrapes are a sign of a well travelled canoe and are going to happen regardless of how carefull you are. Swift make innovative canoes that are made to be used.
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