Can anyone give me any advice on whether a 15’ 8" Wenonah Rendezvous would be a useful boat for central Kentucky Class II-III whitewater? I’m moving to Danville and have a line on a nice used Rendezvous at a good price. I know what the boat is good for, but my concern, since Kentucky whitewater will be new to me, is whether that boat might prove too long if most of the water I’ll have access to tends to be small twisty creeks where a boat this size will be more or less prohibitive.
Steep depreciation already done?
I have no idea if you will be happy with that boat in your new waters. One thing I can say though is that the first owner normally takes the steep part of the depreciation on a new item, so if you’re getting this at a good price, then likely you can resell it if it doesn’t work out, without losing much.
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There are a couple of groups on facebook that may be able to answer your question. Viking Canoe Club and Kentuckiana Paddlers Association are two that I know of.
I paddled in KY, and I’ve paddled a
Rendezvous, briefly. The Rendezvous would not be my choice for KY rivers, because it is “stiff” handling and does not spin easily. Length is not the issue…My 15’ Mad River ww canoe could handle anything I ever paddled in KY, including the lower Rockcastle. The Rendezvous retains much of the speed for which Wenonah canoes are renowned, but they have not designed in enough maneuverability for ww and tight, twisty streams.
thanks
excellent point, thanks
appreciate it
I’ll check them out, thanks
twisty
That’s sorta what I was afraid of, thanks for the perspective. I think I may hold off and look for something more like a Mohawk Probe once I get there.
My experience
I paddled a tuff weave Rendezvous on many rivers in WA State and its good for larger big water rjvers, but not ideal for smaller twisty ones. Another design feature I didn’t care for was the mid section low bulge tumblehome. It caught a couple harsh eddy lines with big waves and I swam more than once. Immediate flip when the crosse current gets a hold of the low bulge
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– Last Updated: Jun-08-15 11:48 AM EST –
Brad- Welcome to KY. I am located 30 minutes from danville. You may want to check out bluegrass canoe and kayak meet up group. I haven't been to one of their paddles yet but it seems they are more kayak than canoe. Drop me an email anytime. We try to go somewhere most weekends with a lot of overnight stays although we are not ready for anything close to class III yet.
here's another source www.bluegrasswildwater.org/
ed
Yatipope’s complaint about the
grabby bulge is a common one, but for some reason it seems to be more often associated with the Tuff Weave version while the Royalex version appears to be better liked. Not sure if that perception is justified or not.
Kentucky meetups
Thanks Ed. I’m not there yet, will be moving in early Ausgust and eager to get on some water. I’ll definitely check out those groups — always feel safer in a canoe with a bunch of experienced kayaers around anyhow, and while I’ve got ambitions for Class III, I’m much more comfortable on Class II at this point, so sounds great. Hope to meet you on the rivers.