Dunno
The canoe assembly left last Saturday.
There was a week of light boat conclave at Ray Brook and the WCHA Assembly at Paul Smiths
Lighter canoe
Scooter314,
Your Sunrunner is a lightweight compared to my current whale! Do you want to sell it…do you deliver, lol?
lite tandems
OP hasn’t stated burden, which would mostly be paddler weights for day tripping unless lunch includes several magnums of champagne.
Bells NorthStar may have been an ultimate small class tandem but it’s no longer made. The new NorthStars have had the tumblehome filled in to bring straight sided boats out of one piece molds. Ted infuses, so his boats are in the low 40# with wood or alu rails. I imagine he’s selling to Oak Orchard in Rochester.
The best modern wrinkle is Swift’s Keewaydin 16, which retains the tumblehome so useful for bow paddlers. It is infused and can be had with composite rails, bringing the weight into the mid 30#. It also features Yost’s newer stepped rocker. Bay Creek Outfitters has both 16 and 17 foot variants in the Rochester area.
Up in the Adirondacks, Raquette River Out. has both NorthStar and Swift in stock and Adk Lakes and Trails features Swift.
As the guy who speced the Bell NorthStar, it figures I’d like it, but it would be absurd to assume that David Yost hasn’t learned anything in twenty years, and manufacturing techniques have improved as well.
keep the list coming please.
alan_gage you are lucky to see such activity in used canoes in your area. Am jelious. Only three Bell canoes have come up for sale with in 200 mile radius of my home in the last six months. Managed to get two of them.
CEWilson been waiting for you to respond. Swift’s are never seen in my area even at the high end canoe outfitter stores. Was looking at the North Star canoes as Oak Orchard has a “winter store” in my area and could may be bring one down to my area. They do not handle Swift. The narrower bow station that you point out is very important for us. Bow paddler is only 105 # and 5’ 2"
Love my Jensen designed solo and the other Jensen designed boats I have paddled. In the right situation there is nothing better. Going fast in a straight line. Or a least as straight as a canoe can go. Winding black water creeks are not there place.
Shipping a canoe on a freight line is not a possibility as I see weekly damaged freight at my job.
Thank you to the OP for starting this thread.
Lighter boat.
Not ready to part with it yet. My first boat. Kind of attached. Still love how it moves.
In my quest
for a light canoe since I turned 70 I purchased s Swift Osprey in carbon fusion layup with composite gunnels that weighs under 27 pounds. Swift’s work on this solo canoe is flawless. I have used it 2 seasons now and really like everything about if. So far this season I have shot 2700 wildlife photos from it.
If I didn’t have a Sawyer Cruiser Kevlar canoe that weighs 42 pounds I would buy the Swift Keewaydin in carbon fusion layup with composite rails in a minute. As one ages you can’t get a canoe(or anything else) that is to light!!
I understand -
tumpline helps a lot. I made up my mind to pick canoes for how they perform in the water, not on land.
Check out Savage River boats
I’ve paddled 3 Savage River boats and loved all of them. They’re all relatively straight tracking, very light, and have a good stability curve.
Their factory is in your area too so you might be able to find a couple to test paddle. I highly recommend their boats and workmanship. They’re definitely worth a look.
obstructions ?
With 3 Savages, how’s your experience with obstructions…rocks, door jambs, spatial misjudgments from fatigue… shoreline impacts ? damages ? cracks, fatigue lines ?
agreed, Hemlock’s Dave Curtis brings a
– Last Updated: Jul-30-14 10:20 PM EST –
boat or two to nearby lake about every week?...to demo, give him, along with Raquette L. and MountainMan Outfitters calls...to find out what they have on hand to demo... EDIT: I say "about every week"...that was last year, might wanna check the Hemlock website for times/dates.
Savage River are not fragile, but in
your hands they might be brittle.
no ultra
the ultra long ultra light Wenonah graphite tripper appears sold, no longer listed
Lighter Boat
Pulled the trigger today. Went out to Avon, NY where Dave Curtis from Hemlock Canoe Works had his boats at a pretty large outdoor expo.
Found out he has a layup he calls “premium lite”. The Eagle goes about 46 pounds. It’s a little heavier than I was planning but it was a real sweet ride. It’s 16’5".
I hoisted an Eagle in the premium+ layup over my head and didn’t have any problem. That one was 49 pounds.
After test paddling an Eagle, I arranged to get over to his shop next week to finalize the deal.
Thanks for all of your advice.
Will be neat knowing the guy who built my boat!
Lighter Boat
Made the trip to see Dave Curtis of Hemlock Canoe Work. Will be getting the 16’5" Eagle in the premium lite layup.
Lighter Boat
After all of this we went with the Hemlock Eagle. Saw Dave Curtis at an outdoor expo last week. Tried out the Eagle. Found it also came in a 46 pound layup. Real nice ride. Went to his shop yesterday and gave him my Sunrunner as a down payment. Now, he’ll build an Eagle for us. Chances are I won’t be paddling it until Spring 2015.