I had the good fortune to pick up a Lotus Caper. It was in very good condition when I bought it so it didn’t take a lot of work to restore it to like new condition. The copy I have does not have any badging on it however and I would like to have some copied and installed. I have a good image of the LOTUS decal but I can’t find an image of a CAPER decal. If there are any Caper owner’s out there that could help out with a pic, it would be appreciated!
Simple solution…
– Last Updated: Oct-23-15 6:05 PM EST –
If you want some labels saying Caper; simply have some made in the same style & with the same dimensions as those saying Lotus. That should do quite nicely.
I had Lotus labels made for my Dandy.
My Caper already had the original Lotus labels.
By choice I did NOT put Dandy or Caper labels on those boats. I know what they are.........If anyone asks; I just tell them what it is. Probably 85 out of 100 paddlers don't care what they are.
BOB
P.S.I think you're going to need an email icon next to your pnet name to receive email from other pnetters.
Congrats, a great solo canoe and …
… and maybe the most aesthetic one ever made.
The Capers did not have any model badging that I recall, and I own one and saw Mike Galt hauling trailers full of them. It only had the Lotus badge at mid-hull. One of mine is just about all rubbed away, and I’ve been wondering how to replicate it.
The orange Caper in four . . .
. . . of the first seven pictures is mine.
Caper
Thanks for the help guys. Glen, if you say that it should only have the Lotus badge then that is what I will go with. I use a vendor that sells vinyl graphics. They can copy anything these days given a decent image to work with.
Had a Caper
(regret selling it) and to my recollection it did not have the word Caper on the hull, only the Lotus logo. Also had a BJX, Egret, and a Cygnet and none of them had the model name on the hull. Guess Mike just didn’t do it.
Used to have a Dandy
The only markings were the HIN (well hidden) and the Lotus badge.
Lotus signage
– Last Updated: Oct-25-15 11:14 AM EST –
Neither my Caper nor Egret had model decals. Mike volume was pretty low, decals were expensive then, etc.
I agree the Caper is the prettiest solo ever made, with bow layout and retrocee' stern, shouldered tumblehome, sidepods, shaped float tanks and that perfect seat and woodwork. But, it was bog slow due to parallel center sections and excessive stern cheek. Lack of adequate rocker and stern pinch compromised reverse maneuvers, so it left production.
The stern cheek is . . .
. . . one of the brilliant features of the Caper.
The hull indeed has virtually no rocker, which allows it to track easily. Yet it can be turned quickly by heeling on to that stern cheek, which creates a big stern crack and allows the hull to pivot turn on a stern slide. (“Crack” is open air between the stern and the water when a hull is heeled.)
The problem is that you don’t get significant stern crack in the Caper if you are much over 160 lbs, and I’m now way over. A light person can pivot the rockerless Caper with ease.
Mike’s intention was to make the Caper in three sizes, but as Charlie says, Mike never had much money and couldn’t finance additional hulls.
I don’t find the Caper slow for my style of paddling, which is a casual tempo. The parallel sides and recessed gunwale tumblehome greatly facilitate a vertical stroke parallel to the keel line.
Although Galt did not innovate recessed gunwale tumblehome in the 1980’s solo canoe revival, the Caper to my knowledge was the first canoe commercially available in the 80’s to incorporate that feature. Galt likely saw the feature in a prototype of the Curtis Dragonfly, which was conceptualized by Harold Deal, designed by Dave Yost and built by Dave Curtis, but which was commercialized slightly later than the Caper.
The recessed gunwales on the Caper are closer in design to the tucked-in gunwales of later Deal designs such as the Hemlock SRT than the famous “shouldered” tumblehome of myriad Dave Yost hulls such as the classic Fire series.
Another innovation of the Caper was the different shapes of the bow and stern flotation tanks. The stern tank is more sweepingly aerodynamic for reduced turbulence while car-topping.
Galt also used gelcoat instead of paint on the inside of the hull. I’m not sure many others have ever done that.
Lotus
Some of your comments might be valid, however, it is like having a date with a super model. Despite all her faults, she is still great to be seen with!
Given more thought…
– Last Updated: Oct-28-15 1:23 PM EST –
Some more thought given to the the Caper...........
Caper would be a neat name for a supermodel, and like a supermodel; the Caper has some nice "cheeks".
:^)
BOB