you probably already know
about the Beaver Canoe Club and Dogwood Clubs out of Vancouver. BOth clubs have plenty of experienced members with many types of boats that you could witness and perhaps experience.
I used to have…
some great photos of a trip I did with some friends in Manitoba… but my hard drive went on strike and they vanished. I don’t have much on hand right now for photos, but I certainly will post some nice ones once spring hits.
I have heard of those canoe clubs, Kanaka, but as I’ve only recently moved to this province, I haven’t joined or talked with any of the members yet. Soon…
Cheers all
bf
Id agree that the 15
would only be the choice of a bigger paddler.
But I have friend that has run all sorts of whitewater in a Mohawk Odyssey 14. The dimensions of the Odyssey 14 are very similar to the Guide. It’s 4 inches shorter, the same width, and depth. We’ve laid the two boats upside down beside eachother and besides the Guide having much more pointed bow and stern and harder chines, the boats are have very similar fullness, and shape.
I wouldn’t hesitate one minute to run Class III in a Odyssey 14, and at 2/3rds the price of a new Guide… it’s a virtual bargin. I’ve grown to love my Guide as it’s a fantastic surfing boat, and I’ve played more than my fair share of rapids in it… but if I had bought a Odyssey, I doubt that I’d have anything bad to say about it.
You can email me privately, and I can pull together a couple pics of the Guide and Odyssey in the same rapids.
PK
Hope you’re right…
Hope you’re right about the Mohawk Odyssey 14; looks as if I’ll be adding one to my fleet in a very short time. Will be hanging onto my MR Guide; doubt I will ever turn it loose.
BOB
BC - Old Town Otter?
Great to see a thread with some BC paddlers!
Blackfly, I’m in Vancouver. I paddle with Beaver Canoe Club. One thing you and your dog may find here is that the area doesn’t offer much wilderness-like tripping on rivers. So, I find the whitewater here is almost all day-runs. Nothing like river-running and canoe camping in Manitoba, where a cross-over/tripping boat makes more sense. (You’ll also find the water temperature different - get a wetsuit!) Therefore, if you plan on doing any whitewater I’d suggest erring on the side of a whitewater boat.
My first thoughts were of a large Mohawk solo boat like an XL15 or XL13. Maybe an Old Town Cascade if you can find one. Through the Beavers I know of an Old Town H2Pro for sale, see one at www.canoebc.ca, and I have an Old Town Otter (13’10") that I could maybe part with. The H2Pro performs better/turns better on whitewater. The Otter can still run Class 3, but is a bit wetter and a bit more work. The Otter has a fairly traditional hull design so tracks very well. Both are Royalex boats, well-used and outfitted for solo whitewater.
You can also check the gear swap at www.mec.ca. I local boat dealer is Middleton’s Boats in North Van. David can answer your questions, search for his webpage.
By the way, there are a few Beaver paddlers in Pemberton. Check out the club’s website (www.beavercanoeclub.org). I’d suggest you join the club (about $35/yr including training opportunities) and paddle a bit before deciding how things will be here. Or, buy my Otter in the interim and get on the water cheap :).
Pat.
Hi Pat.
Funny how life throws us it’s little quirks. On the way home from work yesterday my truck started it’s final death throes on its way into the great river in the sky. So looks like I need to take my canoe money and turn it into truck money. Sigh. I didn’t want to post that fact here, after everyone has gone to great efforts to advise me and help me out. But fear not, Grasshoppers, for I have learned much.
The fact I need another truck certainly changes my priorities… An extended canoe trip may be dubious, perhaps a few weekends here and there, or perhaps a short cycling trip.
And I’m now CERTAINLY interested in any sort of boat that will allow me to just get on the water at this point, so Pat check your inbox, maybe we can work something out. Thank you very much for your tips and comparisons re BC and MB rivers - they are quite different, so any information would be appreciated. Perhaps a new thread? I’m gonna have to learn a whole new way of tripping! I do have a wetsuit, and am hoping to be able to use it a few times this year.
OT Otter
Got your message Blackfly. Give me a call.
Has anybody else paddled Old Town’s Otter? Can anybody offer comparisons between it and the other boats discussed in this thread (large solos that track well and perform in ww)? The Otter is a solo ww boat, 32" wide, 13’10" long, v-shaped ends, not much rocker. Can anybody offer Blackfly feedback on this one?
how about Evergreen’s Sunburst
– Last Updated: Jan-24-04 3:47 PM EST –
This is the same hull as the Blue Hole Sunburst II, and is made at the same factory in Gordonsville, VA.
I paddled a rental Blue Hole at Nantahala, empty with flotation, and liked it. It is a high volume canoe. Not too speedy though.
http://www.evergreencanoe.com/canoe_sunburst_ii.html
The Sunburst is more of a tandem boat,
four inches wider than the MR Guide, and therefore distinctly slower on the flats. I would rather solo my MR Guide than the Sunburst, and I would give away only a tiny bit of whitewater capability.
For that matter, the Dagger Caption and the Mad River Synergy, both still available on the used canoe market, are faster tandem and solo than the Sunburst, and the Caption is the best whitewater handler of the three.
I’m not downing the Sunburst. I was working the slalom course at the Nationals when I saw Steve Scarborough mopping up the competition in the prototype woodstrip Sunburst. But Scarborough also designed the Caption. Time marches on.
The suggestions are starting to drift toward whitewater boats, while I think the original post was asking about a dual-purpose boat. The Sunburst is not really a dual-purpose boat, nor are the Caption or the Synergy. The Mad River Guide/Freedom is one of the very best dual purpose boats, OK on the lake, and OK in whitewater.
Self-correction. The Starburst is 16’ 6"
and is the true tandem, but a bit much for solo. The Sunburst is 14’ 6", about 32" wide, OK for solo (though wide by today’s standards), and able to carry tandem. Neither is a dual-purpose boat.