Mad River Malecite - Vt & Post Vt

I have an old Malecite (90’s) and a new ('08) as well.

Any thoughts on the differences of the Vermont versions vs the current products? Did they fiddle with the specs at all??

Thanks,

JWR

You’ve got both.

– Last Updated: Sep-28-08 6:10 PM EST –

It seems like you should tell us! Would you mind employing a tape measure and your keen eye for a side-by-side comparison?

BTW, I say mal-ah-SEET and everyone else I've heard says mal-ah-SITE. What do y'all say?

Quite possibly using the same molds…
the canoes should be the same. But, like tktoo said, you’re now the one to tell us if they are different.

Are both Kevlar? If so, which seems lighter?



Rob

2- Malecites continued
I have an old one in glass in Florida, and a new one in Kevlar in NY. My paddling partner loves the glass boat and doesn’t like the feel of the Kevlar. I think it might be the seat hangers and I plan to try different levels, but a ran across somebody who preferred the older ones, and I started to think that maybe there had been a change in design or workmanship after the company sold out in VT. I’ll try to get measurements here and then in FL in Feb when I go down there. But 'til then, if anyone has any comments, please chip in.



BTW, the indigenous tribe it’s named after is called ‘Mali-seet’, but the company called it the ‘Male-sīte’ when I bought it.

MR and Kevlar
Remember when doing this comparison that the original Vermont Malacites were available in at least two kevlar layups (and maybe a third? Time fades the gray matter). The heavier version was “Expedition” and that is what the current Confluence production uses. There was a very noticeable difference in weight between the two.

At the WPA freestyle event
Dave Curtis told me that the Malecite went through a couple of iterations. He said the original was finer in the bow (since it was originally a solo after all) and then more volume was added to the bow to make it a dryer and roomier tandem. I didn’t know that. I’m not sure what production years the finer bow was produced. Must have been very early.



Fascinating stuff. Hope Jim Henry sees his way clear to join openboater at Raystown.

malaseet
I grew up in northern maine and lived for 9 years in northern new brunswick—both are home to bands of the malaseet tribe

I’d like to see the difference
in the lay up of the hulls,

measurements shouldn’t differ too much if at all between the 90’s and now. I was doing lay ups there before they moved away.

Does anyone know …
Who is doing the lay ups of the Kevlar hulls at the new Mad River?

Two more designers
John Winters and Steve Scarborough have both been retained to "clean up: various models at Confluence over the past few years. That said, I’ve no knowledge of what plugs they worked on and if new molds were made.