Back in the late '70s I owned a MR Northwoods in expedition Kevlar. Decent boat for wilderness tripping, but not the freighter that a MR Explorer is.
I have never heard anyone make reference to this boat on P-Net. Design is long-discontinued, but I figured SOMEONE would still be paddling one.
Curious Jim
Northwoods
Mad River’s Northwoods was that 17’6" canoe that MRC has struggled with for years trying to find the right combination.
Dimensions:
Length: 17’6"
Max Width 36"
4" WL width - 32 1/2"
Depth(mid) 14"
Straight keel with slight rise at ends
Asymmetrical
Shallow-vee
Straight sides
Weight 78# Royalex, 82# Glass, 64# Kevlar
Though it’s an inch shallower, I’d guess that the extra 14" and the 1/2" of WL width would actually make the Northwoods carry atleast the same load, and surely it should have been faster. I’ve never paddled a Northwoods (though I’d love to)… infact I’ve never even seen one. But. it seems that MRC has struggled for 30 years building a boat in that niche… After the Northwoods, MRC built the Whistler and the Explorer 17’2", then the Sundance, Sunrunner, and most recently the Destiny. Odd they haven’t replaced the Lamoille, Explorer, or Malecite in between 20-30 years (depending on the model)!!! The 17’6 boats never sold… The Sundance had too much vee, and was too advaced for the average paddler. The Sunrunner was just a weird design that almost nobody likes, the Destiny is just blah when compared with the Northwind that Bell has, and the Sunrunner and Spirit that Wenonah has. Even back 15 years ago the old Sawyer Cruiser outsold the MRC’s in this bracket. MRC has been aced out of this band of boats for 30 years and the Destiny is surely not the Destiny to dominate this market. Just one mans thoughts.
PK
some other thoughts
The Northwoods, Sundance, and most recently the Destiny, are almost
alike designs? But not to compare with the Whistler and Sunrunner,
that are quite different designs? Also I would not compare the
the Sundance and Destiny to a Bell NorthWind,
but more to a Swift Winisk?
I for sure was not particularly impressed with the Sundance
and Destiny, like I was with the one you forget to mention: the
Minstrel from Pat Moore! Very decent 17’ design that I appreciated
much more. But it didn’t have a V-hull, so it was very tough to
sell for Mad River?
Dirk Barends
Northwoods
Dirk,
The Whistler was a very different design, but it was within inches in length, and aimed solidly after the fast touring segment of the market. All the others were dedigned to be fast touring boats, or as Hary Roberts might call them fast cruising boats. The Minstrel was left off because it was designed by Pat, and obviously Pat and Jim designed very differnt boats. I stand by my opinion, MRC has never done well in the 17-17.6 segment… the fact that the models have been changed every few years supports the fact that MRC hasn’t sold enough of any of them to hold onto them for more than a few years. Wenonah rules this sizing of canoes with the Sundowner and the Spirit.
Below are the stats for the remaining boats besides the Whistler which was radically different in shape than the others.
PK
Sundance - Jim Henry
L 17’6
W 34.5
4"W 32
Bow D 19
Stern D 19
Mid D 12.5
Rocker Slight
Asymmetrical
Shallow Arch
Sunrunner - Jim Henry
L 17’2
W 33.5
4"W 32
Bow D 19.5
Stern D 18.5
Mid D 12.5
Rocker Slight
Asymmetrical
Shallow V
Destiny - Jim Henry
L 17’6
W 35
4"W 33.75
Bow D 21
Stern D 20.5
Mid D 13.25
Rocker Slight
Asymmetrical
Shallow V
Minstrel - Pat Moore
L 17’
W 35
4"W 32
Bow D 19
Stern D 19
Mid D 12.5
Slight Rocker
Asymmetrical
Shallow Arch
Mad River Borealis and Lamoille
Do you have opinions why Mad River discontinued making Lamoille? I guess Lamoille is better in river use than Wenonah Minnesota.
How about Mad River Borealis Express? Have anyone paddled this Borealis canoe? It has rarely used spray wings. Maybe those spray wings improve the seaworthiness of that canoe?
Pete
it is all about words of course, but
although they may be more or less advertised as being fast
touring canoes, I cannot see the Northwoods, Sundance,
Destiny and now the Borealis as cruisers like the
Whistler and the Sunrunner were supposed to be. Although
I must say that I found the Minstrel to be incredible efficient
for such a stable canoe – so much in fact that I would
not mind (much) calling that one fast.
The Borealis is a new attempt for a touring canoe in the 17 feet
department. It looks interesting, also because it was designed
by someone with a good reputation with that kind of boats,
as I have read. I sure would give it a try when I was
looking for a touring canoe with a performance capacity of
around 550 lb. (250 kg) designed to perform well on lakes.
As for why Mad River discontinued making a Lamoille, I
guess this is because there is considerably better choice
nowadays from Bell, so they hardly sell Lamoilles
anymore?
Dirk Barends
Mad River Northwoods
– Last Updated: Nov-24-04 10:05 PM EST –
Just noticed your post. We bought a Northwoods canoe about 8 years ago for family recreational canoeing. We found it through a classified ad - the seller told us that he had used it for many years in Canada and the Adirondacks, but as he aged he found it too difficult to portage it by himself (it weighs around 85 pounds). The canoe was in good shape but I refinished the gunwales and I applied new decals.
I also contacted Mad River for information and got a charmingly nostalgic email from Jim Henry that recounted some of his experiences paddling a Northwoods with his children in the Adirondacks.
We intend to keep using our Northwoods till we can't cartop it any more!