MR Revelation

I bought the Revelation that was listed in the PNet ads. It is not the tandem canoe I want eventually, but I was tired of not having a tandem canoe, and I can’t afford a new boat. I would like to hear from the sages as to what I have, good and bad. My first tandem was an Explorer and I wasn’t real excited about the shallow v hull, traded it out for a Dumoine. That left the stable when the plastic coat delaminated from the hull. The serial # MADRE475C999. The gentleman told me he bought it in '99 or '00. It is plastic with vinyl gunwales. Came with some extras, which sweetened the deal. thanks to all who take time to respond.

Best in class…

– Last Updated: Jul-26-10 10:10 AM EST –

Of course I'm bias.

The class I put this in is the "go anywhere" class. Super seaworthy and dry. Big pay load capacity. Lean it and she turns into eddys and the like. Did I say dry?! Beffy layup can take the worst you can give it. Probably has more secondary stability then any canoe out there (any canoe work paddling, that is). Ironicly, once you get the hull up to speed, she move along quite efficently for a canoe in this class.

Big rivers, big water, flat calm, back country, fooling around with the wife...does it all.

Happy paddlin'

Rob

MRC Revelation
I never paddled one. Obviously, you know by now that it has a shallow V hull and being a 17’ long 37" wide boat in Royalex, it is pretty heavy. MRC advertised 78 lbs as the average weight for this boat and also claimed 3" of rocker. Based on its dimensions, I would expect it to be stable, dry and have great carrying capacity, while the rocker will hopefully allow it to retain some degree of maneuverability for its size.



MRC’s specs: Hull configuration: moderate rocker, symmetrical, shallow V. 6" freeboard capacity: 1200 lbs. Average weight (Royalex): 78 lbs. Length 17". Gunwale width 37". 4" waterline width 34". Depth at center 15". Bow height 24". Stern height 23".



Here is a testimonial given by a New York couple that appeared in the 1994 MRC catalog:



“My wife and I recently canoed the Allagash waterway starting at Chamberlain Bridge and ending at Allagash Village some eight days later in our new Revelation. On this trip we experienced many varying conditions from 2-3 foot swells on the lakes, to 9 miles of Class II, to low Class III whitewater, to wind, rain, lightning storms, and to water so shallow we had to use our setting pole in the river.



We would like you to know that the Revelation is the finest canoe that we have ever paddled. Our former canoes do not come close to the reliability, workmanship, handling, speed, and over all feeling of confidence in rough water that we obtained in the Revelation.”

It would be interesting to have
comparison photos of all the Mad River canoes they described themselves as “V bottomed.” At one end of the spectrum would be my little '73 Compatriot, and the Explorer. Both had marked V-bottomed hull form. At the other end of the spectrum would be my Guide Solo, with mild V going toward an arch, and my whitewater Synergy, where there is just a vestige of a V on an otherwise roundish hull.



My point is that V bottomed canoes are not a homogenous class. Not at all. Even Mad River realised that sometimes just a suggestion of V was all that was needed for tracking.



Where does the Revelation fall in this spectrum? Haven’t seen one recently and don’t know, but I wonder if the Revelation is as markedly V-bottomed as the Explorer. There was an Explorer 17— I saw one. Did they rename that as the Revelation?

good questions…
hope to hear more.

Plenty of Vee…
The Rev has plenty of vee (like the Explorer).



The Explorer 17 was not quite what MRC wanted in that class. They wanted dryer, more maneurverable, more seaworhty. Hence they designed a new hull, called it the Revelation (1992 to present?), and dropped the Exporer 17 (1983-1991) out of the line. Confluence/MRC renamed the Rev (at the same time they changed the name of the Guide to Freedom Solo) to the Freedom 17 or something. Can’t find it on their web site…



Rob

Had One a Few Years

– Last Updated: Jul-28-10 3:06 AM EST –

Bought it 2nd hand and kept it 3-4 years. I used it on a variety of rivers and lakes. Most seaworthy boat I've ever paddled. Don't get in a hurry with it, you reach a top speed and you just can't push past it by paddling harder. But it sure was comfortable on big seas on Seagull Lake in the BWCAW one time when big winds came up suddenly and there was nowhere to hide. LESS fun on all those portages! Swallowed any load I could load in it without problem. Sold because of 2 reasons. Too doggone heavy to lift and carry and the width (always seemed to be scraping the gunnels with my paddle). But if you've got big loads, nervous paddlers, dogs, or big water, or big paddlers you would be hard pressed to find a better boat. WW

thanks
for the info. Pretty much what I thought.