Smaller folk, the majority of whom are female have been under served by canoe builders.
The Curtis MayFly, Sawyer StarLite, BlackHawk KittyHawk and Shadow 12 are distant memories from an age before the public decided solo canoeing was too skill intensive, and Placid's SpitFire is rarely converted to kneeling use.
DY has designed a series of smaller sized solo trippers, the Curtis Vagabond in 82, the Swift Loon in 92 and the Placid RapidFire in 05. [Hemlock's 98 Kestrel is a re-tooled Vagabond.] But, DY wanted a shorter, less wetted surface hence more efficient, tripper for his own use.
Now, Swift C&K, from the land of Hockey, Maple Syrup and Poutine, announces a new solo tripper for the petite amongst us.
The Keewaydin 14, 28' max beam, 24" waterline width with 4 inches tumblehome at rail, 2.5/1.25" differential rocker and weight around 24 lbs.
Shear? tough to tell until molded, ~ 16.5/11.5/15.5"
A David Yost solo tripping design, available early summer '14.
No image attachment option. Sorry.
Cool!
Thanks for the tip! I will keep an eye out.
For me, it’s the Curtis Mayfloat.
Or I could get one for each foot.
I’ll be watching with great interest : )
I like those specs.
What is the material and
approximate cost?
I used to have a little 13 foot Blackhawk and regret the day I sold it.
Jack L
Isn’t
there another solo canoe from Swift also coming out in summer '14? Maybe for the larger paddler? And what about a new kayak in the Kiwassa series? Do tell …
Dagger Tupelo
I have a Dagger Tupelo that both my grown but petite daughters have LOVED to paddle. Its only a little over 10ft long. They have done many trips in protected waters,…even moving rivers with small rapids. They prefer using a double-blade kayak paddle. I will NEVER part with it cuz I have grandchildren that will learn paddling in it.
Kestrel competitor?
Sounds like it might be competition for the Hemlock Kestrel, which has been on my “want” list since I demoed one a while back.
http://www.hemlockcanoe.com/falcon.html
Though both are inspired from the
Curtis Vagabond it’s likely you will be able to tell the difference. Competition…perhaps in a sense.
Inspiration?
I think the inspiration is DY wanting to improve solo tripping for smaller paddlers. The Vag, Loon, RapidFire, now Kee 14 are his new realization of that concept about every decade. Kestrel is a splash of the Vag with flattened bottom, hence DY’s design thought circa 82. Unlike most of us, he gets better over time.
Photo from Swift Canoe FB page…
Q: “Is this the Kee 14’?”
A: “It could be… (it is, but shhhhh don’t tell)”
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152460032239478&set=a.10150122375289478.335151.198504614477&type=1
its not
it is the plug from which the mold will be made. So some details like top edge and seating may change.
Nice David Yost portrait.
something for the puny group
Yahoo, something for those of us who are puny
This is a SOB, SOS or KOS?
The specs (24" WL) and plug picture imply that this is a sit-on-bottom hull.
Charlie's OP implies it is a kneel-off-seat hull.
Surely, it would be a SOS hull only for a member of the Wallenda family.
I'll be interested in the market success. I doubt that the Curtis MayFly, Sawyer StarLite, BlackHawk KittyHawk and Shadow 12, collectively, sold very many units. And people were a lot skinnier and lighter back then.
Still, any new open hull is good news.
Different seats for different sized
folks.
Smaller people have successfully knelt in the 24 inch waterline RapidFire…Actually some not so small also.
Those more top heavy might want significant seat drop. I find my 26 inch waterline DragonFly just fine for sitting with a minimal seat drop or kneeling. And I aint petite.
If I had Kee 14 I might find myself sitting lower.
Jesse would not. Its perfect for her.
Kneeling
I used to have a 11 1/2 ft Savage River Wee Lassie that I knelt in on a high seat,and currently paddle a Colden Flashfire and Hemlock Kestrel the same way. I am 5’10" and 180#. I am not an acrobat and have average canoeing skills. It does require a little while to get used to a small boat,but I much prefer them. I look foreward to trying this one.
Turtle
Any updates on this?