Ozark river and streams

I’m becoming increasingly interested in a canoe as that seems to be best for my area on some of the streams and rivers I will be on. Anyone have thoughts on the Esquif Prospecteur 15? Its not royalex but is made of T-Formex material basically a royalex replacement. There’s actually a dealer 40 miles away. I might take a look at it this weekend.
Any other solo canoes I should consider? Will be used for muti nights, as well and some fishing. Thanks

There are many canoes suitable for paddling the majority of rivers and streams in the Ozarks. T-Formex is relatively new to the market so the verdict has not yet come in on long-term durability. The few early reports I have read seem favorable. As for the Prospecteur 15, I have not paddled one but I have been in an Esquif Prospecteur 16 tandem. That boat had a great deal of rocker for a Prospector type canoe and tracked pretty poorly.

If you are located in the Ozarks you might consider coming to the Spring Rendezvous which will be the first week of May on the North Fork of the White River. You would likely see quite a variety of canoes there, mostly solos. For more info, see the thread in the “Getting Together & Going Paddling” subforum.

I was at a very large boat show a week-and-a-half ago and I looked at an Equif Prospector 16. I actually bought a Nova Craft Prospector 16 at the show, and because of my own reasons and research, my choice of Nova Craft had already been decided, but I looked at the Equif Propsector out of curiosity. The Equif Prospector 16 had a much flatter bottom than the original Prospector or Nova Craft’s version. I don’t know if that would be the case for Esquif’s 15-footer. They had a solo version at the show but it was on the floor and I didn’t roll it over to get a better look at the hull profile. To my eye, the rocker of the 16-footer didn’t look much different from the 2.5 inches on the Nova Craft version, but rocker can be deceptive when checked at a glance (and even calling it “2.5 inches” depends on the method of measurement, and not all companies measure in the same way). I suspect that the flatter bottom accentuates the effect of rocker (makes it track more loosely).

I know that’s not very helpful at the moment, but it may steer your thinking and research in some way that makes a difference later on.

I’ll second Pete’s comment that a many different canoe models would do the job. What works well for you would depend on your size and weight more than any other factor. As an example of that, my favorite all-around solo canoe (in my tiny fleet, not overall) is the Mohawk Odyssey 14. I’m rather light in weight, and I don’t think this boat would work well for someone who weighs 100 pounds more than I do, as a fair number of paddlers I’ve met actually do!

There are a lot of canoes that would work well enough on most of the Ozark rivers I’ve encountered. Having taken a look at the Esquif Prospector 15 at the show GuideboatGuy mentioned, I’d say there are many worse choices. The main thing is you’ll want something that can stand up to gravel at landings and in sliding over shallows. That is pretty much inevitable down there if you paddle long enough. Its rougher usage than most lake or flatwater river paddling. Royalex or something as much like it as you can find (T-Formex or Tuff weave are the best new relatively untested choices as far as I’m aware) is the preference. If you can find one, a Mad River Guide/Freedom solo is a very fine choice for use down there.

My (solo) canoe suggestions for Ozark rivers & streams:

Mad River Guide
Mohawk Odyssey 14
Bell Wildfire
Mad River Freedom Solo
Mohawk Solo 14
Mohawk Solo 13
Wenonah Vagabond

I have owned & paddled all the canoes listed at one time. I currently own a MR Guide, Bell Wildfire and Mohawk Odyssey 14. I am 6’4" tall & weigh about 220 lb. My wife inherited my Mohawk Solo 13, and Wenonah Vagabond. She prefers the Solo 13 to the Vagabond.

In the hands of a decent paddler, the boats listed can deal with virtually any Class I or II class ll. Key words are “decent paddler”.
If the river has some lower class lll; I would not choose the Wildfire, Solo 14, Solo 13, or Wenonah Vagabond. Those that are left, would be fully bagged out before I used them.

Often I take one of several 13 foot whitewater solos I own on Ozark rivers.
Fun to play around with surf waves, ferries, eddy turns, and peel outs due totheir higher degree of manueverability. I’m not interested in racing anyone from point A to point B.

BOB

It is unfortunate that (Royalex layup) canoes are no longer produced. You’d have to search the used market places for most of the boats listed.
I favored Mohawk"s Probe 12, and Probe 12 -2, and Mad Rivers Outrage X for whitewater.
As stated previously; the Ozark Rendezvous will have a plethora of solo canoes you could test paddle.

@thebob.com said:
My (solo) canoe suggestions for Ozark rivers & streams:

Mad River Guide
Mohawk Odyssey 14
Bell Wildfire
Mad River Freedom Solo
Mohawk Solo 14
Mohawk Solo 13
Wenonah Vagabond

I have owned & paddled all the canoes listed at one time. I currently own a MR Guide, Bell Wildfire and Mohawk Odyssey 14. I am 6’4" tall & weigh about 220 lb. My wife inherited my Mohawk Solo 13, and Wenonah Vagabond. She prefers the Solo 13 to the Vagabond.

In the hands of a decent paddler, the boats listed can deal with virtually any Class I or II class ll. Key words are “decent paddler”.
If the river has some lower class lll; I would not choose the Wildfire, Solo 14, Solo 13, or Wenonah Vagabond. Those that are left, would be fully bagged out before I used them.

Often I take one of several 13 foot whitewater solos I own on Ozark rivers.
Fun to play around with surf waves, ferries, eddy turns, and peel outs due totheir higher degree of manueverability. I’m not interested in racing anyone from point A to point B.

BOB

It is unfortunate that (Royalex layup) canoes are no longer produced. You’d have to search the used market places for most of the boats listed.
I favored Mohawk"s Probe 12, and Probe 12 -2, and Mad Rivers Outrage X for whitewater.
As stated previously; the Ozark Rendezvous will have a plethora of solo canoes you could test paddle.

Thanks Bob.

Thanks for all the great comments. Gives me alot to think about. And Bob thanks for that list of canoes very helpful? Now the hunt begins.

I love the boat hunt. I have helped several people find boats they like. All of the pleasure, no $$$ pain!

If you are seeing an Esquif dealer, maybe the Echo

http://www.esquif.com/en/touring/echo/

Never seen one, never even heard anyone talk about one, but it looks like a 14 foot river runner along the lines that Bob was listing.

Someday I would like to break into Bob’s garage and “borrow” a few boats. :wink:

@eckilson said:
Someday I would like to break into Bob’s garage and “borrow” a few boats. :wink:

I’ll gladly help! B)

That would be grand larceny for sure.

Flotsam , you NEED one of those Esquif Echoes! You can hide it between the sailboats.

@string said:
Flotsam , you NEED one of those Esquif Echoes! You can hide it between the sailboats.

You bank roll it twisted twine. Let’s go for it!

I admit to being a bit twisted; the arthritis sees to that.