I used to own a Dagger Reflection 15[ royalex], no longer made, and was hoping I could get a paddling comparison with the Wenonah Rendezvous. I know the Rendezvous is longer but are there any similarities/differences in paddling and handling for slow rivers to class II? Thanks.
The Rendezvous is faster, and will
handle whitewater maneuvers a little better. The Rendezvous is mainly a solo boat, while the Reflection is a pocket tandem that makes a pretty good solo. I think the pinched in sides of the Rendezvous will make it easier to paddle solo, especially if you use a bent shaft paddle at times.
Eric Nyre has the most Rendezvous experience on this board. I’ve paddled one for a short time on flatwater only. The Rendezvous should be considered a good whitewater cruiser, but not a whitewater “playboat” by any stretch.
Which Rendezvous?
As you may know Wenonah made royalex and composite versions of this canoe and they have some distinct differences. I owned a Tuffweave version and really loved it as a downriver boat good up to class II+ and with the tumblehome,…it was a pleasure to paddle. I did swim once when I let the boat get sideways and a big wave caught the tumblehome and that will flip you instantly. I believe the royalex version has a little less tumblehome and much more blunt stems which makes it significantly slower. Anyone else have experience with comparing both versions?
if you realy liked the Reflection
Buy another one. You’ll find the Reflection now being built under the Mad River brand. I saw three Reflections this past year for sale in the local Craigslist, so you might even be able to find a used Dagger hull.
I bought one last year and rebuilt it. Now it has a more rocker and is a dedicated tandem. I love it for small streams, but it doesn’t compare at all to a Rendezvous in how I’m using the boat.
The one I tried was Royalex, and was
plenty fast enough. It just didn’t have enough rocker or spin ability for this serious whitewater turkey.
I would buy the Tuffweave also, but I wouldn’t buy one at all unless I needed to cover ground in a hurry with lower priority on turning.