It is one sweet looking canoe.
Does any one have one, and if yes, what is your opinion of it?
How would it compare to a Wenonah Jensen?
According to the specs it is quite a bit wider, and I was wondering if that would hurt it’s speed?
cheers,
JackL
It is competitive in Stock class
Jack,
Several good paddlers up here have used the Susquehanna and won. They were using dealer boats and did not buy them, just tried them for comparison and it gave the manufacturer a lot of good press cause they won. The teams that won with the Susquehanna may very well have won with their old boats, they were the best teams. The ones i talked to liked the boat, said it turned better than the Jensen and was more seaworthy; but not necessarily faster on flat water. The Grasse River Monarch is the one to watch now, it has been very successful in its limited outings. This years NYMCRA points races will tell which is the best boat.
Bill
Better Opinon
Jack,
Check with Jim Genkos at J&J canoe in Auburn NY. He sells both Grasse River and Savage River and paddles all the models.
Bill
Thanks,
We are heading up to Maryland tomorrow to demo one and I was curious to see what others thought of the boat.
The racing layout is about five pounds less than the Jensen 17, but yet it is wider.
Cheers,
JackL
Wenonah weights
Jack,
There is a difference in the method used for published weights by Wenonah. Many years ago they published the average weight of each layup. A competitor got ahold of a particularly heavy one and cried foul, Wenonah was “lying” about their weights. So for about one season they recorded the weights of every hull they made and published the weight of the heaviest one as the canoe weight. Now everyone is at least as light as the catalog figure and most are less, some a significant amount less.
Savage River is a low volume builder, doing basically race boats. A low weight is very important in their business and they may be able to control their weights better. The Susquehanna may be slightly shallower or the layup may be lighter.
Bill