Hemlock SRT
specs look good except it doesn’t appear to be available in royalex or royalite. And it might be more costly in its kevlar/hybrid or premium layup than I want to spend on a rock basher. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind paying for a good hull-I own carbon and kevlar Wenonahs and a kev-crystal Bell and my tandem low water/classII rat is a Wenonah Spirit II in royalex that I enjoy…heavy but fuggetaboutit in boney water. AND I DRIVE A FRICKIN’ SUBARU AS WELL!!
Spirit II in boney water?
Do you find the Sprit II bad for low water because it is hard to maneuver as a solo? That I could definately understand. You don’t mean it draws too much water do you? If that is what you mean (I doubt it is) I think you would have a tough time finding any solo that draws less.
Rather than post another thread
I’m gonna hop onto this one. I’ll be in the market for a solo tripper too, one that can handle mild rapids (up to straightforward Class III) yet still get me across the big ponds without too much hassle. Also one that is reasonably large enough to pole if I had to. So I’ve been following the response to this thread and looking around myself.
I found a Wenonah canoe that sounds interesting…a Rendezvous. Any of you have one or ever paddled one? I’d like to know how it might compare to the yellowstone solo or supernova talked about here (both of which also interest me).
-Chuck
I paddle
the Spirit II with a partner, not solo. It weighs too much for me to be hogging it on and off my car to paddle solo. I’ll take my carbon Prism on other water before I’d do that. River approaches here aren’t always the most accessible. It’s not that the Spirit draws too much. What I meant was when I do scrape bottom, I don’t worry like I would with the carbon or kevlar layup hulls. I had a Grumman AL hull for years. I never worried about rocks, limbs…anything. When I stepped up to composites, I had to rethink. I really like the Spirit II. It does what I want it to do.
Rendevous
IMO that’s one butt ugly hull.
But I’ve never paddled one so what do I know?
Eric Nyre has a real good page on the Rendevouse including recomended mods to older Royalex boats.
http://www.canoecolorado.com/canoeing/wenonah/rendezvous/
Tommy
Some Thoughts
– Last Updated: Feb-07-07 4:17 PM EST –
I've never paddled a Rendezvous, but looking at the cross-section diagrams in the Wenonah catalog shows that it has a much flatter bottom than most other Wenonah solos, so I can certainly say for sure that it's waaaay flatter on the bottom than a Supernova. Therefore, for poling, I'd guess that the Rendezvous would be a lot better than a Supernova. I'd hesitate to do very much standing in my Supernova, but I bet Topher could do it. Still, most polers seem to favor wide, rock-solid, general-purpose tandems (Old Town Discos seem to be popular for that) rather than solos.
On the same subject, I seriously doubt that the Wildfire/Yellowstone could ever be considered suitable for poling, but that's just my hunch based on the "sporty feel" of that canoe.
only we-no-nah
– Last Updated: Feb-07-07 5:46 PM EST –
for me is the "rogue". Rest seem too "track-worthy."
Don't think there's enough rocker or volume for me in the wave trains with the rendezvous, just a hunch.
Rogue
That’s an uglier hull than the Rendevous. Uhg!
For some reason the designs Wenonah sells for whitewater don’t look like anything I’d want to take down a river.
Again I’ve never paddled any of them. So I could be all wet as to their performance. They just don’t look like whitewater boats to me.
Tommy
Yeah, not pretty
– Last Updated: Feb-07-07 6:39 PM EST –
but a high volume, hopefully dry ride, looks like a good surfer. Lotta windage from what I see. Just remember Tommy, you don't see the canoe you paddle, the other guy does, so ugly don't matter.
Really gotta do something about the one in the bed though...
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2423041060094366337FbqxZQ
The discerning paddler…
– Last Updated: Feb-07-07 6:47 PM EST –
The discerning paddler don't paddle no "butt ugly" canoe!
I have done very little canoe poling, but found the Old Town Pathfinder to be my favorite.Rock solid stability for standing/poling, easily paddled solo by a decent paddler, and it will carry a lot of gear.
I like my Wildfire, but "not" for poling.
Poling a Supernova might be a fun way to spend a Summer afternoon; when you don't mind getting wet. If someone will bring a Supernova (Hey Jeff!), to the Spring Ozark Rendezvous, I'll bring my pole, sit on the riverbank, watch the fun & take photos.
BOB
The rendezvous
Thanks, Tommy, for the Colorado site. It confirmed my suspicion that the Rendesvous was designed specifically for what I wanted it for…wilderness tripping through multiple types of watery environments. I agree that it is a pretty ugly boat, but I prefer function over form, to some extent. And it’s not as ugly as Daggermatt’s son’s boat!
It was also instructive to read the differences between the Royalex and the kevlar layups…the specific boat I looked at was of the ultralight kevlar variety and possibly not ideal for some of the rocky stuff. The Royalex may be slower, but I bet it is a hell of a lot faster than my Explorer.
Good points made about poling too…yeah, a rounded hull presents problems. I’m sure I could pole a supernova or yellowstone, but not down a rapid. I’ll stay in the Explorer for that stuff, I guess. I’ve paddled a wildfire, and I’m sure that it is not a boat meant to be poled.
Some food for thought here, and for those of you that want to weigh in further, keep 'em coming!
-rs
Bell dealer in Colonie, NY
Adirondack Paddle ‘N’ Pole, just west of Troy, stocks Bells and will let you test-paddle them when time permits (he’s not right on the water).
– Mark
river/stream size…!?
zeke,
As/IF! you’ll get into deeper enjoyment of your paddling time…in time you’ll definitely see a point where you’ll want two(or possibly three->an OC-1) canoes for moving water…one for Big water, and one for smaller(twisty/turny/rocky…etc) settings… just my $.01 opinion…
Demo if possible…
Best of Luck
Steve
got no problem
with having more boats Steve. Got no wife to hassle me about how I spend my money and “how many do you need” conversations. I do need to sell my Bell Mystic in order to finance the next C1. I prefer my MNII for a C2 tripper. The Bell is gorgeous, next to new but completely redundant for me.
Bell Wildfire
I have a Bell Wildfire that I have had for eight years. I have paddled it on the Buffalo, camping for several days, in Indiana, Missouri, Florida, and my home state of Alabama. It is perfect for me. I like it so much, I bought another one someone had for sale. I, also, have a Mohawk Solo 13 that I use for rambo trips, constantly pulling over downed trees, etc.
Rondezvous
Zeke,
I don’t do heavy whitewater, but live in Rochester and paddle many of the rivers and creeks in “Upstate NY”. I have paddled the PVC core Kevlar version of the Rondezvous on streams and on Canandaigua Lake. The boat I used was equipped by its owwner with float bags and a saddle w/ thigh straps. I did not like the dedicated whitewater seat for fishing or lazy stream paddling, but it was very secure for the big waves and powerboat wakes on a rough windy day on Canandaigua Lake. The boat has been whitewatered alot, the bottom has countless scratches, but very little of the expected ‘kevlar fuzz’. Maybe the rocks it has passed over are well rounded and algae covered, and did not dig in like sharp granite.
I did like its maneuverability, but not its tracking in the open water. It is the most seaworthy composite solo i ever paddled. I have only paddled the Royalex version on a pond and it was very different. The one i paddled did not have the Eric Nyre modifications.
From the Binghamton area to Oak Orchard in Waterport is about 3 hours, and they usually have the Rondezvous and SuperNova in stock. Bill Finley had the composite Rondezvous as his personal solo, and Todd Finley had a SuperNova, so they can speak from personal experience on both hulls. I ended up buying the now defunct Mocassin cause i do tripping and not whitewater.
You mentioned that Eureka is putting product back into the store. Have you seen any notice that they will be running their annual sale the first week of March? I always try to make the Sunday auction to find bargains for the Scout troop and would appreciate knowing if it will happen this year.
Bill
Get a crossover tandem length
I find a crossover tandem the best bang for the buck. I have 2 Propector hulls. One is a 16’ Novacraft in Royalite and one is a 15’6" Clipper in a ww Kevlar layup. .
I am in Las Vegas and paddle these on both the Colorado river and in Lake Mead in wide open bays. I have paddled the Nova Craft solo for 72 miles in the Bowron Lakes Circuit in BC Canada.
These boats paddle very easily solo in both whitewater and open flat water. They are easily paddled or poled when standing and both maneuver very well even when full of gear. i recently paddled my Clipper with a group of yakers upstream in the Colorado. I am 60 years old and I got to the campsite 8 miles upstream at the same time as the rest of the group. I feel that either one of these boats will handle most kinds of water and have the benefit of going either tandem or solo. In flat water I paddle Canadian style , heeled over and paddling on the right side only even when loaded. I believe these to be some of the most versitile designs out there.
On the Rendezvous
I’ve had my RX Rendezvous for a couple a years now and did Eric’s recommended modifications. I’m happy with the results. I bought it to trip on swallow, rocky rivers up to easy class III with camping gear and it will do that well though wet in steep waves. It turns ok, but nothing like a playboat would. What I really like is its speed in the flats…understand that my frame of reference was paddling a 16’Dagger Legend solo on whitewater camping trips…so anything that moves more than 3mph seems fast to me. Never tried to stand up in it.
Mad River Guide
or Freedom Solo as dems call it now, be a good all-round solo river canoo in me’ opinion. Or a 16’ Prospector paddled Canadian style as already mentioned.
FE
MR Guide …
for sale in the classifieds listed by Canoedancing. Please buy it so I can stop drooling over it. Thank you.