OK, so I admit it. I haven’t bought a canoe for almost 2 years and I’m going into withdrawals. I’m sorry, I can’t help myself. The web pages of Bell, Swift, Esquif keep sucking me in.
I have a Swift Dumoine that I am trying with all my might to get Bill Swift to take back due to separation of the outer layer. He has agreed in principle to give me $600 for it, but when push came to shove, he called me at 7 pm on a Sunday night to ask if “it would be convenient for him to pick it up at 10 pm that same night on his way through Denver” last summer. I am hoping for a more convenient time this summer when he goes to the outdoor retailers show in Salt Lake. I replied simply saying I didn’t think anything was convenient at 10 pm on Sunday night! But, that is another story…
So, I really like the Dumoine. My son and I took it to paddle the Waterfound and Fon Du Lac rivers last summer and it performed great. The only problem was the black bear that decided to bite a hole in the stern stem in the middle of the night. Thank God for duct tape! I like the looks of the Esquif Canyon, but have not paddled one. I am wondering what other canoes you folks might suggest I take a look at.
Here’s some info about me. I consider myself an intermediate paddler. Above about class II, anxiety/fear overwhelms the joy of pure paddling, so I don’t do that. That being said, I like river paddling more than lakes. I think I have a good enough set of skills to not be bothered by more rocker on flat water, if it allows me to have more fun in the whitewater up to II. My favorite paddling is wilderness tripping, but I do far more day trips and overnighters than full blown expeditions. The Dumoine is royalex and thus heavier than I would prefer on portages. I love the look of wood finish work and have a hard time picturing myself buying vinyl of aluminum gunwales or decks. I paddle mostly with my 14 year old son. On day trips, we prefer to both paddle our solo boats, so the tandem will probably be mostly for longer trips, but there will be times when we use it for short trips.
I guess that is all I can think of that would be important, but don’t hesitate to ask questions if I have forgotten to include pertinent info. There you go…
Have at it you gurus of human powered hydrolic propulsion!!!
Us know-it-alls are confused.
You may have to decide the Royalex versus composite issue before you get much advice, and also indicate how much rock contact you expect in your class 2 rivers. For solo paddling, I can be accurate enough to use a Kevlar/S-glass boat in class 2 and 3 rapids, even when loaded. But for tandem paddling, few tandem teams are going to be that accurate, so a Royalex boat with a blunt bow will last much longer.
that’s a tough one
While practicality tells me to go with plastic, my heart wants the lighter material and finer lines. Perhaps you could give me some options for both sides of me and I won’t ahve to decide that now.
My Gut Is Telling Me…
…another Canadian canoe might be the ticket for you. A Novacraft Prospector would be one you need to check out. I have a friend with one, and it is an excellent river boat. His is the royalex version, with wood gunnels. The wood trim isn’t fancy, but it is nicely done. I have another friend with a Supernova WW boat in kevlar, and the kevlar is definetely something that will take plenty of rock bashing. You may even check out that new Bluesteel layup. And the seat lacing in the Novacraft, very comfortable and unique. Here’s a pic of my friend doing a bit of WW in his kevlar Novacraft Supernova. Hope that helps! WW
http://community.webshots.com/photo/131253592/131275148pMvMWM
Thanks
for the idea WW. I will definitely check the NC prospector out.