I’ve recently received a couple of fairly nice paddles which have a branding that I am unfamiliar with and I was wondering if anyone else has seen these. The dolphin over waves over the word Voyageur image is the only logo on the paddle. It appears to be branded into the wood.
https://flic.kr/p/s6RpmT
https://flic.kr/p/s4YEeV
I know Sawyer and Grey Owl have Voyageur models. The paddles doesn’t look a thing like the Sawyer. They look a little like the Grey Owl Voyageur pics I’ve seen online, but every Grey Owl paddle I’ve seen, in pics or in person, have their logo on the paddle and not the model name. That’s definitely not on these paddles.
They don’t feel like top of the line paddles, but they’re not bad. Definitely don’t feel like bottom end ones. They feel pretty similar to some BB Arrow paddles I have.
Voyageur…
...Was Mad River's line of canoe accessories before the reshuffling, re-branding, and general mauling of brands under Confluence ownership. Decent mid level paddles, nothing amazing, but not low end trash. Replaced in the Confluence universe by Harmony.
interesting
Thanks for the info. That predates my involvement in paddling, so I guess it’s no wonder I’d never heard of them. They must be pretty old paddles in that case. I’m amazed at the great condition of these given their age.
kayak paddles
Oddly, I have a 230 cm fiberglass shaft kayak paddle with plastic blades with the Voyageur logo, picked up on clearance from an outfitter many years ago. I have never found any mention of who might have made it. You suppose MR would have branded something like that to sell with pack canoes at some point? It's actually quite a nice paddle, light and with slim blades. I used to use it as the bow paddler in our MR tandem canoe.
MR didn’t make pack canoes
back then…
Hornbeck had that market along with WCHA builders of historic craft. That is till Placid rattled the pack canoe cage in the early 2000s.
remains a mystery then
Guess I will never know the provenance of my favorite non-GP paddle. Will have to remain a mystery.
from another site
I’d asked this question at a different site. Someone indicated that Voyageur used to be based in Kansas, they were bought by Mad River and moved to New England. Voyageur went away when Mad River’s ownership changed.
So I suppose it’s possible they made many other things, like kayak paddles, prior to being absorbed by Mad River and later being phased out.