Pack Canoe Discussion Group
Not to hijack this thread or take any thing away from paddling.net but a couple of months ago I started a Yahoo Groups Pack Canoe discussion group. Here’s the address:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/packcanoe/
There hasn’t been much traffic but clearly there’s a lot to learn and discuss about Pack Canoes. Maybe we can get things rolling over there.Thanks.
Joe Fallon
PS: I have permission to post this notice. jf
Great!
Thanks! I’m new to solo canoeing and have a lot to learn. I’ll check it out later; right now I’m going paddling.
Bart Hauthaway
Bart was a good friend as well as a noteworthy paddler and sm. boat designer/builder. I was at his house and with him at events numerous times. Two of his decked canoes are in my fleet.
The Mystic Small Craft Workshop is being revived tomorrow at the Seaport. During the decades I attended this event, I would always see Bart out for many hours in his 10’6" Rob Roy canoe. He taught efficient stroke technique (in his uniquely entertaining way) to anyone who was interested (for free).
The first time I met Bart I was churning the water with my paddle, as only the young and strong can do, when this older guy effortlessly paddled up to me and offered the observation “God, you have a awful stroke” stated with a fine Boston accent. He then spent the next hour paddling alongside me while teaching me how to paddle more efficiently.
I will have a hollow feeling tomorrow when I look out at the water at the Seaport and don’t see Bart. As you can read in my words, I really miss the old cuss.
Dave
PakBoats vs Bic foldable
I have a Puffin 12’ PakBoat and love it, but it does take time setting it up. I was looking at the Bic Yakka 120 on Red Elm Outfitters site and wonder if anyone has any experience with Bic? They look ok for scenic floats and alot quicker setting up.
Thanks
Don
I just became the fifth
member of your Yahoo group. My little Tupper would look so cute with your Wee Lassie and Lost Pond—too bad Virginia is so far from Florida.
Sissy
Hi Sissy
Thanks for the information- it was very helpful. I have a condo that includes a garage- I’m lucky on that count. Based on your info and what others have posted, I’m going to actively pursue checking out pack canoes. They basically sound just like what I need for the kind of paddling I do. Thanks for the offer to try out your Tupper- would have been fun if it were possible. Keep on enjoying your boat and posting your experiences. Thanks.
~Trish
yahoo group
Thanks Joe- I plan to check on this site as well. I have lots to learn too.
questions
So as I pursue checking out pack canoes here is what I’m wondering: at my weight and height of 137lbs and 5’6" any opinions on which boat would be a good starting point for me. I paddle on ponds and lakes with wind and chop frequently occuring and maybe an occasional stream. But no whitewater!I might have to drag it or hopefully carry it across a beaver dam once in awhile. So what should I be aiming for in terms of construction material. I’m sure I want easy maintenance= no wood I guess?
Right now my vehicle is set up with Thule cross bars and glide and set saddles- what changes will I need to make on that? Will I need a different paddle- mine is a 230. So many questions… yikes.
But first off if I can get some collective opinions on which boat that will be helpful.
Thanks to all.
~Trish
comparison chart
I maintain a comparison chart with the specs on every pack canoe available in a Word file. If you would like an electronic copy, email me at charliewilson610@roadrunner.com.
Definitely
get Charlie’s comparison chart. Then go to each company’s web site and check out their info and try to find local dealers to try before you buy. Also check the reviews on this site. At your height and weight any pack canoe except the 9’ Hornbeck should be fine. Placid, Wenonah, Hornbeck, Savage River, and I think Vermont all offer virtually maintenance free boats (no, or little wood). They’re all fine boats and it will come down to personal preference and what’s available to you.
comparison charts
I actually already have the comparison charts- from Fall 08. Other than the weight, the length and the price, they don’t mean too much to me. In other words, it’s like trying to learn another language. I guess I will have to look around some… Maine is mostly Old Town Country- Hard to find much else. Other boats exist but are not easy to find. I contacted Lincoln Canoe and Kayak but they don’t make a pack canoe apparently. I’ll keep researching.
Thanks Joe and Charlie.
Make a trip to the Adirondacks
and visit Placid BoatWorks and also Hornbeck…they are about an hour and a half a apart.
They have the majority share of the pack boat market.
Or go to New Hampshire and visit Geoff Burke.
Nothing in Maine is at your doorstep…but its not that incovnenient…On the way up 89 stop at Vermont Canoe for another packboat.
It would be a very intense few days. Lots to try.
I can see the
why have a deck for most people’s recreational pond/small river paddling. I had the same thought.
But as to the whether its a “niche” market and should more people consider them
I had thought (erroneously?) that canoes require more knowledge/skill/technique, are more easily tipped and harder to rescue…leaving small pack boats back in the niche?
kayamedic
Hi Kim
Traveling out of state for a canoe is fairly inconvenient, I’m afraid. I work full time and have used up much of my vacation already. But I will keep looking.
And who is Geoff in N.H. by the way?
Thanks for the comments.
Geoff Burke
Geoff Burke is a wooden boatbuilder, doing business as Chocorua Boatworks, in Tamworth NH.
“We build all-wood lapstrake small craft with a focus on Rushton-type double paddle and sailing canoes and Adirondack guideboats. We have hundreds of plans to select from and all boats are built to order”.
Geoff made me a 14’ wood lapstrake canoe 13 years ago. It’s my most beautiful canoe and continues to be one of my two favorite to paddle (the other being a Rapidfire).
Dave
Thank you, Dave
Wood is beautiful and I certainly appreciate the workmanship in something like that- but low to no maintenance is a must for me.
Thanks for posting!
Wood need not be high maintenance
– Last Updated: Jun-09-09 12:12 AM EST –
I have had several wooden boats for years now and a touch of varnish every couple of years on spots that get some rubbing is all that is needed.
I love the final hull being covered in marine enamel or a surface like poly out of a can..no complicated gel coat to fix..just slop on some paint with a foamie.
If you can store a boat under cover with good ventilation and not on the ground under a deck, wood is a low maintenance option.
Geoff had Scherzo a wooden boat from the 1880s. I bet few synthetic boats live that long, though I certainly hope some do.
The real issue with a wooden boat is the state of the wallet. While they are worth every penny they are labor intensive to make and most wooden boatbuilders are hence working for a few bucks an hour.
Dagger Tupelo
was an ABS pack canoe. I have seen a couple, always in horrid colors.
I like ‘em!
The local state park (HRSP) let’s me use their S.O.B. Dagger Tupelo when I’m giving canoe tours. It’s quick, light, and agile even with all the safety & rescue gear I carry in it. Even Ol’ Moe (the resident 13ft. bull gator) fell in love with it (maybe due to the green w/ black trim color scheme). Just wish he hadn’t done so with me in it. It’s only happened once and never had a problem with him over it since. Maybe the old boy is in bad need of glasses or contacts.
Uh-oh
I’d better stay away from Ol Moe then when I go to the Hillsborough, because my slinky little canoe is a lovely shade of green, and at 12 ft 9 in, she’s smaller than Ol Moe.
You think an old Florida gator would go for a cool Vermont canoe ;^?