This Thread has been very informative. Many knowledgeable folks have enlightened me.
Question #1: Is the decked Rob Roy-style synthetic-material canoe, as was made by Bart Hauthaway and Dan Sheehan passe; that is, was the decking mostly about aesthetics, a quaint connection to Rushton, an affectation?
The pack canoes that links are provided for in the previous posts, i.e., Hornbeck; Hemlock are all open – no decked canoes that I can see being offered at all.
It is understood that these decked pack canoes are mostly intended for casual pond paddling or fishing, and probably not for camping or rivers.
Question #2: If maintenance and cracking of natural wooded rails are possible problems, as some have suggested, why would not the decking of an ultralight Rob Roy, which obviates gunnels, add greater strength to the whole boat and lessen maintenance?
I camp on Lake Superior in my Rapid Fire… Its fifteen feet long and is a serious camping pack canoe. I have been backcountry canoeing for 10 days in the Everglades… There you must carry camping gear AND fresh water.
There are mentions on forums of people doing BWCA trips. However the shorter versions of pack canoes like any canoe limits what gear you can put in them. A 12 foot anything is going to be tough to cram stuff in.
Decking is not an affectation… Sea canoes are routinely partially decked. Those are designed for ocean paddling and their decks add some weight… Moreover they are in the sixteen to eighteen foot length range and made for expeditions… However one has been carried up and over the Chilkoot Pass for a 5000 mile voyage. It is far easier to portage an undecked canoe( that guy was heroic)
Wood Rails do not routinely crack but infused rails are also quite strong and quite a bit less weight.
Pack Canoes in their 130 year old ADK history were designed for bushwhacking and weight was a concern… Ergo most of them are sub 30 lbs. Rob Roy was a little different beast. Pardon. IS … Ted Bell is still building them. However RR is for little paddlers if carrying camping gear… Rapid can carry canoe packs with its open decks… RR needs little packs.
A few years ago I had an itch to go from my home, a few miles west of the Adirondack Blue Line, to my daughter’s home, a few miles east of Plattsburgh. For that trip, the only reasonable boat I could use would be a Hornbeck. I constructed a carry yoke to mount to my Knupak backpack. I loaded everything I would need and set out for what I budgeted to be up to a 10 day trip. It turned out to be a 7 day trip, due to long paddling hours to get away from heavy deer flies during daylight hours. It ended up being a total distance of 185 miles on a diagonal line through the adirondacks, including 62 total miles of carries with the boat and all gear on my back. Could not have done it in any other boat. I also use my Hornbeck for bushwhacking to remote ponds, mostly in the western adirondacks. I have found when a friend comes with me, carrying a longer boat, I can easily wind my way between trees off trail with the Hornbeck, but my friend must take longer paths, unable to make the turns that I can between closely spaced trees.
I now also have a Placidboat RapidFire, with a high rail mounted seat for single blade paddling. I much prefer to paddle the RF single blade, as I really dislike using a double blade in any boat, though it is a necessary evil in the sit on bottom Hornbeck. Very different boats for very different purposes.
@yknpdlr said:
A few years ago I had an itch to go from my home, a few miles west of the Adirondack Blue Line, to my daughter’s home, a few miles east of Plattsburgh. For that trip, the only reasonable boat I could use would be a Hornbeck. I constructed a carry yoke to mount to my Knupak backpack. I loaded everything I would need and set out for what I budgeted to be up to a 10 day trip. It turned out to be a 7 day trip, due to long paddling hours to get away from heavy deer flies during daylight hours. It ended up being a total distance of 185 miles on a diagonal line through the adirondacks, including 62 total miles of carries with the boat and all gear on my back. Could not have done it in any other boat. I also use my Hornbeck for bushwhacking to remote ponds, mostly in the western adirondacks. I have found when a friend comes with me, carrying a longer boat, I can easily wind my way between trees off trail with the Hornbeck, but my friend must take longer paths, unable to make the turns that I can between closely spaced trees.
I now also have a Placidboat RapidFire, with a high rail mounted seat for single blade paddling. I much prefer to paddle the RF single blade, as I really dislike using a double blade in any boat, though it is a necessary evil in the sit on bottom Hornbeck. Very different boats for very different purposes.
Been digging my 12’ (18 lbs) Hornbeck almost every weekend this summer. It just so light and easy to load on the car. I routinely portage 100 plus yards without stopping, carrying my tackle tote on one hand and the boat with 2 rods and paddle inside on the other hand. Couple of weeks ago, went out on large Lake Umbagog with 20 mph plus gusts. Not problem in the handling the choppy waves and wind. (I do have bow and stern float bags in the canoe just in case…). I have enough room to carry several days of camping equipment and provisions to camp on some of the islands I went by.
I have paddled my Hornbeck in some very windy conditions, including on the famously windy northern end of Raquette Lake, Long Lake, and on Lake Champlain. I find that if I keep weight away from bow and stern, then the unweighted ends just bob up over the waves rather than cutting through and therefore I don’t take on any water… My large pack minus a couple of bags rides immediately behind me, and a smaller dry bag or two is comfortable under my knees, centering the weight as much as possible. For truly rough conditions I have a home made spray cover that sheds water just fine.