Well, I saw a brand new American Trader " trader " canoe the other day and test paddled it. What fun! Anyway, does anyone have any comments on it relative to day paddling, solo tripping etc? I am real curious about this boat. Are they good quality boats? I love to ponder about new boats on cold wintery days.
Blwah
K. I have seen a few of Tom MacKenzie’s, so that American Trader just looks like crap. I wish I could afford either.
WC
If I was to get a W/C canoe [oh I already did], I’d talk to Doug Ingram of Red River Canoes in Manitoba. I love my little red Fox. The AT canoes I’ve seen are very, very wide.
Agree with above posts…
so if I was going to ponder during the winter, do it on some boats of substantially better build and design.
Tom MacKenzie’s Loon Works boats are out of this world, and Doug Ingram’s are sweet also. The Loon Works boats are not technically “canvas”, but rather Dacron. Many of Tom’s boats are works of art that are hull designs by David Yost.
Wood and Canvas
They make canoes out of other stuff???
Truth be known…
the buyer can choose canvas or dacron depending on preference and cost. Dacron being more expensive. Tom makes what he calls a work boat which from my perspective is a work of art but it has standard woods and canvas exterior. His standard wood being red cedar planks, white cedar ribs and ash gunwales, thwarts, and deck plates. Others like my Aria have more exotic custom ordered wood such as paduc and cherry and Dacron exterior. Dacron is a bit lighter and smoother.
Whatever the case they paddle like a dream. I asked Yost once, why W & C paddled differently than composite boats. He wasn’t positive but thought it had something to do with rigidity.
I really miss paddling the Aria that Hurr. Gus took.
Pagayeur
Wood/Canvas
It does not get anywhere near the usage that several of my other canoes get. It is not the lightest, not the fastest, and was not the most expensive of my canoes. But my 1966 Chestnut Pal is the canoe that brings the biggest smile to my face when I do get it out on the water, and it is probably the canoe that I am most proud to own. It is also the one that gets the most inquiries & comments from non paddlers.
BOB
Classic wood canvas canoes
– Last Updated: Dec-06-08 6:51 PM EST –
Before you plunk down your money on the ones mentioned please take a look at Rollin Thurlows Rushton Indian Girl or the 15 ft BN Morris. Those are two I helped Rollin get off the ground rising them up from the dead.After you see those two you will forget about all the others. How do they paddle you say? They paddle just as they look!
Wimminfolk
do like dem woodies!
FE
American Traders are mass produced
so they might be a good buy if you tend to be squeamish about paddling a custom handbuilt boat.
I find them clunky and poorly finished, but then again my stable is Loon Works boats. Tom is not building work boats anymore. I cured him of that. I commissioned a work boat and he spent so much time on it that it was a loss of money to him. The work boats used to be thirty percent lower in price. Work boats were not bookmatched and were made from wood available in the pile . They still were dacron covered.
The downside to cecconite(aircraft dacron) is that it telegraphs imperfections…Your fairing has to exquisite for tacks and seams to be hidden.
Toms boats are lighter weight than AT as the ribs and planks have been thinned down. If your trips are of the style that you dont drop a boat…the Mistral or Pal would be nice.
I would look to Pam Wedd (Bearwoods Boat Co) (http://www.bearwoodcanoes.com/). She is a good friend of Tom and her niche is tripping boats… Her Gerrish based solo is a beaut. She as a good Canadian overbuilds her boats. They are tough for trips. You can get a dacron skinned boat from her.