| Author |
Message |
    
Bill Bettridge (Billb)
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 01:42 pm: | 
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I know a few have posted about various canoe brands they like/dislike in the past. I'm looking for any opinions. Want a canoe mainly for mild lake paddling and some river canoeing - nothing extreme but could take a few good whacks on rocks (mainly from lack of experience I'm betting!  )
Bill |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 02:02 pm: |
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bill~
of course many of us are a little partial to OUR boats, but i am sure you will have lots of opinions. i have a mad river explorer with Royalex, ash trim and kevlar skids. it is a 16' boat and can carry up to 1100 lbs. (weighs 69 lbs) mad river makes several models with royalex, so check out their site at http://www.madrivercanoe.com
i have had this boat since '93 and have used it on big open lakes with 2' waves fully loaded, calm small lakes, class III whitewater and so on. the royalex is pretty much unbreakable. you have to do something pretty stupid to break it......like fogetting to stap it on the roof. but overall they are a great all around boat that is VERY stable in many conditions.
if you want a good deal on a boat check your local outfitter and they sell used boats every season usually. you can also buy 'blems' from the factory in VT.
old towne does make some nice boats too no doubt, but i have found in comparison that the mad river royalex boats are much better built. my dad has an old towne, but that is just my opinion. others will say likewise.
as always you get what you pay for, but i always have felt to buy something a little more than you need. you will be happy down the line when you are sideways in a stream pinned against a boulder.
my advise to certainly stay away from Colemans. they are pretty much crap. my brother has one and i can honestly say that!! easy to punch a hole in that thing and repairs to them are not so easy or reliable.
oh.....and they are have a lifetime warranty!!
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gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 02:24 pm: |
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.....and on top of that what other canoe company has a rabbit smoking a bowl on it. actually it is an indian legend that tells the rabbit with pipe in hand, sitting secure and confident within the ferns as his mortal enemy the lynx prowls nearby. yeah....ok. |
M. K. Watson (Lrover94)
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 03:33 pm: |
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thanks GP i was going to buy a canoe this summer i will remember your advice to Bill! |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Monday, April 01, 2002 - 03:53 pm: |
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i also don't want people to think that Old Town does not make good boats. they certainly do. and they are far less expensive then mad rivers, but as with most things you get a better product when you pay more. (not always of course) but Royalex is not always Royalex.....different boat companies use it in a different way. there is a reason a 16' mad river weighs 10 lbs. more than a 16' old town. mad river uses thicker royalex in the bow and stern for more strength. and they also use a thicker foam core in their Royalex.
but in most cases it just comes down to what you will be using it for and how much you can afford. with either canoe (mad river or old town) you will not be disappointed. they both make great boats. just that i feel that mad river is superior when it comes to an all around recreation boat. in my opinion they are the Rover of canoes. but mad rivers don't leak. |
John Kruger (Johnnyk)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 10:57 am: |
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We-no-nah Canoe
Good boats
John |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:19 am: |
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hey john that home page for we-no-nah is pretty racey!!!
have a friend with a sweet tandom kevlar we-no-nah. very nice. |
Jeff
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:42 am: |
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I used to be a canoe guide and I used a Dagger everytime. Man, that canoe would hold half our gear (food boxes, plate/silverware boxes, cold box, personal gear) and it was confortable and controllable. They are wider than the Old Towns and they are a decent weight for their size, don't know the actual weight just experience.
I was given one that had been wrapped around a tree, fixed it and then sold it. Man I kick myself for that one. I think I sold it for ring $. |
Leslie N. Bright (Leslie)
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 02, 2002 - 11:48 am: |
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I used to be a big Dagger fan. Actually, I was a fan of old Blue Holes... they were split, then the half with the Blue Hole name has been sold a bunch of times, but are supposedly still being made in VA. The other half moved down the road from Sunbright, TN, to Harriman, TN and started Dagger. But, Perception bought Dagger, and moved them to SC. Haven't kept up w/ them since...
But, FWIW... I still use the Blue Hole... it's old now, and don't do whitewater w/ it anymore, though... it was wrapped a couple of times (by dad!) lol....
I've been thinking about getting a Dagger kayak, but just never had the spare money, it always ends up going to the Rover instead, lol....
-L |
Troy
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 11:47 am: |
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Like GP mentioned, we bought our Old Town 158 at the end of the season from a local outfitter. They had installed kevlar skids front and back and it had seen several seasons of use but was, all in all, in good shape and the right price. |
Bill Bettridge (Billb)
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 10, 2002 - 01:03 pm: |
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Thanks for the input all - now to sort through all the choices and make a decision......
Bill |
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