Poll: Glenn's 'last' canoe or at least in spring 26

[dutchlennart]

As Glenn revealed he wiĺ.have a new boat.
It seems approtriate to start guessing what it is.

 

[lowangle al]

I'm pretty sure he's getting a 20' EM White Guide so he can paddle it solo from the stern seat.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

One of those poll choices is correct, but I won't say which.

I'm not revealing what the canoe is yet, but you all can guess if you want.

I'm getting yet another canoe essentially because of one short sentence uttered by a member of this site. That member may suspect who he or she is, so he or she is bound by the Code of Silence. I've decided to actively use my remaining years while I can, rather than just trying to passively prolong them.

Oh, heck, it's not a Pelican. That was the first of the 19 canoes and 3 kayaks I've bought since 1980, and the only one I ever returned as unfit and unsafe for its purpose.

If I get this canoe, I'll probably be putting a canoe or two up for sale this spring—perhaps my black/gold Bell Wildfire and/or my Rollin Thurlow reproduction of a 15' B.N. Morris wood/canvas (with lightweight trailer). But I'm not sure. I've sold only two of those 22 canoes and kayaks, plus given one away. I get attached to them. Even if some, like old soldiers, just fade away.

 

[RBourg]

I vote for the one you could hide because that is the predicament I am in.

 

[tketcham]

I vote for the one you could hide...

You mean an Illusion?

 

[Gamma1214]

I think he needs a stripper. (I mean, everyone likes strippers, right?)

 

[RBourg]

Paddling a stripper could be fun

 

[scoutergriz]

Paddling a stripper could be fun

I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole, even if it had a duck foot one one end (to keep it paddling related)

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

In my very limited experience, strippers are too heavy to hoist, paddle or pole. No wood.

No stern seats. No asymmetry. No decks. No Magic.

 

[dutchlennart]

@Glenn if you are so attached to your fleet. It might be good to start thinking about new homes for them for later ( When that later is , is up to you) . Around me , there are a number of relatives struggling with finding good new homes.
I am one of them , my dad passed away this fall. He was a sailor at heart. Finding a good home for his boat is hard.

I believe that it can help all involded.

I hope you can paddle all your boats some more with the help of your friends. And some of the new ones just on your own when like you that.

In hindsight i should have put a savage river marc ornstein boat in there. Maybe your autumntrip inspired you in that direction.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

@Glenn if you are so attached to your fleet. It might be good to start thinking about new homes for them for later

I've thought about the disposal issue for many years now. Most of my boats are old, or outdated whitewater models, and many need wood work. Hence, many have very little market value. Trying to advertise and sell all of them is not worth the hassle to me. I have no family that is interested in any of them, and I'm not sure I could even give some away.

If I still had my Sawzall and a functioning truck, I'd cut many up and bring them to the town dump. As I said, I may try to sell some of my flatwater canoes and kayaks, all of which are in good to very good shape.

Otherwise, after I'm gone, the disposal of the canoes and kayaks will be a very small percentage of the 60-year mountain of junk accumulated in a large house, attic, basement, garage, and 11 acres of property that someone will have to deal with.

My canoe plan for my remaining years is to narrow my actual paddling canoes to two sub-30 lb (sub-13 kg) composite solo models—one for lake touring and perhaps some easy overnight trips; and one for maneuverability, flatwater play and easy whitewater. My 28 lb (12.7 kg) carbon fusion Swift Keewaydin 15 fits the first requirement. My black/gold Bell Wildfire has fit the second requirement very well for 17 years, but at 36 lbs (16.3 kg) is becoming too heavy for my ninth decade. I want something in the low 20 lbs (9 kg) for my maneuverable canoe.

 

[RPATCH]

My guess is a Savage River Illusion.

 

[Cruiser]

In my very limited experience, strippers are too heavy to hoist, paddle or pole. No wood.

No stern seats. No asymmetry. No decks. No Magic.

Only if you build them that way

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

No float tanks.

 

[scoutergriz]

I've given a couple of my old serviceable boats to youth groups, my old trainers and their trailer with all the gear went to my old scout troop..

 

[dutchlennart]

T ketcjam and rpatch are the winners congrats.

I hope the illussion leeps glenn aflote for a decade or more.
On the other hand i read somewhere that thos is his 4 or 5 th final canoe.
Looking forwards to many pics of the boat detailed review of the illussion and comparison of this compared to the other final boats.
And trip reports. Many of those of adventures big and small

 

[tketcham]

It was an easy guess for Robert (RPATCH) and me. I think we both noticed how Glenn took an interest in Marc's Illusion, especially how effortless it seemed lifting it on to and off from roof racks and how smoothly it negotiates the obstacle courses of the Pine Barrens. Of course, Marc's skills play at least some part in that graceful meandering.

 

[dutchlennart]

Ah inside knowlegde. Seeing boats paddled well is maybe the best marketing.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'm getting yet another canoe essentially because of one short sentence uttered by a member of this site.

After lunch on the Mullica River in the Jersey Pine Barrens last October, @Marc Ornstein said: "Glenn, do you want to paddle my boat?" I liked the maneuverability of the Illusion a lot. Hence, that short sentence is the direct cause of this purchase. If the sentence had never been uttered, my canoe fleet would be somewhat smaller and my bank account much bigger.

T ketcjam and rpatch are the winners congrats.

It was an easy guess for Robert (RPATCH) and me.

It was easy for those two gentlemen because they were on that same Pine Barrens trip, and they both were sitting around the campfire when I said the Illusion was the best Pine Barrens boat I'd ever paddled, even better than my black-gold Bell Wildfire—which was a reference to its easy handling, maneuverability, acceleratability, and light weight. The Wildfire has more initial stability and is more capacious.

We'll find out if I continue to think that after a trip to the Pine Barrens this month, where I hope to see Messrs. Ornstein, Ketcham and Patch again. I'm sure I would have liked the boat even more when I was younger, as my balance and leg strength have deteriorated.

The Textreme Illusion met my weight objective, coming in at 21.8 lbs (9.8 kg). It could have even been lighter, but I opted to have additional Kevlar reinforcements on the bottom, which Savage River calls "Rock Guard", plus cherry wood trim instead of carbon, plus a cherry outwale instead of no outwale, plus a full depth Conk seat instead of a narrow depth Conk seat.

The ash laminated thwart is being replaced next week with a cherry laminated thwart.