Recent content by Steve in Idaho

Welcome, @Okraman . You live in some beautiful country. I haven't paddled there yet but it's on my to do list.

Welcome @Moonswept Blackwater . I think you'll like that Malecite. Still one of my favorite canoes. You'll notice that it feels a little unsteady without a load and at rest, until you get used to it. It's one of the nicest tandems for paddling solo.

I wasn't looking for one, but a year or so ago I picked up a like new Bending Branches Viper double bent because the price was too good to pass up ($50) and I thought it would be interesting to try. I didn't think I was liking it at first, but I kept trying it over time, and it's growing on me...

Well then..... Getting pretty popular around here.

I put my cart in the middle too. The only time the stern might drag is when going downhill. Then it's best to handle the stern and let gravity do the work. But I've only used it with the 16' Prospector, so the handles are pretty high.

Gentlemen, thanks for this discussion! I have one of these same carts and I haven't had any significant trouble using it, but I haven't had to go any great distance over rough terrain with it. I plan to use it with the Solitude on the Bowron circuit this fall, and I hadn't yet given this any...

That sounds a lot like the Boise River where I spend a lot of time. If you must go with a tandem, a 15' Prospector should do nicely as a solo or tandem there. But I never felt like my 16' NC Prospector was too much on that river. On a faster technical stream, that's where it seemed like too much...

Man, I really need to find a way to try a D15. I wonder if there will be any place that I can do that while I'm in Minnesota.

@Tryin' , did you get to compare the P15 with the Dragonfly 15?

From what I've seen, the fiberglass Mad Rivers were the same color inside and out. The kevlar boats have the "football" on the floor painted grey and the rest of the inside is the natural honey color.

Mmmmmm....good! This being an old thread from 2017, I hope COVID didn't kill any of these good eateries. Here we have Flying Pie Pizzaria. Two locations in Boise. Go there. The Nampa location hoovers. In Nampa, we have a new winner for Pizza & suds. Longboard Pizza. Best burgers? Holy Cow - a...

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. This does tie into my recruiting paddlers thread. I did loan my Prospector to a couple on a flat river one windy day. Boy, was that a mistake. They had experience, but that was in a Penobscot. Loaning the tandem with your most skilled stern paddler included...

I have two loaners. They're both solo canoes. One is the Wenonah Moccasin that I'm into for only $250. The other is a royalex Mohawk Solo 14 that is worth a little more. Ain't no way I'd put any noob in a canoe I paid more than about $500 for. I have yet to meet anyone outside of family who...

Here's part of the field near me... Note the flat top mound in the background. The volcanic plateau also has layers of sediment on top. The boulder field between Bliss and Glenns Ferry is 500' above the river in the canyon below. Huge amounts of sand were also displaced.

Mine did have aluminum rails, but to be more accurate, it was more like 65 lbs. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't like lifting 60 lb canoes anymore. ;) Pictures are always deceiving, and it's kind of hard to tell. But based on how far your bow is out of the water on that wave, I'd...