Recent content by tomo

Congrats!

I, too, can't wait to see pics. I looked for about two years without seeing a used one come up anywhere near me, so I ended up ordering one in 2022. Its maiden voyage was a long solo in Wabakimi that summer, and I've loved it ever since. Can't wait to paddle it more in the years to come...

I do find the depth of the SRT and my ability to comfortably kneel and extract my feet to be a huge plus. I bought it for extended river trips, but it will likely be my boundary waters cruiser as well (I also have a swift osprey and a mohawk odyssey 15). Having said that, it is a 'twitchy'...

Dave Curtis has a batch of rare and interesting canoes for sale: https://www.hemlockcanoe.com/used--demo-canoes.html

I've got some unfinished business. I tripped a lot in my late teens and through my twenties. When we had kids the long trips tapered off for the better part of a decade. Now that those buggers are teenages (almost 19 and 16), I want to get back to extended wilderness trips. Managed a 24 day solo...

I think if the goal was one canoe to do it all, a16' prospector would be about as good as it gets.

I have a Royalex Mohawk Odyssey 15 that I use for bony rivers (wish I'd gotten the 14)--though truth be told it doesn't get much use, an old Swift Osprey that I think is a Kevlar/Fiberglass mix (it's proven to be pretty durable) that I greatly enjoy and am not afraid to use and abuse, and a...

Raining in Duluth with no snow to speak of....

I have a Mohawk Odyssey 15 in Royalite (maybe), an old Swift Osprey in fiberglass/kevlar and a Hemlock SRT. I'll use the Odyssey for really bony stuff, the Osprey for moderately bony and the SRT for trips where I don't think the hull will get much dragging or shallow river abuse. To Gamma's...

I think the SRT is often characterized as responsive but also tippy, though like everything such a declaration is often in the eye of the beholder. I remember a dog owner on here whose dog hated the SRT because it was so deep that the dog couldn't put its nose on the gunwale when lying down...

For below freezing conditions I love Steger Mukluks.

I had (and perhaps still have) an early version of the mantis. The only thing I hated about it was that the pole sleeve was only slightly larger than the long pole. I found that a pain to take deal with. The shelter itself was very easy to set up and otherwise enjoyable. Currently use a CSS Lean...

Spraydecks seem like a good idea for expedition river travel and nice to have for lake travel. For daily paddling, probably unneccessary. For whitewater, flotation is probably best. Back to Art's specific question about the SRT: I think it would be less likely to need a spraydeck or other...

I think most canoes would benefit from a spraydeck, though I also thinnk the SRT, given its depth, runs dryer than many canoes. Here's my SRT with spraydeck on Brennan Lake in Wabakimi. Spraydeck was made by Cooke Custom Sewing.

One of my heroes as well. I love in Sleeping Island when he declares, standing on some vista with lakes spread out befor him, "Well, I suppose I shall never be so happy again." Sums up deep, immersive canoe tripping. I'll have to track down his journals.