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Since getting into canoe tripping, I’ve coveted a fast, efficient, hard tracking tripping canoe. I’m a big fan of Swift’s construction, and I really like David Yost’s design philosophy, so when the Wabakimi 18 was introduced this spring, I started trying to rationalize buying a new canoe...

An overdue summary of my experience at the Wisconsin Canoe Sympoium... I signed up for the Freestyle Building Blocks course. It was a half day of instruction on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; each day taught by a different instructor. They cap each class at 6 students, but there were only two...

This is only a guess on my part, as I have never seen a Blackwater in person, let alone paddled one, but I would guess that the Cruiser 16.8 is perhaps more friendly in rough conditions. The Cruiser has more depth at the bow and stern, is an inch wider at the waterline, and from comparing...

Thanks for posting this Glenn, I probably wouldn't have known about it otherwise. I'll be there with my Swift Cruiser 16.8: not an ideal freestyle boat, but it's what I have, and I'm looking forward to improving my boat handling skills in it. I also signed up for the touring technique class...

I'll second that. While I don't use a cover, if I was leaving my epoxy boat outside for weeks at a time, I certainly would. Other products I've gotten from Redleaf have been outstanding, and they are fantastic to work with.

Yes, quality canoes are expensive, which is certainly a barrier, but I think it's unfair to single out one manufacturer with such negativity. Comparing similar Kevlar boats from other companies, Swift seems to be in line. A Swift Keewaydin 17 with aluminum gunwales lists for US$3695, a Wenonah...

Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan (Isle Royale), Illinois, South Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Maui, Alaska. I was on Tahiti a couple of years ago, and my greatest regret is that I didn't go for a paddle while there. I would guess that Tahitians have the strongest paddling culture of anywhere in...

I'm also in the one spoon, no fork camp.

Good point. I slip shoes back on before getting out, but I hadn't considered sun protection on the soles of my feet.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I did reach out to Bill Swift, who put me in touch with Mathew Steffler, their lead engineer. Matt agreed that epoxy would darken over time, and instead recommended using their UV Shield. It's what Swift now uses on the exterior of their boats, and also offers...

I'd like to coat a portion of the floor of my canoe in order to make the surface little smoother. The boat is a Swift Cruiser 16.8 in carbon innegra and the epoxy resin. I ordered the boat with a bench seat, because I frequently change positions between sitting, kneeling, or one leg forward and...

Nice video. I often use a similar technique with a couple small differences. Stand facing away from the canoe with left hand on the near gunwale just behind the seat; right hand on the far gunwale near the front edge of the seat. This allows you gradually transition your weight to the canoe as...

No, not every aircraft; only those with sufficiently robust levels of redundancy. The Gulfstream has four generators, each capable of powering everything on the airplane, and each driven by a completely independent source. If every generator were to somehow fail, there are multiple batteries...

Well, while this pilot always carries not one, but two compasses on canoe trips, the FAA and aircraft manufactures actually do consider the compass as permanently superseded and unnecessary due to new electronic technology. I fly a Gulfstream GVII to pay the bills, and while it displays...

I'll see your obsolescence and raise you one... Like a fine mechanical watch, it's a pleasure to hold and use. In fact, Minerva used to manufacture movements for high end Swiss watches Montblanc and Panerai.