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Yup. Never seen one. What is it?

I took three years of architectural drawing in highschool. Just enough to realize it was not where I wanted to go in life (although it would likely have been more lucrative). Still have my folding drawing table and all the other primitive tools. I drag it all out occasionally to put a project...

Not really. If you restrict most units to their base function - displaying lat/lon while using a paper map - batteries last a very long time. Lighted screen, active mapping, track logging, etc - those are battery hogs. But you can always carry a solar charger. ;) My concern with GPS units is...

The GPS is nice, but the compass is still mandatory, as far as I'm concerned.

Most people would probably say so. I haven't used either for years - except to see if I still could. Dry chemical hand warmers are so much more convenient, safer, and they don't stink. I hear ya. But my saw fence has its own very accurate scale. :)

Probably not. Mine is right at 50 lbs. Even the aluminum railed version is only a few pounds lighter, IIRC. I can still lift it by myself but prefer not to. Since my wife isn't interested in overnight canoe trips, it's still near perfect for the day trips we do. At our size though, it would...

That's really helpful information. Another aside - I installed thigh straps in my MR Guide, mostly to keep me from sliding forward in the rough. I soon learned that lifting a knee with the strap works so much better than weighting the other knee, so I installed the same in my Wildfire. Oh...

I found my old slide rule recently while digging through storage. Might have to relearn how to use it just for fun. Dad's engineering scale, still in its sleeve... I'll see your scale and raise you a 6' ruler. How about this stinky thing?

I identify with that. Another reason for the Malecite. I know it's not been discussed in this thread, but this old Mad River classic is most definitely a rear-steer tandem.

Something I will be doing soon. I've only paddled Wildfire with little or no load so far. Gotta practice with tripping loads.

That is exactly why I still have the kevlar Malecite. But if a refusal-resistant-priced Polaris appeared in my area, I'd still be after it. ;)

Paddling in wind waves has been a challenging study for me. I've been trying to come up with some consistent method for dealing with it, but have not yet figured it out. My local lake is about nine miles long and pretty much aligned with the prevailing wind. I often plan my day there to be...

Man, that bites. I hope they caught it early.

Yeah, I should just shut up and paddle. :)

Woah - how did I not notice that? Definitely looks like it's been cobbed together some. Still not a deal breaker, but points for negotiation for sure. BTW, I now consider all aged cane seats to be suspect and expect to replace them immediately.

Thanks. You're making me feel better about missing the deal (out of ignorance) on the Blacklite Phoenix a few years ago. ;) I know it sounds crazy, but as I um...refine my paddling activity with age, I find myself wanting to pare down to just a couple of solos and a couple of tandems...

When I zoom in, that does look like closed cell foam in the stem. I don't see anything that looks like a deal killer, except possibly the staining that @sailsman63 mentioned. My bet is that the boat was left sitting or hanging on edge with water and debris collecting there, but I'd want to clear...

Thanks. Besides rocky rivers, under what conditions do you prefer the Phoenix? I'm guessing wind?

I'd also like to see a head to head comparison between that and the Phoenix.

I am also watching this thread closely. The DF 15 seems to be a real good candidate for me to take traveling to multiple waters on a single trip. I wish there was a Swift dealer closer out West though.