17' OT Tripper vs. 17 Prospector

[PA Tripper]

I might have a chance to buy a 17" Tripper. Is the Tripper based on the Prospector design?

Does anybody know how much rocker the Tripper has; It's always listed with some rocker but never any exact detail as to how much? Nova Craft list their Trippers as having 2.5' rocker. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[yellowcanoe]

no its not based on the Prospector.. Its flatter bottomed Rocker is a drafting convention. Some companies measure it from a foot back. others from elsewhere. There are no drafting rules.

The Tripper is a more versatile canoe than the Prospector being less deep with less shear. Good for a mix of lakes and rivers. Excellent poling boat.

Its got enough rocker to make eddy turns and handle extended Class 2-3 whitewater. Friends of mine use it(Tripper) on the Bonaventure.Each is solo and each poles sometimes.

 

[Srobocop]

excuse my ignorace, what does OT stand for?

 

[Guest]

There are, or were, depending on how far back you want to go, a bucketload of different Prospector designs. The Old Town Tripper 17 was, to the best of my knowledge, unchanged in hull design (seats and outfitting excepted).

The Tripper is still widely paddled (and poled). Some people love it, some not. Same as with the variety of Prospector designs.

 

[pblanc]

excuse my ignorace, what does OT stand for?

Old Town

 

[Jamie]

If you're after a 17' Royalex tripping canoe and have the opportunity to buy one (assuming it at a good price) I'd just go ahead and get it. You won't go wrong with an OT Tripper, great canoe for it's purpose. The NC 17' Prospector would be a great choice too but with the demise of royalex it may be best to get what's available in the used market.

 

[tump_lion]

the tripper is an excellent boat -- they were very popular for expeditions in northern canada after 17' grummans and before there were decent composite prospectors on the market...prospectors are generally a little more nimble, but that's not always a positive...

 

[Srobocop]

Old Town

I knew it was obvoius, and I just wasn't getting it.

 

[PA Tripper]

No Title

Missed out on this "used" 17' Tripper on Ebay. Went for $670. Still had the stickers on it!

 

[lowangle al]

The Tripper is a manueverable boat, I learned to paddle white water in one on the Lehigh back in Pa. It's not like a specialized w/w boat but with proper trim it is very capable. I've also used it for w/w and big lake trips and have been happy, it is a go anywhere boat. Although I've always wanted a Prospector I've never even seen one so I can't comment on it. If you want a royalex boat and you come across another one grab it.


I have a royalex Winonna Spirit II in Northeast Pa. that I would sell if you need a big boat.

 

[PA Tripper]

http://www.canoekayak.com/canoe/oldtownclipperjacobson/#oZBVqSbjxTGsH7j8. According to this article the OT Tripper design was heavily influenced by the Prospector design.

 

[yellowcanoe]

The Tripper is more slender lower stems not as round bottomed Put a Chestnut Prospector next to a Tripper and the differences will be apparent
Sure there was some Prospector influence but Old Town makes canoes that fit the Maine exology with the need to make good time over 40 km lakes. And the essential ability to be stood in for poling. That was a must'm. Real prospectors were too round bottomed.

Chestnut IMO is real. The others. Meh. Not so much

 

[Peach Canoe]

The name 'Prospector' has been mob-hijacked by canoe makers all over. It seems that if one declares, "I've just bought a Prospector canoe!", it would be perfectly natural to ask, "What does it look like?"

If a Chestnut Prospector is a Prospector, then many other Prospectors aren't.

As yellowcanoe said, not everyone measures rocker the same way. In general, if you lay a canoe flat and level on the floor, the rise of the hull from the midpoint of the keel to the stem is called rocker. But where is it measured at the stem?

On my solo boat, I measure the rocker at the point where the hull 'becomes' the stem: the curve of the keel is a segment of a large circle, and the first quarter of the stem's curve is a segment of a smaller circle. I measure the rocker from the floor to the point where the small arc of the stem touches the larger arc of the keel.

 

[Gerald]

Outstanding wilderness tandem tripping boat. Probably the benchmark in it's class. I would still have one but it's a young man's boat. Composites become more attractive as a geriatric's canoe. Both my OT Trippers were near 90 lbs despite claims of them being slightly lighter. At the end of almost every Northern river you will find OT Tripper for free. But's that's another story.

 

[Iskweo]

YC says it all. The Maine designed boats were made to be poled since that is what they needed. Some of the New Brunswick rivers are the same and there were boats made there with flatter bottoms meant to be used the same way. I am pretty comfortable in a canoe. I never even feel the need to kneel in rough water to make them more stable, but standing up in any canoe I have ever owned is not really on the menu. Then again I have never used a guide style canoe with a flat bottom.
Up here the ubiquitus Coleman canoe is sold far and wide...largely by Canadian Tire..., along with Pelicans. The generic plastic boat that people throw away when finished with. Lots of them to be had. Not great canoes but they do float.