18.5 feet of temptation from Swift

[yellowcanoe]

From their Facebook page For 2017 our boat designer David Yost put together a great new addition to our fleet: the all-new Swift Keewaydin 18.6
Designed for large volume trippers with multiple passengers, or those who need a high performance canoe for marathon racing or expedition tripping, the Keewaydin 18.6 is long, sleek, and fast.
We had the pleasure of testing out the very first production level Keewaydin 18.6 with Dave Hurlburt and the crew from BayCreek Paddling Center, Inc.in Rochester, New York. Based on their reactions, I'd say it's a winner.

 

[Iskweo]

I really like their smaller Kees ...we stopped at the store last fall to rub up against them. Very nice. An 18.6 would be massive. We had an 18 ft Jensen that went like a rocket and we tripped with it for a few years. A mite tough to turn but I was fond of it nonetheless. I often wonder if it is still loved.
That is a big problem with me. I dont like to let a boat go unless I feel the love happening.

Christy

 

[memaquay]

I don't know...their description is kind of contradictory.

[FONT=&quot]At a streamlined 18'6'' it slices through the water with ease, making it great for marathon racers and expedition trippers. With its high weight capacity and interior volume it's also great for families who need extra room for packs, kids, or dogs. With its long, sleek, and powerful form the Keewaydin 18'6'' is a standout example of superior design fusing with graceful function. [/FONT]

Somehow, I don't think that a canoe advertised as a marathon canoe is fit to be advertised as a family canoe in the same paragraph. It has a very narrow beam for an 18 footer, and although I haven't paddled it, I would venture to speculate, that Swifts old 18.5 Quetico would have been a much friendlier family canoe.

 

[yknpdlr]

Sounds like it could be a winner for the Yukon River races, YRQ and Y1K. i'd like to try one out on the Yukon 1000 mile, next to be held in 2018. This year I'm paddling a C4 in the annual YRQ.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I don't know...their description is kind of contradictory.

[FONT=&quot]At a streamlined 18'6'' it slices through the water with ease, making it great for marathon racers and expedition trippers. With its high weight capacity and interior volume it's also great for families who need extra room for packs, kids, or dogs. With its long, sleek, and powerful form the Keewaydin 18'6'' is a standout example of superior design fusing with graceful function. [/FONT]

Somehow, I don't think that a canoe advertised as a marathon canoe is fit to be advertised as a family canoe in the same paragraph. It has a very narrow beam for an 18 footer, and although I haven't paddled it, I would venture to speculate, that Swifts old 18.5 Quetico would have been a much friendlier family canoe.

No it really doesn't . The gunwale width is narrower as it still has some tuck toward the top. DY hulls flare till just below the top and the max width is up high for more stability. Waterline width is less than the MN II by an inch which should make it fast..
Family and marathon.. yes.. My friends paddled across the USA In a marathon racer and raised a family of paddlers in it. We have a deep water version of the MNII that is used to be used in downriver racing and it hauls the dog and did the kids too way back when.

Mem do you still have the Quetico 18.5 stripper you built? That was a John Winters design and this a Dave Yost design.. the different approaches of two different designers.

 

[memaquay]

Yes, I still have the Quetico, one in 18.5 and another I stretched out to 20. I know that for some people, that would seem like a lot of boat, but for me, I find both kind of narrow-ish. I prefer My big 20 footer with the 42 inch beam. A little slower, but sure can pack that thing. I don't like tandems with narrow beams, even if it is part of a knuckle or whatever the trade calls them now. A tripping canoe should be around a 36" beam. I'm allowed to be curmudgeonly now, I got a 15% discount at the pharmacy last week because of my age.

 

[dougd]

Mem, I got a discount at McDonald's for coffee due to the white in my chin hair! heck, didn't even have to show my ID!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Odyssey is our fav large tandem. It's the only Wenonah I love. Tracks AND turns . Someone is selling one on p net very reasonably. But it seems to have gotten skinnier in my old age. Or theirs 31 inch beam? I wish my beam were getting less
OTOH we had a name for our 37 inch wide Dumoine. Fat Boy . In between two less fat OT Trippers you could tell the difference.
Curmudgeon be proud of your new status. Over the long run you may run as often to the pharmacy as the food store
My curmudgeon complaint is not getting a discount on food

 

[memaquay]

Ha ha! Hi, my name is Rob and I have a food problem. My problem is I can never seem to eat enough.
I sold a cedar strip Dumoine last night. It brought the top dollar of the night because people up here know a canoe that can hold four coolers full of beer when they see it. I loved paddling that dumoine on big rough lakes but I sure didn't like carrying it. I've got a new nova craft tough stuff prospector to paddle this year, I can still fit me arse in it, not so sure those skinny boats will accommodate my asymmetrical butt.

 

[yellowcanoe]

So tempted to bring the Odyssey cross Canada.. Geraldton probably on the route.. We are going to paddle the Yukon and Bowron. Arse fitting?