I have paddled it and found it was just a bit wide for my solo druthers. It would do FreeStyle pretty well but you had to move all around in it.
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Esquif Echo
- Thread starter Art D
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Are you talking about the Echo or Osprey? Let the audience know your height. You're shorter than most men, so a so boat too big for you and your reach might be right-sized or even too small for a big man.
As to the Osprey, I like it's combination of nice tracking plus very good turnability with a heel. I haven't overnight tripped or run whitewater in an Osprey, but I know skilled paddlers who have done so and who praise the boat. I trust their opinions. Maybe the rapids they described weren't class 3 but they were solid 2's. It's a very good, all-around, combo canoe but, yes, I would prefer more depth ideally.
Both actually but I was referring to the Echo
Reading up on old threads - I have been searching for a good river solo and have been surprised that, with the popularity of Swift's 14' Prospector, Esquif has not made a 14' Prospecteur solo - would basically be exactly what you're saying here (and I cannot imagine it wouldn't sell, would be perhaps the ideal river-running solo on the market in T-Formex)...
Nova Craft has made a 14' Prospector for 2024:
Prospector 14' Solo Canoe | Extra Responsive | Nova Craft Canoe
New for 2024! Our most multipurpose solo canoe model yet: The Prospector 14' Solo features a symmetrical hull with moderate rocker for responsive performance.
www.novacraft.com
Nova Craft has made a 14' Prospector for 2024:
Prospector 14' Solo Canoe | Extra Responsive | Nova Craft Canoe
New for 2024! Our most multipurpose solo canoe model yet: The Prospector 14' Solo features a symmetrical hull with moderate rocker for responsive performance.
A shame they do not have access to T-Formex however; I'd love that boat in ABS...
Me too! I like its higher volume over the other 14’ers. Looks like a boat capable of some big miles.
Can’t see Esquif being one of the only big manufacturers not building a 14’ prospector now.
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Forgive me if I've said any of this before. Just got a watched thread notice in my emails and thought I'd jump in.
I've had my Echo for a couple years now, at least, but haven't taken it on a trip. I spent quite a bit of time and money converting it to a pack style canoe, using parts from Northstar, with the intent of taking it on the Loma to Westwater overnighter, then ended up paddling tandem in another boat.
My only concern about the Echo was it's depth. I thought I'd probably do quite a bit of bailing. Otherwise it would have been perfect for this trip. My concerns might have been unwarranted. No way for me to know.
For you Easterners that aren't familiar with Loma to Westwater, it's on the Colorado River, near Fruita, Colorado, and has numerous riffles and rapids up to class II. Some squirrely currents in the black rocks section.
Prospector is just a generic name that covers a lot of ground. I wouldn't worry too much about what a company calls their canoe and just look at the specs. If the Echo had a little more depth, it could be considered a prospector..
I've had my Echo for a couple years now, at least, but haven't taken it on a trip. I spent quite a bit of time and money converting it to a pack style canoe, using parts from Northstar, with the intent of taking it on the Loma to Westwater overnighter, then ended up paddling tandem in another boat.
My only concern about the Echo was it's depth. I thought I'd probably do quite a bit of bailing. Otherwise it would have been perfect for this trip. My concerns might have been unwarranted. No way for me to know.
For you Easterners that aren't familiar with Loma to Westwater, it's on the Colorado River, near Fruita, Colorado, and has numerous riffles and rapids up to class II. Some squirrely currents in the black rocks section.
Prospector is just a generic name that covers a lot of ground. I wouldn't worry too much about what a company calls their canoe and just look at the specs. If the Echo had a little more depth, it could be considered a prospector..
Just out of curiosity, how do you think the T-Formex on the Echo would handle being pulled in a couple of inches? It clearly would require a different placement of thwarts, but I suspect pulling it to 29" would deepen the hull to 12+ inches, rounding out the bottom a bit more perhaps at the expense of some rocker. I bet that would be a fun boat though!
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Well, that's an interesting thought. My first canoe was a Discovery 174 and I changed the thwart lengths to make it more suitable for whitewater, but sold it before I ever got to try it out.
If you pull in the gunnels, it has the effect of reducing the rocker, which wouldn't be good and probably wouldn't increase depth as much as you think. It would also make it less stable, which also wouldn't be good. If you pulled it in a tiny bit right behind the seat and spread it out just a bit near the bow, you might see some advantage, but the boat handles very well just the way it is. I don't think I'd mess with it.
Esquif says the Echo has a shallow arch bottom. Some people claim it has a flat bottom. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.
A couple things I might point out: a spray cover would solve a lot of issues, and the low sides make it especially suitable to for paddling with a double bladed paddle. I keep threatening to post photos of my echo, that I've converted to pack style. One of these days.
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Agree on all accounts. I personally prefer a bit more playful initial stability, and I have read that sometimes the bottom of the Echo flattens out a bit (hence why I am curious as to whether pulling in the sides would allow the T-Formex to better attain the intended shape; in essence making the Echo a bit more like a royalex WildFIRE). I think early on some Echos were built with royalex - I think if I could ever get my hands on one cheap (unlikely I know) I will try it with the seat mounted at the rails for kneeling just out of curiosity...
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