Hello from Northeast Wisconsin. Home of the Cheddar head

[Saxfisch]

I was raised paddling boats of all types since I was a kid. Started with rowboats and the ubiquitous Al Grumman. Paddled rafts down the Snake River in WY for a summer job. What a treat that is. Years went by and I bought my 1st canoe, a fiberglass Malecite. What a boat! Raised 3 kids in that one. Getting close to retirement now and my buddy let me try out his Wenonah Argosy. I immediately went swimming. He told me I had to kneel in that boat. So I did. I went swimming again. But, I was hooked! Then , I test paddled a Northwind Solo as it looked perfect for what I wanted on paper. Didn’t like it. It felt sluggish and had none of the grace of the Malecite paddled bow seat backward. Started the hunt for a more manageable solo canoe.

Earlier today I paddled 4 boats around the pond at Rutabaga (what a dangerous, expensive place that is!). I paddled a Blacklight HD Phoenix, an Expedition Kevlar Lite Cirrus 14.6, a gorgeous teal blue Trillium and a Keewaydin 14 at the salesman’s suggestion. I like all of them except the Keewaydin. Thought I was going to swim again!.

Ended up bringing home the Cirrus! It started raining as I got home so have to wait till tomorrow to get her out on our muddy local river.

Bittersweet Lakes trip in 2 weeks, Sylvania this fall after the bugs pack it in.

I have really enjoyed many of the posts here and look forward to more stories….

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Saxfisch, welcome to site membership and congrats on your new canoe!

Feel free to ask any questions and to post messages, photos and videos, and to start threads, in our many forums. Please read Welcome to CanoeTripping and Site Rules! Also, because canoeing is a geographic sport, please add your location to the Account Details page in your profile, which will cause it to show under your avatar as a clickable map link. Many of the site's technical features are explained in Features: Help and How-To Running Thread. We look forward to your participation in our canoe community.

 

[Gamma1214]

Welcome & congrats, the new boat looks good up there.

I've thought about stopping in Sylvania one of these days as I'm headed North but I was unfamiliar with Bittersweet Lakes... Looks interesting. With only 5 campsites, is there a lot of competition for reservations?

Trip reports are always appreciated if you're inclined to share... I'll look forward to seeing some new areas.

 

[Saxfisch]

Probably on the July 4th weekend there is. We were going to do it as a long day paddle. I looked 2 days ago and 2 of the 5 sites were still available at that time for the night of the 2nd.

 

[PortageW/Cerberus]

Beautiful boat - now go scuff it up in the BWCA or an Ontario paddling destination! You can get to some amazing places in a day from where you live.

Don't know if you have paddled it loaded yet, but like all of those solos is will feel very different with a tripping load. Like many folks, I simulate that on day paddles with dry bags of water.

Enjoy.

 

[Saxfisch]

I also typically load in some water when I’m out. I think it paddles a bit better with more glide with a bit of weight. Besides my fat butt that is.