Mad River Canoe - Been Nice to Know You

[Glenn MacGrady]

My first and only solo whitewater boat is the MR Outrage, paddled a number of other boats, this is still the most responsive while still forgiving hull I know. It's from the mid-90s so I confidently expect it to outlive me..

Doug, I'm curious what river that is.

 

[DougK]

that's the N. Platte, in Colorado.. the put-in is in CO, take-out in WY..
We used to do this every June. Then there were low-water years, followed by water so high the river was closed, then there was a big burn and the river is full of strainers from blowdowns.. it might be another year or two.

 

[Lewis Taylor]

Sad to see but predictable after Pelican. Wife had a Slipper and later a Pearl. We mostly paddled solo but we had a Kev Explorer for a while…what a classic fully capable canoe! Oh yeah, a Flashback passed through the garage during a brief whitewater stint.
All things change…sometimes not for the better.

Hi Steve. I live across the river in Savannah. Have paddled Mad River canoes for many years. Presently, I have a 1982 Duck Hunter Explorer and a 1991 Minstrel. While trying to locate more online resources about the Minstrel as well as on repairing it, I noticed this post. I have been looking for a Pearl and/or a Slipper for years. Do you know of the present location of either of those boats that your wife had? Thanks for the reply. Lewis Taylor

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I missed this thread during my post covid absence. I did see the news though, and it still saddens me.

What’s yer picks? Kevlar Courier or Malecite?

My kevlar Malecite is the one canoe that my wife has forbidden me to sell....not that I would ever want to.


A kevlar Guide is still on my BOLO list.

But one MRC boat that I only briefly got to paddle at Raystown I recall very fondly, a solo composite Tempest which impressed be as being one of the three fastest solo canoes I have paddled that was not an all-out specialty-built marathon racer.

There's another one for the list!

I recall hearing in the '80's from an industry source who knew all the players personally, how Jim Henry would proclaim (perhaps when slightly lubricated) that he would bury Old Town. Well, OT isn't yet buried....

It's buried as far as I'm concerned, and had been since the demise of royalex. There's nothing they currently make that interests me. I never have figured out why OT hasn't participated in the use of T-formex.

 

[dutchlennart]

My kevlar Malecite is the one canoe that my wife has forbidden me to sell....not that I would ever want to.

A dear friend had that same agreenment/rule. Only not a maleecite but a jensen 18 in kul. Untill I had squeeezeed in a savage river susquehanna in thier fleet. 6 months later the jensen was gone. They are still a happy paddling couple.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

A dear friend had that same agreenment/rule. Only not a maleecite but a jensen 18 in kul. Untill I had squeeezeed in a savage river susquehanna in thier fleet. 6 months later the jensen was gone. They are still a happy paddling couple.

Well, yeah. It's possible that if a similarly appointed Polaris or Keewaydin 17 dropped in our laps, we might change our minds. I don't think Northstar is quite up to the level of fit&finish of Vermont MR though, and I don't even see slotted rails as a Swift option - so, pretty unlikely.

 

[lowangle al]

My kevlar Malecite is the one canoe that my wife has forbidden me to sell....not that I would ever want to.
View attachment 156035

My wife feels the same. She has been in Ak. for the past month, which is where our Malecite is. She had mentioned that we will be selling our canoes to a guy doing work on the house. He wanted the Malecite, but she told him "that one's not for sale. When I asked her why she wanted to keep it when we have the kevlar Seliga in Pa. to replace it, she said it was because of it's better initial stability. It is a great boat and fills a spot where the Seliga is lacking. Which is a straight tracking boat with low stems and a centralized seat that will be good for fishing.

 

[Benson Gray]

I never have figured out why OT hasn't participated in the use of T-formex.

I have asked them that question and the response was that they didn't like how it performed in their testing. The prospect of buying their primary raw material from a competitor probably also factored into the decision. The sad reality is that the current market for T-formex / Royalex / ABS canoes is relatively small. The other interesting data point is that Old Town has had offers to unload their old ABS canoe forming equipment which they have declined. That bridge has not been burned yet.

Part of the reason why Old Town hasn't been buried so far by Mad River or anyone else has been their willingness to adapt to new market changes. That process has been going on since the early 1900s and is likely to never stop.

Benson