Swift Keewaydin 18.6 vs. Wenonah Minnesota II

[yknpdlr]

The Savage River canoes I have seen and paddled in, in carbon fiber layup, both the C2 and C4 have typically been notably faster than similar Wenonahs when racing both in the Adirodacks, and in the Yukon. I have never had any issues or concerns with stabiility when in either canoe model, virrtually the same feel and response in all. Except that the Savage Rivers are a bit faster. A factor could be that when in the SRs, I have usually had rather more experienced team members.

 

[Alan Gage]

Is it about the same speed as the MN II?

Regarding speed: From my experience any canoe with similar specs is going to have similar speeds. No body has figured out how to beat the laws of physics yet.

I've padded similar canoes that have felt faster or slower than others but once a GPS was turned turned on for a long paddle (a few miles) it turned out the feels weren't so accurate.

Don't sweat the speed. Unless you're racing any similar hull won't make a difference.

Alan

 

[kbobb]

CN - First off, we are not race speed paddlers - just out for day cruises - So with GPS the difference between the MN2 and SR for the way we typically paddle was 0.1 mph - same water, same day, same paddles (Edit - 4.2 mph for the SR and 4.1 mph for the MN2. ) There was some wind and small - moderate waves that day. the SR was technically faster but over the approx 5 mile course we didn't think it was significant (we paddled the SR first so could have been a little more tired when paddling the MN2) and not worth the price - it would have cost us about 3k additional after selling our MN2. and we could buy another shorter nice day cruiser ( NS polaris) and still keep the MN2 for that $3k. No detectable difference in stability for any of the 3, all were fine. My wife thought the bow in the SR had less room than the MN2 and the bow in the NS was more spacious than either. Also check bow height dimensions if that makes any difference re: waves where you paddle.
I think all of these are very nice boats and would be happy with any one of them! Good luck.

 

[Mason]

CanoeNorth--I just stopped by the Bozeman canoe shop, and they have a Kevlar UL Wenonah Escape, which is shortened Min 2 https://wenonah.com/Canoes.aspx?id=32. The also have a Spirit 2, I think in Tuf Weave. The Escape is a blem at $3500.

 

[CanoeNorth]

Thanks guys.
yknpdlr...Thank you for sharing your experience. Stability and seaworthiness are considerations for us with our larger lakes.
Alan...I've noticed that when I've used the gps especially when we're far from shore it can feel like you're going real slow until you have a look at the gps.
Little differences in speed if not a concern. We're more concerned about efficiency/glide or the effort it takes to cover a certain number of miles.
kbobb...that helps a lot. Sounds like there isn't much difference. The gps numbers were helpful. We use a gps when we go canoeing to log our distance so I've kept an eye on our cruising speeds as well as how fast the canoe slows down when we quite paddling. It's interesting.
Thanks Mason for the info on the blem Escape.
Thanks again everyone!

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to paddle a Muskoka.
Best of luck.

 

[kbobb]

Thanks guys.
yknpdlr...Thank you for sharing your experience. Stability and seaworthiness are considerations for us with our larger lakes.
Alan...I've noticed that when I've used the gps especially when we're far from shore it can feel like you're going real slow until you have a look at the gps.
Little differences in speed if not a concern. We're more concerned about efficiency/glide or the effort it takes to cover a certain number of miles.
kbobb...that helps a lot. Sounds like there isn't much difference. The gps numbers were helpful. We use a gps when we go canoeing to log our distance so I've kept an eye on our cruising speeds as well as how fast the canoe slows down when we quite paddling. It's interesting.
Thanks Mason for the info on the blem Escape.
Thanks again everyone!

CN - please note that those GPS numbers are for us - a couple of "sunday drivers" if you will. I'm sure younger, more motivated folks may note a greater difference between the boats...or maybe not. I think there are some race oriented folks who can give you info based on racing the SR and Wenonah - like from the 90 miler or similar.

 

[Zac]

Chiming in because I think the Souris River Quetico 18.5 should be in this conversation. Souris River does all their epoxy work by hand and claims they that end up with a more durable hull. Their weights and prices are competitive with Swift and Wenonah.

Hard to find, though, they only list Red Rock out of Ely, MN and Walkabout in Eagle River, WI as dealers. I live somewhat near Eagle River and I'm heading to Great Falls sometime in July/August, if it comes to it send me a DM.

I would put in calls to all 3 of those manufacturers and ask about shipping, they might have a larger order heading your way and you could get lucky.

There's also Hellman, just across the border from you in Nelson, BC. They have an 18' 8" Cruiser that is advertised as 56# in kevlar.

Zac

 

[CanoeNorth]

I understand on the gps numbers. That's one of the reasons we wish we could paddle all our options. We did get a chance to paddle a couple of smaller canoes (Northwind 17 and Keewaydin 16) but not the longer ones yet. We were pleasantly surprised at how nice the Keewaydin was for a 16 ft. canoe!

Zac, really appreciate your offer! I've barely looked at the Souris River and don't know much about them. If we weren't so busy and gas prices were less, it would be nice to take a trip to the Boundary Waters and rent a couple different canoes. I'm sure we would know what we wanted by the end of the trip.

 

[CanoeNorth]

Well, it has been a while but I didn't want to leave everyone wondering what we decided on. We didn't make a trip back to Wisconsin. Instead we made a decision based on what we could try out closer to home which included an MN2, Keewaydin 16 and Northwind 17. We were between the MN2 or a Swift but availability played a role as well. My dad wanted a solo or pack boat and had decided on a Swift Cruiser 14.8 Pack boat which would be similar to the kayak he was use to but with more room to move around. Mom and I use the tandem and we got a Swift Keewaydin 17. So far we like them and the quality is good. GPS speeds in the Keewaydin 17 are between 6 and 7 KPH depending on how motivated we are. It doesn't have to top speed of a MN2 or Itasca but it's easy to maintain a reasonable cruise for hours. Anyway, Thanks again to everyone for their input! We really appreciate it!