easier and more pleasing to dig a hole, throw it in, fill it with dirt and plant daisies...
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Happy Nature Photography Day! 📷🦌🦅🐟🌄
Why am I the only one in a Canoe?
- Thread starter canoekevin
- Start date
you missed one- canoes don't look like they've spent the night with an exceptionally "bad girl" after being tied to a roof rack in 100° heat all day...
As for sexy, while some people look good in neoprene- a guy who's walnut brown on top, and whiter than an arctic icefield below, while wearing a rubber miniskirt, just does not add any points in the attractiveness scale...
Sadness all the way around.Heck no. I feel sorry for whoever gets stuck in the tandems!
Alan
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I am not sure about the water in the boat claim for the double paddle.
I use the J stroke and Canadian and switch sides after every 100 stokes. Hardly any water in the canoe.
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My friends kayaks always have water in them from getting out to get unstuck due to their refusal to learn to read the river.
I think he meant that if one uses a double blade, then the open canoe will collect more water than the topped kayak.
It would be nice if we had some marketing folks, here in the group, along with a production boat builder or two. Perhaps a plan could be hatched to produce a decent, entry level, plastic canoe (think Solo 13 ish) and a marketing plan to go with it. If enough of us got behind a social media campaign, it might just go somewhere. I'm thinking that the price point needs to be below the $1000.00 threshold, maybe $1500.00 That's my gut feeling. Whether or not that's realistic, is above my pay grade.
I see the Old Town Discovery 119 listed for $999 and the Esquif Adirondack listed for $1399 at Rutabaga Paddlesports. As a new / inexperienced canoeist tempted by those prices, I'm curious what else you'd like to see in the entry level price range or if what's missing is mostly the marketing.
I don't see it as a price thing. It's more about availability and perceptions. Canoes of any kind just aren't as available as kayaks. Kayaks are sold at many retailers but not canoes. Kayaks are also the only boats available to rent on many lakes that at one time only had canoes to rent. I also think people perceive kayaks as being easier to move, transport and store, because of their size.
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Sadly, I think Average Joe believes that the $300, 2 piece kayak from Walmart, Rural King or (I suppose) Canadian Tire is every bit as capable as any canoe out there. For his purposes, (and day paddling only) perhaps he's right. It's when you start overnight trips and portaging that the differences become clear.
I've only seen 1 yak on my recent trips but I haven't seen many people either. (just the way I like it)
I've only seen 1 yak on my recent trips but I haven't seen many people either. (just the way I like it)
What I'd like to see is for someone to resurrect the Mohawk Solo 14 mold (if it still exists) and produce it in T-formex or even 3 layer poly. But I don't see that happening. How about it, Old Town?
Honestly, those Discovery 111's aren't as bad as some of us let on. They're just not as efficient as better shapes, but I've seen them do just fine on some pretty significant rapids (with a skilled paddler). That Adirondack looks pretty good too. I would say the Wenonah Fusion should perform a bit better, but at a higher cost than many would accept as entry level.
My advice is always to watch the used market for something like the out of production Mohawk Solo 14. That one is beginner friendly without being boring to an intermediate paddler IMO. Yeah, it can take a while to find one.
I still see the Old Town Pack showing up in good condition on the used market, and I would choose that over a new Discovery 111.
The good news is that both of these boats show that it is possible to produce canoes in the $1000.00 range. Both are essentially "beginner" boats or fishing platforms in that they are both quite wide and flat bottomed. Hard to learn good technique when you can't easily reach over the side and maintain a vertical paddle shaft. Likewise, lot's of initial stability, little secondary and nearly impossible to heel. The Mohawk, Solo 13 had none of these design issues and should be moldable at a similar price point. So from a price/design concept, It appears that it can be done.
If these boats were mass marketed through major retailers, in the way that many kayaks are, perhaps more people would see that they have a choice in solo craft. How one gets these boats into that broader market, I don't know. I doubt that either Old Town or Esquif have the production capacity to supply the like of Walmart or perhaps even Tractor Supply, with even a single boat per store. Maybe enough for Dicks or Gander Mountain?
If these boats were mass marketed through major retailers, in the way that many kayaks are, perhaps more people would see that they have a choice in solo craft. How one gets these boats into that broader market, I don't know. I doubt that either Old Town or Esquif have the production capacity to supply the like of Walmart or perhaps even Tractor Supply, with even a single boat per store. Maybe enough for Dicks or Gander Mountain?
