Michael Daly wrote:


I haven't paddled a Mattawa, but I did paddle an Algonquin 17 for a weekend
once. I didn't realize that the A-17 was not considered a "serious" canoe -
its marketed as a high-end family or good recreational canoe. I found it
handled quite well and had decent speed. I would have rated as good or
better than many other companies' high-end tripper canoes!

I can't say much about the 15 or 16 foot versions other than to suggest that
if they're comparable to the 17, they're good enough for most paddlers.

If I had to buy a lake tripper tomorrow, I'd get the Swift Kippawa. If
there's one available, give it a look.


I bought my last boat - a Boreal Designs Ellesmere sea kayak from Swift
at Guelph two years ago. If you're lucky, you;ll find a deal like I did.

Mike

Thanks again. I've been trying to keep it to 15' or 16'. While the
wife enjoys canoeing, I do see myself going solo from time to time (or
maybe more). To be honest, I haven't done extensive solo in any canoe
recently, but I figure that a 17' (or more) may be a handful at time, at
least more so than a shorter canoe.

I could be way off on that last point.

I'll be doing lake paddling most of the time, doing rivers/creeks to get
to the next lake, but I don't see any whitewater in the foreseeable future.

We do camping, but have found we can fit all our gear into a 15'
comfortably.

I will be fishing extensively from this canoe.

My main canoeing experience from the past few years is using three
different canoes.

One is at the wife's family cottage. This is a green plastic 17'
Coleman with round metal tubes bracing the inside. I find it heavy and
the most difficult to paddle. I took it out two weekends ago for my
first paddle (only choice). I find it generally barge-like.

The other two are at my cousins cottage, which we frequently visit in
the summer. They have a 16 or 17', not sure of the material. It's red
and plasticy, sort of like the Coleman, but stiffer, with no metal
bracing. It's lighter than the Coleman, and seems fairly durable. It
may be Royalex/lite, I've never seen one up close, so I'm not sure
exactly what they look like. Anyways, this is a stable canoe, it seems
OK, but it's still quite heavy.

The last is a Swift, approximately 10 years old. it's a 15', not sure
which model. I'm not exactly sure of the material, but the inside is a
screen-like mesh pattern. It seems very light, although it doesn't seem
like it would appreciate being banged into a rock. This canoe has no
keel, so when I first used it, I thought it felt 'tippy'. After awhile,
I got used to it and find the canoe much more stable than the red one,
especially when you lean over the side, say, to unhook a fish! I guess
that's the Primary/Secondary stability.

Anyways, sorry to ramble, just looking for some input on what may be
suitable for me...

Thanks

Brian