Well,

I have been reading all this good discussion. You are probably right -
but I still don't have any replacement parts - which is what started
all this fun.

But, the skill of the paddler is way more important than the equipment,
although the equipment makes things easier and allows for a higher
level of performance, whether canoes, skiis or golf clubs.

A friend and I have taken this Coleman down the Salmon river in Idaho
thru a number of class 2 & 3 rapids and done just fine, even better
than some of the high priced Old Towne etc. types. There is a boyscout
camp about 22 miles up from Riggins that regularly runs this section of
the river with a whole fleet of Coleman canoes. (I better check with
these guys)

Thanks for the discussion...and if you find any parts....

Frog

James wrote:
Cyli wrote:

On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:01:49 +0800, "riverman"
wrote:


"Grip" wrote in message
...
On one my local creeks, there are two wrapped beyond repair
Cloeman's....I'll look to see if there are any salvagable parts.
Why do people even yake these things onto flodded creeks? Never
mind, I know the answer. lol



It would be a cloed day in hell before I yook one of them on a
flodded creek, I tell ya!

I've seen one used on Class III water by a couple of crazy country
guys. They were on their second Coleman, the first having wrapped and
then been stolen. They did fine and the canoe held up through the
three sets of rapids I watched them take. Their first Coleman had
lasted them years of fun. It's not something I'd ever recommend to
anyone, though.

But Colemans are perfectly adequate for fla****er lake and river
paddling. They won't take being wrapped, but they'll take a certain
amount of scraping on rocks in the short term. Good cheap fun for
years as long as one keeps within their limits. And the majority of
paddlers don't do anything all that awful to them or use them so often
that they'd be better off with more expensive canoes.

We're a rather specialized bunch here and our needs are different from
the weekend at the lake paddler. Well, mine aren't any more, but they
were and it's a darn good thing I had a very sturdy Old Town.

You don't need to spend money for the very best equipment if you're
not doing stuff that requires good equipment. You need the world's
best dinghy if you're going across the Atlanatic, but any old tub will
do if you're going fishing half a mile from your put in.

How true. I stared with a Coleman. I used it for a good number of years
and sold it for what I paid for it as my usage changed. I got a good
buy on an Old Town Discovery 169 from REI. It had a scratch in it which
was worht 20% off plus it was on sale. I bet a lot of people got into
canoeing with a Coleman. Jim

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