The previous response you received was fairly accurate.
Having read your posts it would seem you are wanting the best of two
different worlds
Tripping and WW Playboating.
First understand its not the boat per se, the paddler has much to do with
the equation.
Running and surviving class I,II and sometimes class III means you're lucky.
Running I,II and sometimes ClassIII hitting most of the eddys, ferrying, and
surfing some
means you're controlling your boat and going where you want to go on the
river. You're in control
not the water.
It's not necessarily a fast learning curve to do the latter. To try and
learn it in a loaded (weighted) boat
is even harder.
There are WW boats that will carry the load you mentioned. Many paddlers in
WW boats have carried
the loads you speak of, but they learned to paddle and play in unloaded
boats. They extended their trips
and loads gradually as they learned over the (years).
Here are some of those boats: Blue Hole: Sunburst II Dagger: Caper,
Caption
Whitesell: Piranha
There are others, but these are good ones. All are around 14 to 15 feet in
length, some have more rocker
than others etc...
I suggest you buy one, outfit it for playboating. Take it to the river start
working it and yourself. Add
weight slowly (water or sand) to get a feel for a load. Keep your Camper,
use what you learn with the
WW boat while paddling it. What you do on the river has much more to do with
you, your skills
rather than the boat.
BoomerX

"Richard Ferguson" wrote in message
...
I posted a note a while back about the buyer's guide in Canoe and Kayak
magazine, and the only response that I got said that whitewater solo
canoes are not intended to carry the person and 100 pounds of gear,
food, and water. I weigh 175 pounds, and sometimes need to carry water
on muddy rivers, so the 100 pound cargo number is probably in the ball
park. 7 days of water, at 1 gallon per day, weighs 56 pounds.

So, what should I be looking for if I want a whitewater canoe for
tripping? My only canoe is a 15 foot Old Town camper, rigged for solo
whitewater or tandem fla****er. It is good for carrying lots of stuff,
not bad in big water, but not good for quick maneuvering.

My take is that Bell has a bad reputation for durability, Mohawk has
been sold and is not up and running yet, Esquif has a range of canoes
and a local dealer, and Mad River offers Outrage X. There are some
other niche companies, but those seem to be the usual vendors. I figure
I want a Royalex boat, something that will take some abuse, we scrape
rocks a lot on the local whitewater run. I don't want a radical design,
since I have essentially zero time in whitewater canoes, and prefer not
to swim a lot.

For those of you who may remember my past postings, I am still looking
for a good deal on a used whitewater canoe. I am starting to consider a
new boat rather than pay $800 for a boat that has been beat up. Also,
my weight has dropped from above 200 to 175, so my weight is not so much
an issue.

Richard



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