bkr wrote in
:

So I've posted a couple of times looking for advice but I still
haven't bought my first boat. I'm currently planning on a CLC, though
I'm not sure whether I'll get a single or tandem at this point. (I
really want the tandem, but I'm waffling at the moment).

My latest big question is how sturdy will these boats be in shallow
water where there might be small rocks and such. Lately I've read a
lot about newbies (like me) being able to bang up boats on rocks and
it got me to thinking how tough these boats will be compared to a
plastic boat.
I don't expect a whole lot of shallow river tours but anticipate
some
occasional runs into tributaries or something where I might encounter
rocks. What kind of performance can I expect from a stitch and glue
in these types of conditions?

Anyone have experience with these that wouldn't mind helping out a
newbie? I'm hoping to start testing these boats next month to
determine exactly which model I want. I'm looking at the Chesapeakes
17, 18 or tandem, or the Arctic Hawk. If anyone has any solid
recommendations please feel free to throw those in as well.

Thanks.

bkr



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bkr wrote:

My latest big question is how sturdy will these boats be in shallow
water where there might be small rocks and such. Lately I've read a lot
about newbies (like me) being able to bang up boats on rocks and it got
me to thinking how tough these boats will be compared to a plastic boat.

It depends on how you build it. Double up the fiberglass on the "football"
area of the hull and it'll be plenty rugged.

I'm looking at the Chesapeakes 17, 18 or
tandem, or the Arctic Hawk. If anyone has any solid recommendations
please feel free to throw those in as well.

Well, judging by the diverse list of boats, it seems that you need to define
what you want from a boat first. Why are you considering and tandem OR a
single? Are you paddling alone or will you ALWAYS have a partner to paddle
with? You cannot paddle a CLC tandem alone.

Assuming you want a single, there's a huge difference between the Chesepeake
series boats and the Arctic turn. The former are very high volume boats; the
17 is huge and the 18 is positively cavernous! They're very stable and can
haul a lot of gear, if that's your intent, but they don't offer much in the
way of performance. The 'Hawk is a low volume, high performance design that
CLC has licenced (smart move). It's nothing at all like the Chesepeakes.

You're smart to demo these boats first. That's the only way you'll be able
to determine the differences.

--
Regards

Brian

Brian Nystrom wrote:

bkr wrote:


My latest big question is how sturdy will these boats be in shallow
water where there might be small rocks and such. Lately I've read a lot
about newbies (like me) being able to bang up boats on rocks and it got
me to thinking how tough these boats will be compared to a plastic boat.


It depends on how you build it. Double up the fiberglass on the "football"
area of the hull and it'll be plenty rugged.


I'm looking at the Chesapeakes 17, 18 or
tandem, or the Arctic Hawk. If anyone has any solid recommendations
please feel free to throw those in as well.


Well, judging by the diverse list of boats, it seems that you need to define
what you want from a boat first. Why are you considering and tandem OR a
single? Are you paddling alone or will you ALWAYS have a partner to paddle
with? You cannot paddle a CLC tandem alone.

Assuming you want a single, there's a huge difference between the Chesepeake
series boats and the Arctic turn. The former are very high volume boats; the
17 is huge and the 18 is positively cavernous! They're very stable and can
haul a lot of gear, if that's your intent, but they don't offer much in the
way of performance. The 'Hawk is a low volume, high performance design that
CLC has licenced (smart move). It's nothing at all like the Chesepeakes.

You're smart to demo these boats first. That's the only way you'll be able
to determine the differences.

--
Regards

Brian


Thanks for the information Brian. I appreciate the advice that I can't
paddle a CLC tandem alone. That's pretty much what I expect to do most
of the time and the guy at the CLC wharehouse said he wouldn't recommend
it, especially to a newbie but it could be done. That's why I'm
waffling on whether or not to get the Chesapeake Sport tandem (narrower
beam the the "standard" Chesapeake). Also I think I would prefer the
Arctic Hawk because I like the performance factor more than the load
capacity, but I'm not sure if it's the right boat for me. I've only
paddle a couple of different plastics and they were more like the
Chesapeakes, which is why I'm going to demo all the boats I'm
considering. I can't tell from spec sheets the how big the boats will
actually feel but based on your comments I'm thinking the Chesapeake 18
is out anyway. I was just already inclined to removing that from my
list based on the recommended paddler weight which far exceeds my 165#s.

Thanks again

bkr