Mad River Monarch/decked canoes
 

I am interested in finding out about a Mad River Monarch decked
canoe--specifially to purchase one if I can find out. Does anyone
have any information about them--reviews, love/hate, etc. Also, does
anyone know of any other company making a decked canoe?

Thanks,

Bell Rob Roy
Clipper Sea-1 (Western Canoeing & Kayaking)

The Monarch was a Kruger design that Mad River built for a while.

Kruger passed away earlier this year, but his boat designs are still being built:

http://www.krugercanoes.com/products.htm

I have a Sawyer Loon, of which the Monarch is a knock off. Here are my
thoughts on the Loon.

It is a specialized boat. Great fun to paddle, but not really a good
choice for beginner paddlers. The hull is a rounded 3/27 spec racing
botttom, with flare on the sides for better secondary stability.
Sawyer uses a 4 position seat, which can be slid for trim and raised
or lowered. That raise/ lower option is necessary, in rougher water
you want to drop that seat for better stability. I haven't been in
anything so rough I wanted to drop it all the way, but I have gone
from top to middle.

Manuverability is not the best. The boat is designed to go in a
straight line, and it does that well. I don't like paddling with the
rudder, so it is up more often than not. The boat responds well to a
switch sides method of paddling.

All in all I like the boat. If you want some photos of my Loon, just
send me an e-mail and I can e-mail some to you.

Western Canoeing/ Clipper is the only company besides Kruger Canoes
(Kruger designed the Loon, Monarch, Seawind, etc) making a similar
boat.

The Bell Rob Roy is nothing like the Loon/ Monarch. It is stable, but
more of a recreation than a performance hull.

Search around the Internet for one posted. I found one after about a
year, near mint, about $1000. I bought it specifically for paddling
with my baby girl who is now 9 months old. It is my first non-racing
fla****er boat (I had a Delta C1 for a while before I started racing
wildwater).

The boat is wonderful. It is very forgiving with great secondary
stability. The low sides result in minimal wind drag and my daughter
can easily see over them on a booster seat. The rudder combo is
great. With it up, maneuverability reminds me of a Blue Hole OCA -
adequate for rock gardens or modest rapids. Down, the boat tracks
very well. The hull is also very efficient. Construction is not as
good as the Kruger Seawind, but it is still quite good and the cost is
far lower. It is also a tough layup.

Downsides? You won't win any races - hull speed maxes out at about
4.5 mph and the boat really plows trying to break that, but by the
same token below that speed it is very efficient. The boat is not
light (maybe 50 lbs), and the front deck is kind of flexible. Also,
you really must paddle on your rear, as you need the rudder for the
boat to be efficient in a straight line, and you need your feet to
control the rudder.

I've put about 100 miles on mine since July, about 20 of those with my
daughter. All has been moving water with some Class I'ish
rapids/large shoals. I am very pleased with the boat.