H Hornblower wrote:
12' royalex 33lb. solo canoe....I'm thinking of a purchase and would
appreciate comments from those familiar with this or other short,
light solo or double ender canoes.

What are you intending to do with the canoe? The hull shape makes the
biggest difference in how the boat behaves. Boats for white water have a
lot of rocker, so the ends won't dig in when you're trying to turn. But
they are quite slow paddling in still water. Boats for still water are
more straight along the keel, looking at it from the side (profile
rocker), but the fast ones are very round in cross-section across the
bottom. This makes them tippy.

Some years ago after studying forty or fifty canoes designs available, I
chose a Wenonah solo+ flat water canoe, it is almost straight in profile
(3" rocker IIRC) and slightly arced across the bottom. It is a lot of
fun and suits my wife & I very well for paddling on lakes and slow
rivers. I have also taken it in mild white water but that's really not
what it's for. We have been done several wildlife excursions with other
canoes and it is very easy to paddle.

Royalex is heavy, but it's great stuff for a canoe that will be in white
water or handled roughly. The stuff is indestructible.

Fair Skies
Doug King

On Wed, 05 May 2004 20:13:18 -0400, DSK wrote:

H Hornblower wrote:
12' royalex 33lb. solo canoe....I'm thinking of a purchase and would
appreciate comments from those familiar with this or other short,
light solo or double ender canoes.

What are you intending to do with the canoe? The hull shape makes the
biggest difference in how the boat behaves. Boats for white water have a
lot of rocker, so the ends won't dig in when you're trying to turn. But
they are quite slow paddling in still water. Boats for still water are
more straight along the keel, looking at it from the side (profile
rocker), but the fast ones are very round in cross-section across the
bottom. This makes them tippy.

Some years ago after studying forty or fifty canoes designs available, I
chose a Wenonah solo+ flat water canoe, it is almost straight in profile
(3" rocker IIRC) and slightly arced across the bottom. It is a lot of
fun and suits my wife & I very well for paddling on lakes and slow
rivers. I have also taken it in mild white water but that's really not
what it's for. We have been done several wildlife excursions with other
canoes and it is very easy to paddle.

Royalex is heavy, but it's great stuff for a canoe that will be in white
water or handled roughly. The stuff is indestructible.

Fair Skies
Doug King

This will be mostly for lake use. I'm intrigued with the idea of
putting it in the back of my truck as I don't have roof racks
anymore. The light weight is attractive too as I'm getting older. I
have an old wood one that must weigh 150 lbs after it's been in the
water a while. I'm concerned that the short length will not track
very well and that sitting up one the seat will be unstable...I weigh
225.

Thanks

H Hornblower wrote:
This will be mostly for lake use. I'm intrigued with the idea of
putting it in the back of my truck as I don't have roof racks
anymore. The light weight is attractive too as I'm getting older. I
have an old wood one that must weigh 150 lbs after it's been in the
water a while. I'm concerned that the short length will not track
very well and that sitting up one the seat will be unstable...I weigh
225.

If you get a flat water canoe, tracking should't be a problem. The Old
Town web site does not give specifics on hull shape, but you can see
which ones have more beam, more freeboard, etc etc. A 14 footer is going
to be enough faster to worth considering IMHO (it'll be less tiring
going shorter distances too) and less worry about tracking. Harder to
fit in the back of a pickup, though.

From your mention of 33#, I guess you're talking about the Pack canoe,
which is considerably narrower with less freeboard than the Katahdin or
Stillwater. If you're worried about stability & weight carrying, it'd be
worth considering one of the other boats even if it's heavier, more
$$, and harder to fit in the truck... no point in spending your money on
something that won't do the job.

I'd also recommend Bill Mason... introduced to me as the Zen master of
canoing. We bought one of his videos and found it both entertaining and
enlightening.

Fair Skies
Doug King

"DSK" wrote in message
. ..
H Hornblower wrote:
This will be mostly for lake use. I'm intrigued with the idea of
putting it in the back of my truck as I don't have roof racks
anymore. The light weight is attractive too as I'm getting older. I
have an old wood one that must weigh 150 lbs after it's been in the
water a while. I'm concerned that the short length will not track
very well and that sitting up one the seat will be unstable...I
weigh
225.

If you get a flat water canoe, tracking should't be a problem. The Old
Town web site does not give specifics on hull shape, but you can see
which ones have more beam, more freeboard, etc etc. A 14 footer is
going
to be enough faster to worth considering IMHO (it'll be less tiring
going shorter distances too) and less worry about tracking. Harder to
fit in the back of a pickup, though.

From your mention of 33#, I guess you're talking about the Pack
canoe,
which is considerably narrower with less freeboard than the Katahdin
or
Stillwater. If you're worried about stability & weight carrying, it'd
be
worth considering one of the other boats even if it's heavier, more
$$, and harder to fit in the truck... no point in spending your money
on
something that won't do the job.

I'd also recommend Bill Mason... introduced to me as the Zen master of
canoing. We bought one of his videos and found it both entertaining
and
enlightening.

Fair Skies
Doug King

Go to http://www.piragis.com and check out the canoes by Winonah and
Bell, I think they are better than anything Oldtown makes.

del cecchi