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.

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 in message . ..
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.

Twelve foot is minimal in my opinion, but, you can't beat an Old Town
canoe. They are VERY well designed.

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

"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
H Hornblower wrote in message
. ..
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.

Twelve foot is minimal in my opinion, but, you can't beat an Old Town
canoe. They are VERY well designed.

Mr. Hornblower, while the canoe you're considering may very well be an
excellent choice, please do yourself a favor and not take any advise from
Kevin (aka basskisser).

He is relatively new boater who suffers from FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome),
grows and smokes pot, is a pathological liar, and has only owned one vessel,
a clapped-out 30 year old bassboat that he tows with an equally clapped-out
old Jeep.

Good luck with your search.

"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

"Joe" wrote in message . ..
"basskisser" wrote in message
m...
H Hornblower wrote in message
. ..
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.

Twelve foot is minimal in my opinion, but, you can't beat an Old Town
canoe. They are VERY well designed.

Mr. Hornblower, while the canoe you're considering may very well be an
excellent choice, please do yourself a favor and not take any advise from
Kevin (aka basskisser).

He is relatively new boater who suffers from FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome),
grows and smokes pot, is a pathological liar, and has only owned one vessel,
a clapped-out 30 year old bassboat that he tows with an equally clapped-out
old Jeep.

Good luck with your search.

Oh, man!! This advice from the biggest liar on usenet!! Here's a
little test, JoeTechnician, can you prove ANY of the following things
that YOU have stated?

Please show any proof that I "suffer from FAS". Where is your proof of
that?
Please show ANY proof that I "grow pot". Can you?
Please show ANY proof that I "smoke pot". Can you?
Please show ANY proof that I "only owned one vessel".
Please show ANY proof that my Jeep is "clapped out". Can you?
Please show your proof that you are "an engineer licensed in Georgia"
Can you?
Please show your proof that you received the above license to practice
engineering in the State of Georgia through "reciprocity". Can you?

I'll be awaiting proof of the above statements, ALL made by you,
JoeTechnician, the biggest liar in usenet.