FrogontheLog wrote:

Well,

I have been reading all this good discussion. You are probably right
- but I still don't have any replacement parts - which is what started
all this fun.

But, the skill of the paddler is way more important than the
equipment, although the equipment makes things easier and allows for
a higher level of performance, whether canoes, skiis or golf clubs.

A friend and I have taken this Coleman down the Salmon river in Idaho
thru a number of class 2 & 3 rapids and done just fine, even better
than some of the high priced Old Towne etc. types. There is a
boyscout camp about 22 miles up from Riggins that regularly runs this
section of the river with a whole fleet of Coleman canoes. (I better
check with these guys)

Thanks for the discussion...and if you find any parts....

Frog

I lived in Riggins for four years as a kid. I moved back to Boise in
1963. Is the camp up towards Riggins Hot Springs? Jim

James wrote:
Cyli wrote:

On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:01:49 +0800, "riverman"
wrote:


"Grip" wrote in message
...
On one my local creeks, there are two wrapped beyond repair
Cloeman's....I'll look to see if there are any salvagable
parts. Why do people even yake these things onto flodded
creeks? Never mind, I know the answer. lol



It would be a cloed day in hell before I yook one of them on a
flodded creek, I tell ya!

I've seen one used on Class III water by a couple of crazy country
guys. They were on their second Coleman, the first having
wrapped and then been stolen. They did fine and the canoe held
up through the three sets of rapids I watched them take. Their
first Coleman had lasted them years of fun. It's not something
I'd ever recommend to anyone, though.

But Colemans are perfectly adequate for fla****er lake and river
paddling. They won't take being wrapped, but they'll take a
certain amount of scraping on rocks in the short term. Good
cheap fun for years as long as one keeps within their limits.
And the majority of paddlers don't do anything all that awful to
them or use them so often that they'd be better off with more
expensive canoes.

We're a rather specialized bunch here and our needs are different
from the weekend at the lake paddler. Well, mine aren't any
more, but they were and it's a darn good thing I had a very
sturdy Old Town.

You don't need to spend money for the very best equipment if
you're not doing stuff that requires good equipment. You need
the world's best dinghy if you're going across the Atlanatic, but
any old tub will do if you're going fishing half a mile from your
put in.

How true. I stared with a Coleman. I used it for a good number of
years and sold it for what I paid for it as my usage changed. I got
a good buy on an Old Town Discovery 169 from REI. It had a scratch
in it which was worht 20% off plus it was on sale. I bet a lot of
people got into canoeing with a Coleman. Jim

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