Robert C. Perkins wrote: > > ...SNIP... I ran across a very pretty Bell a couple of > weeks back, but I've never seen any of the Wenonah, Dagger, or Mad River > models in the stores here in North Carolina. I can find solo WW canoes but > not solo touring canoes. Don't forget to add Swift canoes to your list. The Osprey and Raven are outstanding boats (although according to John Winters the designer is a bit of a jerk :-) It can be difficult in some parts of the country to find solo canoes to "demo", as the market is a bit thin in some areas. There are some excellent designs out there --if you can find them. One thing to think about is the intended use. The category of "touring" boats covers quite a wide range of designs, from boats with signficant rocker, full ends, and substantial depth (14-15 inches in the center) to boats that have very little (or no) rocker, fine ends, and shallow depth. I use the first type for wilderness trips on rivers with significant whitewater (up to class III), and the latter for flatwater touring. There are many more solo designs available today than was the case 10 or 15 years ago. This applies not just to whitewater playboats but to tripping and touring boats as well. Dan Hagen Bellingham, Washington *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Jul 17 1998 - 22:21:31 PDT
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