Re: [Paddlewise] Canoes

Phares wrote;

(SNIP)
>
> I,m looking at a Canadian company that makes kevlar models of type of old
> strip canvas canoes. Bill mason swore by the prospector line.
> If you go to canoe and kayak magazine web site, they have links to their
> advertisers.Lots of canoe manufacture web sites are there.

A word of warning. Not all "Prospector" canoes have the original
"Prospector" shape or the "Prospector" shape that Bill Mason liked. I did an
article about the Prospector many years ago for Kanawah magazine and in my
research found lots of boats called "Prospectors". Some builders use their
existing boats and just put a "Prospector " name on the side. The boats do
not even remotely resemble the original. Some have keels (Bleechhh).
Algonquin Outfitters in Dwight, Ontario sell one that comes pretty close to
the original (I have no connection with them). I have heard that the
Bluewater "Prospector" comes close but can't speak from personal experience.

The Chestnut company changed the shapes of their canoes regularaly to suit
tastes and buyer preferences. Many of the boats built in their last days of
existence got stored improperly and  had lopsided hulls. One manufacturer of
fibreglass "Prospectors" copied a lopsided boat. :-) When Chestnut folded
the moulds got sold to several different companies. One can't say how well
they got stored or which versions they got. I short, a "Prospector" may
always be a canoe but it may not be a "Prospector".

The one failing of the Prospector for most people has to do with its shape
which worked best with heavy loads and not the more lightly loaded
recreational paddling that most people do. Not a huge deal but worth
considering.


Cheers,

John Winters
Redwing Designs
Web site address http://home.ican.net/~735769



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