I have now added a Mad River Monarch to my stable of boats. I had seen an ad on Craigslist for a “Mad River Canoe Kayak” and looked closely at it. Yep, it looks a Monarch. I’m already over my boat limit- all that the racks will hold plus one- but I had read about these Kruger designed decked canoes and wanted to try one. The price seemed low, the photos looked pretty nice and it was only an hour and a half away. I called and set up a time to see it.
When I saw the Monarch I was amazed at the condition: it looked like it had been in a time capsule since it was made in 1985. The finish showed no UV fading and even all the decals looked great. There were some light scratches on the hull, but random not longitudinal scratches from use and were not through the gel coat. The rudder system and footpegs worked properly and the Kevlar yellow interior floor looked unused. The seat/carry thwart was in as issued condition. Even the bow line and “pull the rudder up” line were not faded, soft to the hand and in good shape. From the photo of the catalog that I have seen it looks like this boat is totally stock with just the original hardware on the deck. This boat was going home with me!
I took out my new canoe for a 5 ½ mile test paddle on the Pacolet River today. It was 93 degrees and humid but I really wanted to see how this canoe handled. I had never paddled a ruddered canoe before and was curious how effective it was to paddle a bent shaft paddle without having to switch sides every 6-12 strokes. I think I am already spoiled! With just a light touch of toe pressure on the rudder pedal, I could paddle 50-100 strokes on one side before switching. With the deck, there were not any drops of water to sponge up when I did switch sides. I am already trying to figure out the loading of gear for my canoe trips.
A question for the Krugerheads out there. This Monarch has a Dark Olive deck and hull. My wife (an army brat) called it Army Green. I do not remember a Mad River offering this color in the mid 80’s on Kevlar boats and have not seen a picture of another Monarch with this color. Does anyone know of another one in Dark Olive/Army Green or what the Mad River name is for this color?
When I saw the Monarch I was amazed at the condition: it looked like it had been in a time capsule since it was made in 1985. The finish showed no UV fading and even all the decals looked great. There were some light scratches on the hull, but random not longitudinal scratches from use and were not through the gel coat. The rudder system and footpegs worked properly and the Kevlar yellow interior floor looked unused. The seat/carry thwart was in as issued condition. Even the bow line and “pull the rudder up” line were not faded, soft to the hand and in good shape. From the photo of the catalog that I have seen it looks like this boat is totally stock with just the original hardware on the deck. This boat was going home with me!
I took out my new canoe for a 5 ½ mile test paddle on the Pacolet River today. It was 93 degrees and humid but I really wanted to see how this canoe handled. I had never paddled a ruddered canoe before and was curious how effective it was to paddle a bent shaft paddle without having to switch sides every 6-12 strokes. I think I am already spoiled! With just a light touch of toe pressure on the rudder pedal, I could paddle 50-100 strokes on one side before switching. With the deck, there were not any drops of water to sponge up when I did switch sides. I am already trying to figure out the loading of gear for my canoe trips.
A question for the Krugerheads out there. This Monarch has a Dark Olive deck and hull. My wife (an army brat) called it Army Green. I do not remember a Mad River offering this color in the mid 80’s on Kevlar boats and have not seen a picture of another Monarch with this color. Does anyone know of another one in Dark Olive/Army Green or what the Mad River name is for this color?