Boat Buying

schledog · Saturday at 5:58 PM

I’m in the market for a whitewater canoe. I have limited experience with river paddling but I want to get more into it. I’m looking at doing the Bloodvein this summer and have a strong interest in other longer river trips after that. I have two main questions. T-Formex or Royalex? I’m looking at a used Spirit II in either and the T-Formex is cheaper. I’m a college student and I can afford either but it’d also be nice to save some money if it’s not a big deal. My only other question is if I should instead be looking at solo canoeing? I have friends who are very talented whitewater canoeists but they’re also very hard to pin down and I don’t know who else I would trip with. I consider myself a pretty experienced outdoorsman and would be confident in doing a shorter solo trip like the Bloodvein (if I got more solo experience before then). I’d hit up the Flambeau and Brule solo to get a feel for it. Sort of a long question but I’d appreciate any advice!
Also, just thought I’d ask, is the Spirit II an appropriate model for extended wilderness travel? From what I’ve read it looks like it but I’m not the best with that sort of logistics.

kona · Saturday at 7:20 PM

Sounds like a lot of good questions that would benefit from your own first hand experience to answer.

Starting on the brule and the flambeau is a great idea. Trying out solo is a great idea too.

Someone here has mentioned they avoid royalex longer than 16.5’ and I think that’s a pretty solid point. And I love royalex for rocky rivers. Spirit II is a big boat and the wenonah royalex has always been prone to oil canning.

not sure where you are but we have a decent crew of open boat whitewater paddlers in the twin cities if you ever want to connect.

schledog · Saturday at 9:02 PM

kona said:
Sounds like a lot of good questions that would benefit from your own first hand experience to answer.

Starting on the brule and the flambeau is a great idea. Trying out solo is a great idea too.

Someone here has mentioned they avoid royalex longer than 16.5’ and I think that’s a pretty solid point. And I love royalex for rocky rivers. Spirit II is a big boat and the wenonah royalex has always been prone to oil canning.

not sure where you are but we have a decent crew of open boat whitewater paddlers in the twin cities if you ever want to connect.

I’m in Bozeman for college right now but I’m originally from the cities. I’d love to get connected with some other paddlers and get some more first hand experience!

kona · Saturday at 10:06 PM

@schledog if the timing works out you might consider participating in the two weekend Canoe-U course the local club puts on usually late May into early June. Tandem and solo options usually with boats available for cheap rental. ACA instructors and a crew of safety boaters to help you push the limits and really learn. https://www.rapidsriders.org/canoeu

schledog · Saturday at 10:51 PM

kona said:
@schledog if the timing works out you might consider participating in the two weekend Canoe-U course the local club puts on usually late May into early June. Tandem and solo options usually with boats available for cheap rental. ACA instructors and a crew of safety boaters to help you push the limits and really learn. https://www.rapidsriders.org/canoeu

I looked at doing it last year and never committed because I was very busy and unfortunately that’s the case again. A friend of mine who’s paddled the Coppermine has given me a lot of advice on reading water and I paddled the lower Kinnickinnic with him this summer so I do have experience with class I/light II. With all the rain this summer the Kinni was running beautifully and I would highly highly recommend sending it in a canoe if you get the opportunity and conditions are right. It’s only like 40 minutes from where I live in the cities and the lower stretch is completely undeveloped.

Steve in Idaho · Saturday at 11:19 PM

schledog said:
I’m in the market for a whitewater canoe. I have limited experience with river paddling but I want to get more into it. I’m looking at doing the Bloodvein this summer and have a strong interest in other longer river trips after that. I have two main questions. T-Formex or Royalex? I’m looking at a used Spirit II in either and the T-Formex is cheaper. I’m a college student and I can afford either but it’d also be nice to save some money if it’s not a big deal. My only other question is if I should instead be looking at solo canoeing? I have friends who are very talented whitewater canoeists but they’re also very hard to pin down and I don’t know who else I would trip with. I consider myself a pretty experienced outdoorsman and would be confident in doing a shorter solo trip like the Bloodvein (if I got more solo experience before then). I’d hit up the Flambeau and Brule solo to get a feel for it. Sort of a long question but I’d appreciate any advice!
Also, just thought I’d ask, is the Spirit II an appropriate model for extended wilderness travel? From what I’ve read it looks like it but I’m not the best with that sort of logistics.

To answer your easiest question - all else being equal and the canoes the same model, I would choose T-Formex over Royalex for one unavoidable reason. Both are subject to age related deterioration, and the T-Formex boat will always be newer than any Royalex boat.

As to the solo canoe question, paddling technical whitewater solo will be easier in a solo size whitewater canoe - again, all else being equal. But the variety of hull shapes that make different canoe shapes handle differently makes that a very loose generalization. More generalization that might be helpful is that canoes with soft chines and moderate rocker tend to be more forgiving in moving water. That's why the Prospector-ish models are popular. You can ignore the above waterline shape as long as the canoe has decent depth, but a shape below the waterline that is reasonably similar to the various Prospector canoes is a good place to start.

As for the Spirit II, I haven't paddled one, but it has a reputation of being a good all-around tandem that can handle some class 2 in moderately skilled hands.

kona · 2024-11-17T09:54:37-0500

Awesome. we love the lower kinni. that’s where my profile pic is from.

On the boat question I’d say get whatever you can to get the stoke up and get you on the water as often as possible. S2 is a good all a rounder though a little on the bigger end of the size range. People love that boat.

If the bug really bites, it might not be your last boat. No single hull can do it all perfectly. I always see nice boats pop up for sale in Montana! Good luck with the hunt.

Holler when you’re back around if you want to connect. We get out on rivers several times a month and on lakes much more often. At some point consider a proper class. It will help you be safer, stretch, and learn your limits etc.

Boat Buying

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schledog

Steve in Idaho

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