Hemlock SRT Solo Canoe Review

[gumpus]

L/W ratio is a more easily calculable surrogate for a hull's block coefficient, both being suggestive of the hull's tracking speed.

Gumpus, Colden's Wildfire page states the W/L as 6.0. That's consistent with Charlie Wilson's historic calculations for the Bell and Placid Wildfires. Charlie has maintained a spreadsheet for many years of all the specs of all the solo canoes and pack canoes on the market. He makes it freely available. Does he still post here? I just picked out a couple of other solo canoes that Charlie lists as having a 6.0 L/W ratio.

Hmm . . . I just noticed that Charlie's more recent sheet corrects the Baboosic to 5.3 from a former 6.0. The Nova Craft Supernova is a 6.0.

Charlie's L/W ratios of some other canoes mentioned in this thread are:

Bell Yellowstone - 6.0
Bell Merlin II - 6.9
Bell Magic - 7.2
Colden Wildfire, Flashfire, Starfire - 6.0 (but Flash 6.1 on Colden site)
Colden Dragonfly - 7.0
Colden Nomad - 7.2 (but 7.0 on Colden site)
Hemlock Eaglet - 6.0
Hemlock SRT - 6.7
Hemlock Peregrine, Kestrel - 6.8
Northstar Phoenix - 6.1
Placid Rapidfire - 7.3
Placid Shadow - 8.5
Swift Osprey - 6.4
Swift Shearwater - 6.8
Swift Keewaydin 14 - 6.5
Swift Keewaydin 15 - 6.8

I'm curious whether the numbers above are just approximations based on a boat's dimensions or whether there is some clever way to get real L/W numbers at some given load. Colden shows 6.0 for L/W but also lists actual waterline width (at 240 pound load) and actual waterline length (at ? load) which gives L/W of 6.3. It's not a big deal either way since I wouldn't expect L/W alone to predict boat performance, I'm just a nerdy engineer that likes to understand numbers.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'm curious whether the numbers above are just approximations based on a boat's dimensions or whether there is some clever way to get real L/W numbers at some given load. Colden shows 6.0 for L/W but also lists actual waterline width (at 240 pound load) and actual waterline length (at ? load) which gives L/W of 6.3. It's not a big deal either way since I wouldn't expect L/W alone to predict boat performance, I'm just a nerdy engineer that likes to understand numbers.

I don't know Charlie's exact methodology but I assume it's consistent for all the boats. The exact way would be the LWL/BWL. But since LWL may not be available from a manufacturer, he may use LOA instead. In any event, if he's consistent in how he does it, the numbers give some relative information about each hull. Just something else to factor in when making a purchase decision about boats you may not be able to try out.

 

[Guest]

I'm curious whether the numbers above are just approximations based on a boat's dimensions or whether there is some clever way to get real L/W numbers at some given load. Colden shows 6.0 for L/W but also lists actual waterline width (at 240 pound load) and actual waterline length (at ? load) which gives L/W of 6.3. It's not a big deal either way since I wouldn't expect L/W alone to predict boat performance, I'm just a nerdy engineer that likes to understand numbers.

I was confounded by that 6.3 L/W as well.

How those L/W ratios are calculated is important, especially for a big guy carrying a tripping load. Just for funsies I ran some of the numbers for a few boats Glenn listed with L/W, using length (and also waterline length if available) divided by the 3” waterline width and by the max width.

The nearest matches to those L/W ratios were mostly at 3” waterline width, and the difference when calculated at or near max width is considerable, and varies. Unnamed examples, 5.8 at 3” waterline, 5.2 at max width or another, 6.3 at 3” waterline, 5.5 at max width.

I do appreciate manufacturers who list freeboard displacement increasing weights. That said, listing the waterline width at those displacements would be dang handy. I haven’t been a 2 inch/160 lb waterline since I was a child, and even a 3 inch/260 lb waterline would require paddling gear-less, beer-less and naked. Nobody wants to see that, least of all sunburned and thirsty me.

I know the load I carry on some (most) trips, and while it isn’t quite max beam, it is often close before some food or water weight is reduced. Even on a day trip my weight alone may exceed a 3” waterline with a smaller canoe.

Easy to estimate when you start a trip, just sit level and note how much freeboard is present. A 14 inch deep canoe with 7 or 8 inches of freeboard ain’t no 3” waterline.

Unless a hull has some heroic layout in the bow I just divide the overall length by the max width for a “worst case” L/W, and figure to do at least a little better.

That rough number is good enough for me. If I am using the L/W as an estimate of efficiency or potential speed there are too many other factors to consider; wetted surface, stem entry/exit shape, depth and sheerline rise when wind comes into play, even hull weight when getting the mass moving or maneuvering.

Calculated with that that rudimentary max method my favorite big boy tripping solo, the Old Town Penobscot 16, is 5.8 ish.

The highest L/W ratio boat we own, the Monarch, runs 7.0 max worst, and in practice, even with a heavy freeboard load, more like 7.2. At Mad River’s speced 4” waterline of 29.5” the Monarch’s L/W is 8.2

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Again, I don't know Charlie Wilson's methodology, but as a close friend and collaborator of Dave Yost, I suspect he has the exact LWL and BWL for many of the Yost designed canoes, which number over 100 and include most of the Curtis, Bell, Placid and Swift canoes.

Wait . . . he footnotes many of the hulls with different letters and here is one of his explanatory footnotes:

"Stem Layout, L, Cheeked, C, Tumblehome T, Hogged, Placid scales P, Kevlar const. K, Sit & Switch, S&S. Dispute Specs ?
Waterline length is computed with 3” removed at each stem to compensate for rounding in recreational designs. Exceptional stem layout is also removed. Race boats are assumed to have plumb stems. Cheeked hulls have 12” removed per stem to calculate L/W ratio, an indicator to tracking. Rocker specs not comparable due to drafting conventions"

 

[Guest]

Again, I don't know Charlie Wilson's methodology, but as a close friend and collaborator of Dave Yost, I suspect he has the exact LWL and BWL for many of the Yost designed canoes, which number over 100 and include most of the Curtis, Bell, Placid and Swift canoes.

Glenn, you may be just the fellow to update this list (cut and pasted from a long ago CEW list) with the more recent Keewaydins and other hulls:

DY's Commercially produced hulls

Tubbs: [1] Minuteman

Curtis: [10] Solo tripper, Vagabond, Nomad, MayFly, LadyBug, BlueGill, DragonFly, Companion, NorthStar, CrossFire II.

Sawyer: 10] Autumn Mist, StarLight, DY Special, SummerSong, ShockWave, Solo 13/Coda, X-17, 190 Cruiser, 222 Cruiser, Legend.

Loon Works:[11] Pal, Duet, My Bug, Wee Bug, Mistral, My Toy, Button, Solitaire, Nakoma, Allegro, Aria.

Swift [10 canoes] Heron, Loon, Algonquin 16, Otter, Kewayden, Outfitters 15, 16, 17, Prospector, Kewaydin II, Keewaydin 14, Keewaydin 15, Keewaydin 18.5
[13 Kayaks] Classic 12, 13.5, Adirondack 10LY,12, 12LT, 13.6, Saranac 14LT, 14LV, 14 Spt, 14.5, Kiwasee 12.6LV, 12.6, 13.2.

Perception [6] Spectrum, Spectrum S, Prism, Keewee 2, Carolina [2]

Bell: [26] BuckTail, Magic, Merlin II, RobRoy 12, RobRoy 15, FlashFire, WildFire, YellowStone Solo RX, StarFire, NorthWoods, NorthStar, NorthWind, MorningStar, MorningStar RX, NorthWind RX, BackWater, Mystic, Prodigy, Prodigy X, YellowStone Solo, Nexus, Alaska, Companion, Prospector, NorthShore.

Hemlock [4 from Curtis plugs] Kestrel, Peregrine, Eagle, Eaglet.

Placid boatworks [6] StarFire, FlashFire, WildFire, SpitFire, RapidFire, un-named Tandem Pack, Ohneka, Shadow

Sawyer IV [4] Shockwave, SummerSong, Autumn Mist, Solo 13 [Sawyer II and III never really counted.]

C-4 6mm Magnum

Colden Nomad, DragonFly and Fire series (using the Placid molds)


I am heartened that Yost, and his son, are still at work, and designing some canoes better suited to super-sized paddlers.

 

[Waterdog]

Thought I'd update some previous thoughts after paddling again today. An ongoing dialogue regarding speed and qualifying it with numbers persists and I won't chime in specifically on that, but in an earlier post I described how I judged it, simply the ability to a accelerate across features and less on flat water cruising. I also noted that I'm usually alone and speed isn't really something I consider. But we did talk some about the Wildfire some. I don't own one but today I paddled my Yellowstone in the exact same situation as the SRT in my original post for comparison. At my 215# and same gear as last week the YS was generally slower than the SRT at moving through features. It maintained it's ability to eddy hop and ferry, but it was a little bit of pig at it compared to the SRT and much wetter. I didn't take on any water in the SRT but i was wet before I made it through the first rapid and took on water multiple times. I love the boat, (been paddling it for 11 years) but at my size I don't consider it a tripper IMHO. I was only able to make about 1/2 the attainments upriver that i made in the SRT on my first paddle.

This is my back to back weekend experience of the two boats on the same river and same conditions. Moving forward, any comparisons I make will be between the SRT and Bell Rockstar since I have both and they handle my load range much more similarly. Here are some pics that help visualize where the boat sits in the water column compared to the previous SRT pics.

Yellowstone Solo

P9070021 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

Same rapid as the SRT pics

Middle - P04 - 221487 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

Middle - P04 - 221481 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

Middle - P04 - 221488 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

So at the end of another great paddling day, this time with a good paddling friend..... I sold him the Yellowstone for the princely sum of $350 and loaded it on his car. He is less then 6' tall and runs a lean 160#. He is perfect for it. And he can daytrip the same stretch of river with his young daughter in it. Today he paddled the greatest downriver kayak currently in production:

P9070012 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

But two weeks ago he paddled the YS with his daughter in tow and drafted a lot less water then I would (I'm working on the whole kayak paddle thing):

P8180309 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

I'll keep updating this thread as I paddle the SRT more. I have packed a tripping load in a CCS pack and will add the equivalent food weight to a 30L barrel and shoot some rapids an report back on that experience too.

Cheers,
Barry

 

[gumpus]

I didn't mean to trigger emotional topics like what "fast" means for a canoe. For me the lack of standardization of specs in the canoe industry is also a little bit emotional. I spent years in automotive translating subjective characteristics into objective requirements so I just get curious around how well some of the few canoe metrics relate to subjective impressions (or objective perfomance data which seems rare). Waterdog's comment that the SRT seems a tad faster than a Rockstar seems logical to me since Rockstar also looks to be a versatile, highly river capable boat but with a 2 inch wider WL width than SRT. My subjective impression is that my Shearwater is a tad faster than an SRT. Personally I wouldn't call Wildfire, SRT or Shearwater fast but they all cruise flat water fine...and like Waterdog's comment I'd put them all solidly below something like a Merlin II.

My curiosity around the numbers Glenn showed is partly because even if Charlie used exact measured LWL/WWL that's still only for one specific load so I'd be curious to know what that load is (and in any case the "single point" numbers are some sort of estimate or "directional indicator"). The L/W numbers Bell used to publish do seem to give some real insight into the relative speed of those Bells. I've always just looked at the waterline width as some indicator of efficiency even though that is not measured consistently across manufacturers...I imagine that the load needed to sink an SRT to the 4 inch WL could darn near sink a Wildfire.

Personally I'm also pretty comfortable with differences of opinion. Every boat has a different speed/resistance curve and even that curve changes with load so it's easy to imagine that we are all paddling at different points on our different speed/resistance curves.

FWIW I used to take GPS data on the same stretch of river on my after work paddle on many solos and over many days to help to eliminate the variability in the current. It's still not rock solid info but on a medium effort stress reducing upstream after work paddle the Shearwater went 2.2/2.3 mph against a 1.5 mph (approximate) current while Osprey was 2.3/2.4 and Merlin II was around 2.7/2.8. Blackhawk Ariel around 2.4. I could be hallucinating but even the 0.1 mph advantage of Osprey over Shearwater seemed like something one could feel. In principle 0.1 mph out of 3.5/4 mph is approximately 3% and while 3% seems small the power required goes with the square of velocity so that means the Osprey is around 9% more efficient which seems like it could be noticeable. In my case the load was around 275 since I used to weigh more and my last dog was heavier than my current one. I don't remember if I ever took GPS data on an SRT or Wildfire.

So Waterdog, just to keep the fires burning, I have a black/gold Yellowstone Solo and I'm quite impressed with its ability to cruise at a decent speed for long distances and it feels like it performs similarly to an Osprey to me and I'll bet you a nickel that it's faster than an SRT (with faster being defined as the average speed when paddling for 2 hours at moderate effort for me with my load using my paddles).

PS - my black lab used to get bored in my SRT since she couldn't sightsee when laying down so she'd nip at my coat zipper until I would wrestle her and then she'd roll upside down and bark at me...so bystanders would hear barking and see four black dog feet bouncing up and down.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

So Waterdog, just to keep the fires burning, I have a black/gold Yellowstone Solo and I'm quite impressed with its ability to cruise at a decent speed for long distances and it feels like it performs similarly to an Osprey to me and I'll bet you a nickel that it's faster than an SRT . . . .

Gumpus, I'm not Waterdog and am not involving myself in this heavy duty gambling, but in his last post Waterdog empirically verified that, for him, his SRT is faster than his Yellowstone, which he then sold on the spot.

. . . today I paddled my Yellowstone in the exact same situation as the SRT in my original post for comparison. At my 215# and same gear as last week the YS was generally slower than the SRT at moving through features. It maintained it's ability to eddy hop and ferry, but it was a little bit of pig at it compared to the SRT and much wetter. . . . I was only able to make about 1/2 the attainments upriver that i made in the SRT . . . .
. . . .

So at the end of another great paddling day, this time with a good paddling friend..... I sold him the Yellowstone for the princely sum of $350 and loaded it on his car.

 

[Waterdog]

I enjoy reading others opinions and it doesn’t bother me in the least. I especially like the lists of boats that have been posted. When my Chessie was not quite fully grown I did a flat water 3 day trip in a kev light YS in the ADK and it performed miserably at the load I had in it. That was the only time I ever took her on a multi day trip in a solo. She’s near the end of her life now and if she makes it through September I’m going to take her on an overnight trip on the West Branch of the Susquehanna in October. We will be in our favorite canoe the Prospector. In her younger days we would trip in my wood canvas prospector or Bell Northstar for 10 or more days.. I have removed the front seat of the Northstar and it paddles nicely in canoe country. Prospector is a tub but I love it. The northstar is an efficient nice paddling boat with a load though.

For me the YS is too small (volume) for tripping, but it is a beautiful boat for the right size. It will fit my buddy’s size and style brilliantly.

So so I’ll keep comparing my experiences between the Rockstar and SRT with tripping loads as time permits. The primary purpose for buying the SRT is to run Canadian whitewater trips of 15 days or more. I would paddle one of the two tandems if tripping with a dog in lake country.

Im going to try and stop at Ohiopyle on my way back from a job site this week and put in at the takeout and see if I can make it up the last three rapids in one of those two boats.

all comments are welcome....

barry

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Personally, I don't think narrowish 14' solo canoes are suitable for tripping for people north of 200 pounds with a gear load, especially if they are 12" depth. Not enough freeboard.

 

[Guest]

I'm 180# have tripped a lot for days with my hemlock kestrel and swift keewaden 14. I only paddle flat water and avoid heavy waves. No problems. Different strokes.

 

[gumpus]

Gumpus, I'm not Waterdog and am not involving myself in this heavy duty gambling, but in his last post Waterdog empirically verified that, for him, his SRT is faster than his Yellowstone, which he then sold on the spot.

I don't understand what you mean by gambling; I like hearing different opinions. In my experience the Royalex and black/gold Yellowstones paddle quite differently. I really like the combination of cruising ability and river capability of the composite boat, it fits my needs and preferences better than a composite Wildfire although I like Wildfire too.

 

[duNord]

I'm eagerly looking forward to Waterdog completing his review of the Hemlock SRT after he has had a chance to paddle the canoe with a tripping load.

Like Waterdog, I also paddle a Mad River Outrage X in whitewater and a royalex Bell Yellowstone Solo for moving water and class I-II day trips. I weigh about the same as Waterdog (215 lbs) and fully agree with his assessment that the Yellowstone Solo is just too wet of a ride when tripping. I also have a royalex NovaCraft SuperNova that I use for solo tripping, but it is an early version and weighs over 60lbs (which is just too heavy for me for pleasant portaging).

I have 30 years of of whitewater and wilderness tripping experience. Much of my tripping experience has been paddling tandem, but in recent years more and more of my tripping is solo as I'm finding that I have more free time than others I know (i.e. I never had kids).

I'm thinking of replacing my Bell Yellowstone Solo and NovaCraft Super Nova with a Hemlock SRT. This would be my first composite solo canoe and all my tandem canoes (with the exception of a prior home-built tandem cedar strip canoe) have been royalex as well. I've been in touch with Dave Curtis (builder) and Harold Deal (designer) about the durability of the SRT.

I'm interested in an SRT, but I'm hesitant to drop that kind of money without having a chance to test paddle one. I live in Madison, WI, so I'm 750 miles from Hemlock's location in upstate NY, so going there for a test paddle isn't a viable option. I contacted Dave Curtis and the closest SRT he knows of is near Dayton, OH (which is still a 450 mile drive for me). Does anyone out there know of an SRT that is closer to southern Wisconsin that I may be able to test paddle?

 

[gumpus]

I was very impressed with the strength of my SRT given that it was a big solo with nice thick wood gunwales and it still only weighed around 42 pounds and mine was an early one so new ones may be lighter. Given Glenn's comment about trying to move the seat rearward and watching the Hemlock video where Harold Deal put almost all of his tripping load behind him to the point where it appeared light enough in the bow to see daylight under the bow you might bring a pack that you can put behind you to give the boat it's best chance at optimal performance.

If you make the trip to Dave's shop and for some reason don't fall in love with the SRT then try a Peregrine. You'll either leave with your dream river boat or your dream lake boat.

Sorry but my buddy in Ann Arbor sold the SRT so I can't help you out.

 

[Waterdog]

Hi duNord,

Still waiting for some rain to quench a mini drought so I haven't been able to get on the river with a tripping load. I did get it out yesterday on a lake. I met with a friend who had his young daughters for a weekend on the lake and paddled for a couple of hours with the SRT empty, and paddling hit and switch. I was very happy with the way it glides and the overall speed. My primary tripping boats are prospectors which are tubs so that's my main perspective. I had my Bell rockstar in black gold on the truck but didn't paddle it yesterday. So I still have some paddling to do to close out my review. The river has weekend releases but they haven't been enough yet but we're due in the next couple weekends. From you description we are almost dopplegangers, though I've never seen a Super Nova in person. I'm a Packers fan though!.

I suspect that by the time you could test paddle an SRT and decide to buy it and get it built, you'd be closer to a deep freeze than we would be here in central PA. I usually go through Wisconsin on my way to Ely and points North. If I happen to head that way in Late May I could give you a shout and see where things stand.

In the meantime, I did test pack the SRT with a loaded portage pack and 30L. barrel. There's definitely plenty of room. I also threw a 60L barrel in because another thread on 30L barrels has me convinced that 15-17 days is my limit for food in a 30L barrel. When I saw how well the 30 liter fit I tried a 60L and it fits fine and is flush with the gunwales. So as far as volume goes I have options with the SRT.

Here are pics showing the pack and barrel loaded in the canoe:

IMG_4917 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

IMG_4911 by Barry Rains, on Flickr

With all the extra room, I am considering adding some custom size float bags for back country trips in a way that I can shorten the bag cages to allow sliding the pack or barrel closer to the stems if necessary as the barrel weight changes or wind dictates. I have other boats for slower paced trips with a dog. The main purpose of this boat is week or more trips to the Noire, Coulonge, Dumoine, Petawawa R, Bloodvein, etc. and other similar northern rivers.

Cheers,
Barry

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

For best maneuverability and tracking when loaded, I recommend that most weight be put behind the seat. This will lighten the bow for turning draws and pries in the bow quarters while planting the asymmetrically swedeform pinched stern for traveling correction strokes. For travel on flat water I use a 48.5" ZRE carbon bent shaft on my knees 90% of the time. In wind, waves, twisty rivers or rapids I use a 57" ZRE carbon straight shaft.

I don't have a picture, but for whitewater I use small nylon end bags. You can easily lash a bag cage through the slotted inwales, an option I HIGHLY recommend, and fasten the bottom of the cage with these small 1" ABS-base D-rings, which can also be used for lashing gear such as my canoe cart in the photo. You can see the stern D-ring in the picture in my first post above, which also describes the quick-release thigh straps I installed for whitewater and white caps.

I also had Dave Curtis install a Wenonah foot bar for when I want to sit & switch paddle for a change of pace.

 

[duNord]

It sounds like the SRT is quite sensitive to trim.

Harold Deal sent me some information on the SRT including a write-up by Paul Conklin on their crossing of Lake Ontario in SRTs. In the write-up, Paul Conklin states "I have learned much from Harold about how the SRT can be manipulated for advantage. Detractors will criticize its features as flaws attempting to pigeonhole its usage to a specific task.". What are these features/flaws of which he speaks?

In my recent email exchanges with Harold, I mentioned how I used to own a Shaman (another Harold Deal designed boat). He inquired why I sold it and sent me an article on tips and tricks on how to paddle a Shaman. There are times (especially on wilderness trips) where I'd rather be enjoying my surroundings rather than thinking about how many degrees of lean I should use or how many inches fore or aft of center I should plant my paddle. Will I need to paddle with perfect Harold Deal'esque precision at all times in order to enjoy the SRT?

Although now that I think about it, the SRT will likely have quirks and require a learning curve like all the other canoes I've ever owned, but over time the best strokes/leans, etc. for the specific craft will become second nature and I won't have to think about it so much.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I don't think the SRT is particularly more sensitive to trim than any 15' asymmetrical canoe, most of which probably travel better slightly bow light than bow heavy.

I have no idea what features/flaws Conk was talking about in his write-up here, but overall he praises the SRT both in writing and in person, though it's not his hull choice for his pond hopping and portaging trips. You could PM him here and ask him about the SRT. I consider the most "detrimental" feature for inexperienced paddlers to be the tender initial stability. This is due not only to the narrow waterline but also to the rounded bottom -- rounded more than the typical shallow arch hull of, say, a Yost canoe. However, paddlers with a lot of experience in narrow solo whitewater canoes should be amongst those least deterred by this feature, which enhances speed and the verticality of forward strokes.

Don't be confused by Harold Deal's complex discussion on how to paddle a Shaman for whitewater slalom and play, which Harold emailed to me many years ago. In that same email he says, "I never thought paddling the SRT was very complex to do a write-up . . . ." The unusual thing about the Shaman is that it turns differently than flatwater touring canoes and most whitewater canoes. Most canoes, especially symmetrical ones, turn around a point slightly forward of the paddler, resulting in a stern slide to effectuate the turn. The paddler can accentuate stern sliding turns in most such hulls -- making them easier and crisper -- by pitching body weight forward to lighten and lift the stern stem out of the water. This is taught in flat water freestyle technique. The asymmetrical Shaman, in contrast, is designed to make snappier turns by pivoting at a point slightly behind the paddler, so those turns can be enhanced by leaning the body backwards. In addition, Harold advocates heeling the hull to the outside of some turns in whitewater, rather than to the inside. None of this stuff necessarily applies to paddling the SRT, although one can certainly try the techniques and experiment with different fore-aft weight trims.

Here's the Hemlock video on the SRT, narrated and demonstrated by Harold Deal:

 

[Conk]

I try to avoid hull critiquing conversations on public forums, folks tend to like what they have, and I'm no different. I have heard people criticize the SRT for its depth, rounded bottom and end fullness, all features that I like about the hull. I don't doubt that its extra three inches of freeboard will catch wind, but its those same three inches that make me feel safe when the wind kicks up. The rounded bottom gives it the tender feel many are uncomfortable with, but that shape keeps my torso vertical in textured conditions. The fuller ends may look weird on a tripping canoe, but they keep you dry in turbulent water by extending the area of flare further towards the stems, this also contributes greatly to the canoe's rock solid secondary stability.

I am not a white water guy and get lost in the terminology of how this or that may effectuate something or other, all I can say is that the SRT maneuvers better in moving water than my lake tripping canoes. I've always thought the SRT would be better marketed as a Solo Lake & River Tripper, but SLRT does not flow off the tongue very well.

One additional thing I'd like to say about the SRT is how comfortable it is for me. My torso is longer than average but my inseam is only 28", I like the narrower canoes. Equipped with the rail suspended bucket seat I find it easy to go back and forth between kneeling and sitting. I kneel most of the time but find a little change up necessary to sustain long periods of paddling. It is duration and comfort in the SRT that make it the fastest canoe I paddle, fewer shore breaks and I have more time for navel gazing in camp.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I have 30 years of of whitewater and wilderness tripping experience. Much of my tripping experience has been paddling tandem, but in recent years more and more of my tripping is solo as I'm finding that I have more free time than others I know (i.e. I never had kids).

I'm thinking of replacing my Bell Yellowstone Solo and NovaCraft Super Nova with a Hemlock SRT. This would be my first composite solo canoe and all my tandem canoes (with the exception of a prior home-built tandem cedar strip canoe) have been royalex as well. I've been in touch with Dave Curtis (builder) and Harold Deal (designer) about the durability of the SRT.

I'm interested in an SRT, but I'm hesitant to drop that kind of money without having a chance to test paddle one. I live in Madison, WI, so I'm 750 miles from Hemlock's location

I wanted to respond to a few concerns of duNord.

If you have that much experience, and you definitely want a dedicated solo canoe (rather than a tandem paddled solo) for tripping with loads that approach or exceed 300 pounds, and if you want that canoe to be dry and reasonably manueverable in whitewater and fast on flat water, I'm not aware of any solo canoe that does this better than the SRT.

In my canoeing experience over 60 years, including 20 years of class 3-4 whitewater open canoeing, and owning 15 canoes and kayaks made of various materials, I have no hesitation saying the Hemlock premium+ layup is more than sufficiently durable for tripping in class 2+ whitewater in the hands of an experienced paddler.

Of course, even if true, none of this means you personally will like the canoe. Some do, others don't. It's not a soft, marshmallowy feel like a lot of Yost hulls. It's "edgy" in the metaphoric sense, as a lot of John Winters' designs are.

And you should be hesitant about spending a lot of money on a boat you can't test paddle. That said, I've bought several boats without ever having paddled them, including my SRT. I believe in having several hulls so I can have what I consider the best hulls in different niches. After researching the niche and selecting the favorite among experts and reputation, even if I can't test paddle the hull, I just assume I'm good enough to learn how to paddle it well, and that that process will make me a better paddler. I believe that philosophy has served me well, and I ended up liking all the boats I've bought in different niches.

But maybe not right away. I bought my SRT used from Dave Curtis, customized it in various ways in his shop, and then went for my first paddle in it on Hemlock Lake. For the first hour I thought I had made a purchase mistake. Kneeling was fine, but I felt too unstable while sitting. I solved this problem by lowering the seat 1.5 inches from where Dave had it set. By my third day of day paddling, I was an SRT convert and on my way to being even a better paddler. My satisfaction grew even more when I took my first loaded trip in the canoe, which further increases the stability but never bogs down the SRT hull the way a load does on my carbon Bell Wildfire. It took me about 20 hours of seat time to be comfortable in my Dagger Encore back in 1990, but I did and still have it.

I like having both the Wildfire and SRT -- the former being more maneuverable and fun for freestyle day play. For that reason, you may want to keep the Yellowstone, at least for a while, even if you get an SRT.

I've also driven long distances to buy, try and pick up boats. About 2000 miles for my first sea kayak. Connecticut to California at age 59 to pick up a custom made Hawaiian outrigger canoe -- which I had never even seen in person, much less paddled -- a trip that turned into 10,000 miles of driving over eight weeks, in which I paddled that va'a all over the west coast, Canada, the Boundary Waters and the Adirondacks. Some of my boat buy trips are my most cherished memories.