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Happy 1st Sighting of Pacific Ocean by Lewis & Clark (1805)! 🧭
“Need” a new solo!
- Thread starter Woodpuppy
- Start date
Being Florida based is a bit of a drag with respect to the entire canoeing world. All the great makers are up north, from the Midwest to the east.
We are truly blessed, especially here in NY. Between the builders (especially in the Adirondack region) and the dealers (Mountainman, Bay Creek, and Oak Orchard) there are few makes/models we can't access within a four-hour radius. Pity our paddling season is so darn short compared to yours!
I saw that boat and my only hesitation is the weight, I'm sure someone will grab it though.
That’s true, I grew up in FL so I’ve never lived through the winters. For the occasional hassle required to get a new boat, I can paddle year round. Thanks for the reminder!
Oh Wow! My wife had to drag me out. I think I drooled on one of the North Star canoes.
Lucky dog! Closest one to me is in Tybee Island, GA, 4hrs 40min away.
Sea Kayak Georgia Paddle Tybee Kayak, SUP, Canoe, Yoga
Sea Kayak Georgia offers kayak, SUP, canoe, yoga. Paddle Tybee. Tours, instruction, retail sales, overnight adventures of Coastal Georgiawww.seakayakgeorgia.com
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I suspect Michigan is a bit far, but I'll be putting my entire canoe kit up for sale in the next week or so: lightly used and very well kept full carbon 2017 Swift Keewaydin 15, two paddles, homemade custom rack to carry it in the back of a pickup, seat cushion, more.
I got my Polaris from a dealer Michigan. My mom lives up there so we have at least annual trips to Ann Arbor. It’s a bit far when I don’t have a trip already planned! But I’m certainly interested in pics/details of the sale.
I'm about 45 minutes from Ann Arbor. I keep the canoe stored upside down on the travel rack in the garage and it's got over a year of dust/dirt on the bottom. I don't remember if I even paddled it at all last year, so there may well be two years of dust/dirt. If the weather cooperates, I'm planning to clean it all up, lay it out, and take the "for sale" pictures next week. I haven't yet determined the price but it will certainly be substantially less than the price of a new one:
If you want to see a video of the canoe in use, this is my most popular Algonquin paddling video with 10k views.
I spent last year training for and backpacking the Colorado Trail. (I only did the first five segments, but that was enough...at the time.) This year is all about training for, then bikepacking the entire Colorado Trail and I severely doubt I'll find the time for a canoe trip again this year.
Jim
After a nice 45min call with Bear @ Northstar, I’ve decided to do it. So I talked to the dealer in Tybee Island and am looking forward to a November delivery of a Phoenix in IXP with wood trim. Oddly enough, this has not caused me to stop reading about canoes or trolling Craigslist. I have however moved my Encounter on expecting to need the space for another boat. The recipient is thrilled.
congratulations! You will have a lot of fun with that boat down on those rivers/creeks in your area. I have the aluminum trim on Mine which is of course lightweight/low maintenance, but at Canoecopia in Madison WI last month, I saw a Phoenix in IXP with wood trim……very nice!
Mike
Mike
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2021
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The canoe I've been recommending lately is the Northstar Phoenix.
Kind of a do it all canoe.
Cliff Jacobson really like this canoe.
Maybe on the smallish side for you.
I had an Encounter and wish I still did. I really liked that canoe. Super stable. Reasonably fast. Holds a ton of gear.
The “sport utility” description of this canoe is part of what drew me to it. I’m not looking to do long trips out of it, I have other boats for that. This is supposed to be my daily driver, weekend warrior. I wanted it smaller than my Prism for example. I wanted to be able to turn it in the twisty stuff, including the wild tidal / estuarine areas. I wanted something responsive to play with the “functional freestyle” I see in Marc Ornstein’s videos. I’m hoping it will be my beater short-bed 4wd pickup! My woods truck in Florida redneck parlance.
Whew that was a long drive. I headed to Tybee Island to Sea Kayak Georgia yesterday, the closest Northstar dealer to me. It was just shy of 12 hours round trip.
Have a look at those tidal channels! What glorious paddling to be had! Although I bet the noseeums are voracious… pick your times.
The trip was uneventful except for the stretch of I-295. I had intended to cut through Callahan and skip that whole corner/interchange, but traffic was moving and I was in the zone. Until it slowed down. Was probably only about 10 minutes, really.
When I arrived another buyer was loading a Stealth NW Solo, no rack, just pipe insulation on the gunwales and some questionable ties. I didn’t involve myself…
I’ve never seen so many Northstar boats in one place! If anyone is interested in an IXP/ wood Phoenix, someone backed out of a sale and there’s another there; call Ronnie at (912) 786-8732.
This boat is around 2 feet shorter than the others I routinely carry, so I though I might need to move my cab roof load bar back some. Turns out I did not.
All loaded up:
My wife is unimpressed that the boat is in the garage… I figure this will help her understand that I need to get a hoisting apparatus made/bought to hang it from the ceiling. This one with wood gunwales will live a pampered life reposing in the garage rather than my boat shed.
Yay carry loops! McCrae will approve, he knows I couldn’t have brought myself to drill those holes myself….
My first observations - it’s heavier than my Prism. I knew it wood be… it should weigh about what my Polaris does. Maybe I’ll get out the bathroom scale. Second, the wood needs a steel-wooling or sanding, especially around the paddling station where I’m likely to rub my hand on the gunwale incidentally while paddling. And I think I’ll strip the lettering off of midships. Finally I had to laugh at this:
That’s coming out. Maybe I’ll stick it on the fridge at work.
It will have to fully monsoon for me to not get this boat wet this weekend. It may not be an epic trip, but I aim to go play.
Have a look at those tidal channels! What glorious paddling to be had! Although I bet the noseeums are voracious… pick your times.
The trip was uneventful except for the stretch of I-295. I had intended to cut through Callahan and skip that whole corner/interchange, but traffic was moving and I was in the zone. Until it slowed down. Was probably only about 10 minutes, really.
When I arrived another buyer was loading a Stealth NW Solo, no rack, just pipe insulation on the gunwales and some questionable ties. I didn’t involve myself…
I’ve never seen so many Northstar boats in one place! If anyone is interested in an IXP/ wood Phoenix, someone backed out of a sale and there’s another there; call Ronnie at (912) 786-8732.
This boat is around 2 feet shorter than the others I routinely carry, so I though I might need to move my cab roof load bar back some. Turns out I did not.
All loaded up:
My wife is unimpressed that the boat is in the garage… I figure this will help her understand that I need to get a hoisting apparatus made/bought to hang it from the ceiling. This one with wood gunwales will live a pampered life reposing in the garage rather than my boat shed.
Yay carry loops! McCrae will approve, he knows I couldn’t have brought myself to drill those holes myself….
My first observations - it’s heavier than my Prism. I knew it wood be… it should weigh about what my Polaris does. Maybe I’ll get out the bathroom scale. Second, the wood needs a steel-wooling or sanding, especially around the paddling station where I’m likely to rub my hand on the gunwale incidentally while paddling. And I think I’ll strip the lettering off of midships. Finally I had to laugh at this:
That’s coming out. Maybe I’ll stick it on the fridge at work.
It will have to fully monsoon for me to not get this boat wet this weekend. It may not be an epic trip, but I aim to go play.
Nice boat, they do a good job on the wood trim.
She's a beauty! Congratulations! Now get out and paddle!
Mike
Mike
"Second, the wood needs a steel-wooling or sanding, especially around the paddling station where I’m likely to rub my hand on the gunwale incidentally while paddling. And I think I’ll strip the lettering off of midships."
Same experience here with my Trillium. The trim is lovely, but definitely will benefit from a bit of sanding. The decals, to my eye, really don't do the boat justice, the lettering is too bold and the "font" has no class. I took all the decals off of mine, and glad I did. It's quite pleasing to the eye now ( gets lots of compliments; has been a great boon for my social life!).
Same experience here with my Trillium. The trim is lovely, but definitely will benefit from a bit of sanding. The decals, to my eye, really don't do the boat justice, the lettering is too bold and the "font" has no class. I took all the decals off of mine, and glad I did. It's quite pleasing to the eye now ( gets lots of compliments; has been a great boon for my social life!).
I would advise against using steel wool as occasionally the tiny little bits can become embedded in the grain and rust… probably better to use sandpaper and wipe clean with a tack cloth. After the initial application I touch up using a green scotchBrite pad with watco oil. Just my 2¢…..
Have fun…. i’m sure you will enjoy the new boat!
Have fun…. i’m sure you will enjoy the new boat!
