This looks interesting. Stability of their prospector and efficiency of their Keewaydin.
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Happy Birthday, Robert Wadlow (1918-40)! 8️⃣–1️⃣1️⃣
new Swift Cirrus
- Thread starter billconner
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It looks like something is be interested in but no specs yet that I could find on their website. If it's coming in March hopefully that means I'll get to demo one at Rutabaga this summer. On a side note, I have to congratulate Bill on not using the word "beautiful" in every sentence. That's the first video of his that talked more about performance and use case than aesthetics. Well done.
I would look foward to a demo day in the Adirondacks this seasson. The last time Bill had a demo in Saranac Lake, I ended up with a new Cruiser. After having purchsed no less than three new carbon canoes over the past two years, please nobody tell my wife that I just viewed Bill's new Cirrus video.
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I hope I hate it. 
Interesting comment that it won't have the top end of a Dragonfly 15 which is a large river boat so I wouldnt expect top end to be a strength. I can see where being 6 inches shorter and having 0.5 inch more rear rocker would make it more maneuverable than a Kee15 and if it has less skin friction that helps efficiency. Personally I like a solo 15 feet or more so it takes something really special to get me to consider s shorter boat.
Interesting comment that it won't have the top end of a Dragonfly 15 which is a large river boat so I wouldnt expect top end to be a strength. I can see where being 6 inches shorter and having 0.5 inch more rear rocker would make it more maneuverable than a Kee15 and if it has less skin friction that helps efficiency. Personally I like a solo 15 feet or more so it takes something really special to get me to consider s shorter boat.
It certainly looks.. lively... in that video. Jeremy is not a large man; that probably precludes a purchase from me. Which is good, because just when I thought the market offerings were settled, along comes a new spate of boats to consider. I really want to see the DF15 in the flesh.
I'm guessing they'll have one at Canoecopia.
Interesting. My brain wants to say the bottom looks flatter than I like, but then I'm reminded that my Mohawk Solo 14 is at least as flat and performs surprisingly well under varied conditions. Can it be that the chines are more important than the bottom? I like the length for an all around solo.
It's funny that even with a variety of solo canoes in my possession, the quest for "one perfect solo" still tempts. I envy you guys who will be close enough for a test paddle.
It's funny that even with a variety of solo canoes in my possession, the quest for "one perfect solo" still tempts. I envy you guys who will be close enough for a test paddle.
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Hmmm, I envy those that are not close enough for a test paddle.
I'd hate to find the one perfect solo since I'd have to sell a few boats that I like a lot.
It’s great to see a company engaging DY to explore and IMPLEMENT new and intermediate design ideas. That risk takes a lot of capital and a lot of time and a lot of passion and love.
The WW canoe community has benefited from temporary surges of investment in this way. It seems that then we get stretches where the ROI is just not there for those with the love.
The WW canoe community has benefited from temporary surges of investment in this way. It seems that then we get stretches where the ROI is just not there for those with the love.
Up on the website now:
swiftcanoe.com
I am very very sad this is replacing the WildFIRE in the lineup (hopefully they will still make one for me), but I am curious how the two will stack up to each other. The Cirrus is slightly longer and slightly taller - so perhaps a drier ride in rapids. Perhaps slightly more compeitive with the Phoenix.
The widths seem smiliar to the WildFIRE, but 1/2" of rocker has been removed from the stern. Cannot imagine this will be as playful as the WildFIRE as a result. Also not sure if there is a hull shape difference. I agree that the Cirrus looks a wee bit flater - which suggests this boat is more friendly for those that are new-to-solo.
I find it interesting that this boat is being produced now as it is so close in specs to the new Dragonfly 15 - I would have thought it would make more sense to build a new WildFIRE mold if the current one is getting too ragged for production rather than build a new plug with so much overlap with the new D15...
Cirrus 14.6 - New for 2025
A nimble solo canoe for small to medium sized paddlers looking for the ultimate combination of performance and stability
swiftcanoe.com
I am very very sad this is replacing the WildFIRE in the lineup (hopefully they will still make one for me), but I am curious how the two will stack up to each other. The Cirrus is slightly longer and slightly taller - so perhaps a drier ride in rapids. Perhaps slightly more compeitive with the Phoenix.
The widths seem smiliar to the WildFIRE, but 1/2" of rocker has been removed from the stern. Cannot imagine this will be as playful as the WildFIRE as a result. Also not sure if there is a hull shape difference. I agree that the Cirrus looks a wee bit flater - which suggests this boat is more friendly for those that are new-to-solo.
I find it interesting that this boat is being produced now as it is so close in specs to the new Dragonfly 15 - I would have thought it would make more sense to build a new WildFIRE mold if the current one is getting too ragged for production rather than build a new plug with so much overlap with the new D15...
Up on the website now:
Cirrus 14.6 - New for 2025
A nimble solo canoe for small to medium sized paddlers looking for the ultimate combination of performance and stability
I am very very sad this is replacing the WildFIRE in the lineup (hopefully they will still make one for me), but I am curious how the two will stack up to each other. The Cirrus is slightly longer and slightly taller - so perhaps a drier ride in rapids. Perhaps slightly more compeitive with the Phoenix.
The widths seem smiliar to the WildFIRE, but 1/2" of rocker has been removed from the stern. Cannot imagine this will be as playful as the WildFIRE as a result. Also not sure if there is a hull shape difference. I agree that the Cirrus looks a wee bit flater - which suggests this boat is more friendly for those that are new-to-solo.
I find it interesting that this boat is being produced now as it is so close in specs to the new Dragonfly 15 - I would have thought it would make more sense to build a new WildFIRE mold if the current one is getting too ragged for production rather than build a new plug with so much overlap with the new D15...
I'm not happy to see Wildfire getting dropped (again). But there is a real good argument for adding a beginner friendly solo that one won't soon be bored with. Without beginners - enthusiastic beginners - you have no future market.
I think I see the Cirrus as a replacement/improvement on my Mohawk Solo 14. I keep it around as a beginner loaner, but I still enjoy it myself.
The D15 looks very attractive to me as an intermediate paddler open to a more challenging but higher performance boat.
Wow, the Swift Cirrus 14.6 and the Northstar Phoenix sure are close on the published specs. The Phoenix looks to have an extra half-an-inch on all the freeboard measurements and additional one-half inch stern rocker as the spec differences. I wonder how different they will look side by side?
Hey Swift, see if you can get a Cirrus down to the WPSCR in June!
Hey Swift, see if you can get a Cirrus down to the WPSCR in June!
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If the Cirrus had been out when I bought my Phoenix last Fall I'd have given it a serious look. Although I might have felt bad abusing a Swift the way I plan to abuse the Phoenix on shallow rocky rivers.
The video doesn't say this. Has Swift said it somewhere else?
Oh, I see that the Wildfire and Flashfire no longer show up on the Swift website under solo canoes. Nor do some others that were there just a few years ago. Swift sure didn't give the Wildfire or Flashfire much of a market run. Less than two years.
Maybe the Fire molds have reached end-of-life and Swift will be building brand new infusion molds for them. That's what Bill says will happen in this video:
Of course, Swift didn't rebuild the Curtis Dragonfly mold after building a few of them. Instead, they hired DY to replace it with the Dragonfly 15, which some might call a detuned hull with more mass market appeal. The same perhaps could be said of this new Cirrus—a detuned and less playful Wildfire. Both the DF 15 and Cirrus, compared to their predecessors, seem more like entry-level Volks-canoes than performance canoes.
Is every Swift canoe now a DY design? I miss the more edgy and bold John Winters designs. Too bad the woodwork on my Swift-Winters Winisk is rotted and that I don't have the means to repair it. It is a fine flat water, whitewater and tripping tandem canoe. The Winters Osprey and Shearwater were and still are innovative solo hull designs.
I was messaging with Bill on Facebook and my impression is the mold is not in great shape. Not sure how well the WildFIRE is selling - I do know I have every intention of getting one, but I need to wait until done my National Board Certification (assuming I achieve)! I'm hoping they'll do a one-off special order when the time is right.
There is actually an expedition kevlar boat in the exact color I want on the Swift website listed as a factory second / blem - I think I'd jump at it if it didn't have external skid plates. I've never been a fan. But it's a beautiful WildFIRE nonetheless...
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You should build a Raven.
We'll coach ya through it.
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Osprey and Shearwater are two of my all time favorite solos. If I could have only one solo it would be Osprey (for the paddling I do). If we got a big dog I'd get another Shearwater.
I remember paddling the Winters-designed Quetico 18'4" on the Detroit River during a Swift demo day and instantly fell in love. It was windy and choppy big water with freighters going by and the Quetico was fast and maneuverable and felt as safe as if it were on a calm pond. It seems like Swift didn't offer that boat for long.
Pics show coonhound and Shearwater, both gone now
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