Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

What characteristics would it have please give examples...

Thanks!!

Bell Morningstar. Bell Canoe Works is currently out of business after buying the company a few years ago. Former owner Ted Bell has started a new canoe company (Bell Composites) and is building some different designs. The three (now) classic designs, Flashfire, Wildfire and Starfire were bought and now produced by Colden Canoes. But as far as I know, no one is building the Morningstar in any layup... fiberglass, Royalex or carbon fiber. It is a 15'6" x 32" tandem, 58# in Royalex. Rocker- Bow 2.5" / Stern 1.5". Capacity 6" Freeboard: 950 lbs. Shear Bow 21" / Mid 14" / Stern 19". It is also a solo crossover. IIRC, it is a David Yost design.

Easy for me since a friend had one and we took it to the Boundary Waters many years ago. Easy to paddle on flat water, we did several rapid runs with recommended portages and the boat made them so simple --- all that and portages with me carrying the canoe was a breeze due to the light weight. Easy in paddle in the flats, handles moderate rapids well and easy for one person to portage.

Kevlar Explorer!

I have not paddled one of your canoes but just looking at it, it looks as all around a design as the original Explorer is.

So, you guys do a kevlar version (if it can be done at a reasonable retail price) of your design and that could very well be my ideal tandem canoe. I have never ran across a used kevlar Explorer at a price I had the money to buy.

I will add that the kevlar version would be my ideal touring canoe, the royalex version would be my moderate WW choice. Again, your version in royalex might do it in the same WW just as well.

A near clone of the Old Town Canadienne. Shallow arch hull with rocker was AWESOME!! Was available in 16 ft and 17 ft. I had the 17 in kevlar from 1980- around 2000. Soloed and tandemed the Buffalo, Ouachita, Piney. Fast yet reasonably stable and a sweet turner for me. Mine was 17-2, 35 in max beam, 31.9 at 4" waterline. This size would be heavy in Royalex. My current Wenonah 15 ft Prospector has shallow arch and 3" rocker; Richard McFadden has a 16 ft Wenonah prospector with that design. Oh, and did I mention SHALLOW ARCH AND ROCKER!!!!

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My Old Town Cascade, I'd run class 4 in it with the right partner, then turn around and take it canoe camping either tandem or solo on the Buffalo, Current or Eleven Point.

Other canoes like it would include Old Town Appalacian ( longer version of Cascade ).......Esquif Canyon or Pocket Canyon....Dagger or Mad River Legend 15 or 16.... Many of the Prospectors, especially the ones with more rocker like Esquifs version......

15 or 16 ft., 34" beam, 3 and a half inches of rocker that starts around 4 to 5 ft. from the ends, Ed's Canoe web seats positioned closer to the middle than usual. The nice sculpted yoke from Ed's Canoe, Ash gunnels, cherry decks that don't meet the royalex at the very end so water can drain out. Color: blue.

Let me know when you get it made. ......oh yeah, grab loops that pass through those tubes, forget the brand name.

Nova Craft Moise 16' 6"

If it were a foot shorter and the ends were more flaired, it'd be perfect.

Randy sounds like your describing what we have already... An Arkota

While I already think that you make a VERY nice tandem canoe with the Arkota, I think if you were going to make another tandem model, it could have a tad more center depth (15-15.5"), maybe a bit of gunnel tuck for cross draws,34' at 4"waterline 33" at gunnels, keep the shallow arch hull but maybe make it just a bit asymetric with more "V" up front, but with a flare up top for dryness, 3" rocker up front, 2.5 in back, reinforcement in the ends, extra thwart for stiffness/survivability, length 16.0 to 16.5. Bow/Stern like a Mad River Northwoods for angles.

Always wondered what a Mad River Courier II might have handled like if they ever had split the design away from the Explorer. Courier was supposed to be a mini Explorer as I heard it. Ask Steve Scarborough, he might know for sure. Explorer14 just did not do it as it was only made in TT triple tough (too heavy and not as strong as good Royalex) and it was too wide. Courier was far and away the better canoe. Paddle mine sometime.

Eric Esche

Something like a dagger caption would be cool

One that is reasonably priced, not what the market will bear. A bargain relative to others would be great.

No plastic molded seats.(those are a useless when you spin the boat 180 to solo paddle, every tandem will be paddled solo)

Wood yoke, cross bar and seats frames.(wood adds so much more character than aluminum, this is a feature worth the extra money) Either cane or webbing seat materials that can be easily replaced. Seat brackets that extend down below the freeboard 3"-4".(get that low center of gravity thing going)

Wide bulbous bow and stern for extra flotation when punching standing waves. A sharp, knife like bow that cuts into a wave, instead of rising up is no good.(bailing water between rapids is for the birds)

No crown on the bottom. Every great canoe can be J stroked sideways.

No sharp points like bolts or screws that can puncture air bags or dry bags.(have them recessed into the wood)

ABS plastic construction. ABS absorbs impacts and pops right back out without leaving a dent. A well used Royalex canoe always looks like a pickup full of whiskey dents. Dents, dings, hard scrapes stay with Royalex canoes.(while drinking beer on gravel bars Royalex canoe owners can usually tell you which long ugly scrape came from which river) ABS plastic weighs 4 pounds more that Royalex on a 15' canoe. ABS makes for a hearty canoe and is as forgiving as a good girlfriend. I've seen a brand new $1100.00 high tech almost see through yellow canoe last a hour and half before being wrapped around a rock on the Big Piney.(I don't know what material it was, but it ain't no good)

Three built in beer holders would be great. (two for tandem and one for when soloing) They need to big enough around to hold a PBR with a standard size beer tiddy.(like those you get for free when buying cool stuff from Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters) They need to be deep enough to hold tall boys. They need to be positioned low enough so they are below the freeboard.(no reason to advertise the fun)

The canoe needs to have a rope loop on both ends 4"-6" below the top of the bow and stern. This gives you a low center of gravity way to clip a rope onto when anchoring the boat to shore in strong current. If you have to tie onto the carrying handle on top the bow or stern, the canoe tends to walk in the current much more.

Built in D- rings on the floor, near the sides would be great. It would be great to have a canoe outfitted from the factory.

The manufactures name on the side needs to be small so you have plenty of room for stickers.

Offer a optional dog seat. This needs to be able to be tied into the standard D-rings in the stern for when the boat is turned around soloing. Every dog wants to be in the front and up high enough they can see. 4"-6" below the freeboard so said pooch doesn't roll out.

The boat model needs to have a really cool name relative to the sport.

The brochure needs to have pretty girls barely wearing bikinis smiling and drinking beer in class 2-3 water with a nice tall bluff in background. The background scene also needs to have plenty of vegetation.(no desert scene)

TBC wrote:Randy sounds like your describing what we have already... An Arkota

The Arkota is very close, maybe just a little more rocker, wood gunnels, and it needs to be in my garage.

D ring placement is such a personal choice I don't think I'd want them already installed. Maybe that's just me.

Deuce wrote:D ring placement is such a personal choice I don't think I'd want them already installed. Maybe that's just me.

That's what I was thinking as well..

The "Nomad" that's coming out is geared to be a do-it-all canoe. Like its name it should be a canoe to go about anywhere. It will feel at home on open & moving water. Big enough for two men and gear or a family with children or dogs. For family's with children we will be offering a tandem middle seat as well. It seems most people really want a canoe with initial stability and moderate to little rocker so that was our main focus. Even though these characteristics are least important for the type of paddling I enjoy, I have learned I must look past what I expect in a canoe to please more people.