Discussion: Boats

I'm a Colorado region AR producer and want to purchase a fleet of boats. There aren't enough rentals around to rent. There aren't enough boats around to require that people bring their own, so I need to provide racers with them. I'm collecting all the worsts and bests about boats you've paddled for AR. What's your least favorite and favorite thing about the things you've paddled?

I hate the tippy yellow ones.

The most frustrating thing is when we train our paddling skills and are given a boat so slow and/or uncontrollable that it's like being forced to race on a $200 Walmart bike - which no one would accept. Without getting too specific [cough! Tomcat!], I like to race in boats where people who are better paddlers can use those skills to make gains. Also, they should be appropriate boats for the conditions, although they won't be the very best. No organizer could afford that. Using piggish whitewater boats on the ocean or a long canal (ARWC 2013) is just painful though.

I imagine you are going to get a lot of the same type of responses (no one likes paddling a slow, heavy, uncomfortable boat - which is most inflatables and sit on tops). Best paddling sections I have done were RTNX Quetico where they gave us 44lb 17' Kevlar tripping canoes. RTNX Nfld wasn't bad either with the proper sea kayaks they provided. Worst was paddling Tomcats on flat water - like torture really.

Really your decision comes down to what you can afford, how are you transporting/storing the boats, and how rugged do the boats have to be. The reality is that the best boat is likely to be very expensive and/or hard to transport so unless those are non issues you are stuck with some sort of compromise.

I always thought having a fleet of these would be a decent middle ground (other than the price).

http://feathercraft.com/sit-on-tops/gemini/

A bit of thread drift but what happened to the plan to have a fleet of sea kayaks for ARWC? Sending them around the world proved to be impractical?

best AR boat I have ever paddled was the Wenonah Adirondack canoe at the 2014 Stubborn Mule in northern WI. they were light and tracked incredibly well through the water. that boat was awesome and it wasn't just because i got to paddle it w Garrison!

the "tippy yellow ones" bobjenkins mentions are actually not that bad. well they are slow but incredibly durable. i think they are MadRiver Adventure 16'. they make appearances at several Midwest ARs every year and were also used at the two USARAs directed by DINO. they have been abused to no end (2014 Mission 18hr "paddle" anyone?), and still keep on truckin. sure, you have to check the bottom of each one for scratches, warping, and outright gashes, but i still can't believe how well they've held up over the years. they are definitely the equivalent of a $200 Walmart bike, but i never feel bad about ramming it up and over deadfall :)

if you allow teams of 3 in your events, think about if the boats you purchase have a third/middle seat (the Adventures do) or if the boat is easily modified for teams to bring their own seat.

I think these are the kayaks that All Out Adventures uses for their AR's in California, and they have also rented them out as a fleet for other AR's:
http://www.cobrakayaks.com/cobra-kayaks/surf-and-f...

And they can be fast with the right paddlers. Maybe Kyle or Garrett or other AP'ers who are at the higher level of competition have an opinion on these.

Completely agree with Revy on the factors involved and preferences.
The Wilderness Traverse option of Kevlar tripping canoes was probably the best canoe I've paddled in an AR where I couldn't bring my own. Not a big fan of sit-on top kayaks given the poor positioning and lack of gear storage.

Sorry bobjenkins79 but I think the best option is actually the yellow Mad River canoes if cost and durability are an issue. I've paddled them quite a few times on everything from small ponds to rivers to the Great Lakes and they seem to offer the best compromise. Good paddling teams can make time in them, they're relatively stable (I have swam in a river with them but that was when Sony fell asleep... ;-) ), as Silky mentioned they're bulletproof and must be easy to transport because I've paddled them in KY, IN and all over MI. I suppose one downside to any non inflatable option is long-term storage.

If cost is no issue then tandem kayaks like the Seda Tango are the way to go.
Stable, plenty of storage and relatively fast.

I definitely won't dispute their ruggedness. When we paddled them through the Plum River at Thunder Rolls we were literally smashing our way through deadfall, (which was very fun).

They're probably tippier for our team because of our..."robustness"... but for most other racers this probably isn't a problem.

I think it was Gerry Voelliger who was lobbying for racers to bring our own boats, with the logic being that we all have our own shoes and our own mountain bikes, so you may as well race in the same boat you train with. I can see where some folks would be excluded, but it seems fair to me.

Full disclosure: I'm a middle-of-the-packer *at best*

I loved the boats at Wilderness Traverse! They were similar to my own Wenonah Escape. If you have the big bucks, that is a great canoe. Otherwise, we've paddled in Aluminum boats and the plastic Mad River canoes a lot and I think that if I were buying a fleet for races, I'd go with the yellow Mad River canoes. There are some others that are a little thinner and less tupperware-like, but they don't seem as durable.

The double Neckys from PQ and then Trioba days were good boats. Not the fastest, but stable enough to put people on lower class rapids and flat water. Worked good for the epic ocean paddle to start the 04 San Juan PQ race.

Wilderness Traverse canoes would be the nicest I'd paddled had I not hopped in MarkVT's Escape a few weeks prior. That is a sweet boat.