New canoer, new canoe

The order is in! Deciding on, and buying a canoe!

• Posted on July 29, 2008 at 1:40 PM
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I am finally going to do it! I am making the switch to canoeing (sort of!), and this blog will be the diary of my journey to becoming a great canoeist with a great canoe.

Deciding on, and buying an Alchemist canoe!

Having always kayaked, I have always envied every person at every portage with a canoe. But I always enjoyed kayaking and it wasn't until I got a dog and realized no matter how hard I tried to teach him how to Eskimo roll it just wasn't going to happen. The amount of time I was spending on the water dropped dramatically since I got the dog; I had a tough time stomaching the idea of finding him a 'baby sitter' or leaving him at home on a day I deemed perfect to be outside on the river but he had to stay home indoors. So, the idea of switching to canoeing started to set in; after months of pondering and contemplating, I am now completely stoked about getting a canoe and getting back on the water with the company of my four legged friend!

Making the switch meant I had some decisions to make...

1. Keep or sell the kayaks
2. What brand of canoe should I buy?
3. Material: Carbon, kevlar, superlight kevlar, plastic
4. Design: symmetrical or asymmetrical
5. How much rocker do i want
6. What length
7. Then of course trim and color

The point is I was overwhelmed! At the end of the day the most important decision for me was, do I buy a beginner boat since I am new to canoeing but I will grow out of, or do I buy a more advanced boat I can grow in to? I would hate to buy a boat that at the end of the first summer I am feeling frustrated and beyond the boat, yet equally as frustrating would be to jump in a boat I can't handle yet and then not have the patience to learn because I am frustrated that I can't do what I want.

I decided to get a boat I would grow in to. But to throw a twist in all of this, I also decided to go with a company who is fairly new to the canoe scene; Alchemist canoes. New canoer, new canoe company... could this be a recipe for disaster? I decided on the superlight kevlar Alchemist Legend 15.7 (Prospector). To look at the other decisions I made (comparing to my list above):

1. Still working out whether to sell the kayaks
2. Alchemist Legend 15.7 (Prospector)
3. Ultralight kevlar since its easier with field maintenance than carbon and 5lbs for $500 was a little tough to swallow!
4. The legend is symmetrical
5. It has 2.5" on both the bow and the stern
6. 15'.7"
7. Rusty iron body with lightweight, 2 piece black anodized carbon trim

Some additional decisions I had to make were:

1. I opted to save a few ounces and go with the carbon grab handles instead of the contoured butternut 'ergo' handles since the consensus was from a comfort perspective it was a wash(comfort was the only reason to go with the ergo handles) ; no more, no less comfortable than just a plain round grab handle.
2. I went with a "Ultimate solo thwart" since I plan to be spending more than 50% of my time soloing this bad boy (with the dog of course),
3. I put in some waterproof hatches in the float tanks to stash some dry necessities like duck tape and car keys.

The delivery date is in around Aug 8th and it won't come soon enough! My plan is to keep track of my progress in this blog and share my experiences with what I hope to be a great new Canadian canoe on the market!