Carpenter wrote:
Main regret in whole process for me, not getting out in as many boats as I could
That is a daunting challenge. Other than some shows and events, which are often brief flatwater/pond test paddles, it is hard to get seat time in different canoes from different manufacturers, especially for same day head-to-head comparisons.
I am admittedly of the “Wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member” persuasion, but early on I belonged to two local canoe clubs. While I availed myself of (free) club paddling instruction and safety/rescue classes, led a few trips every year and went on others, I was equally interested in trying as many different canoes as possible. And in cherry picking members as likeminded off-club-trip paddling companions.
I don’t remember a club member ever saying no when asked “Hey, do you mind if I try your canoe for a bit”. Some of those canoes quickly proved unsuitable for my desries, but those “Oh hell no” design lessons were important in narrowing my criteria. More importantly a few canoes became immediate targets of used boat searches, and are on my racks to this day.
Some of those cherry picked companions too. Not on the racks, although I have space, but everlasting companions.
$15 a year dues at each club, best canoe-related $30 a year I ever spent.
Aside from trying companions canoes on club daytrips, in the US there is the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous, which includes some Canadian manufacturers. Not just solo canoes , and sadly not this year (cancelled for 2020).
https://wpascr.org/For a decade there was a much more informal car camper gathering at Raystown Lake, which started as a solo paddle and compare; a half dozen paddlers meeting up on a car camper, each bring a solo canoe or two. That eventually evolved into years with 50 -70 paddlers in attendance, manufactures with trailers. Even brand aficionados hauling trailers of personal collections; Sawyer George with an 8 stacker of nothing but Sawyers, a different selection each year.
Think 100 yards of beach adjacent to waterfront campsites. A beach lined with canoes, some new, some used, some rarities, all left there with the understanding that, if it’s on the beach, it is available to try. We did a back of napkin calculation one year and figured there was easily 100K worth of canoes on the beach.
IMG009 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
IMG007 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Folks would bring canoes for sale, swap and trade, stack paddles & gear at their campsites with price tags. “Sure, take that paddle or boat out and give it go”. A lot of used boats, paddles and gear changed hands during that 4-day camper weekend.
It became frequently a “transfer point”; some regular would buy a geographically distant used canoe, and attendee from that area would haul it to Pennsylvania, and the buyer would leave empty rack space to haul it back home. I hauled a few canoes up there as middle-man, including beautiful composite MRC Guide a distant friend bought stupid cheap 20 minutes from my home. I paid the seller his asking price in cash, and so hoped the buyer would somehow come up short of $250.
Someone would always organized a day trip down some local river, made easier with every vehicle having ample rack space and a trailer or two available. Hell, the pot luck dinners alone were legendary. Aged, rubbed venison backstrap grilled to perfection? Please Sir, may I have another?
I don’t know if similar paddle & compare events held in Canada. Hint for someone with organizational/internet skills; THERE SHOULD BE! The CCR community would be a good start.
But not too organized; some live and let live, everybody do what they want when they want, no clip board and whistle schedule disorganization can be a thing of beauty.