View topic - Opinions on MadRiver Fantasy?

Well, I know that this is a very old and probably out-of-date boat but I consider buying a used MadRiver Fantasy as I once had an Outrage and liked it much better than my Dagger Phantom which I am growing out of (in terms of getting too heavy).
I paddle more or less old-style and not much more than WW-II. And I would like to have some touring-qualities even in a WW-boat which the Phantom lacks totally.

Should I dare this 'step backwards'? Any opinions?

Axel

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P A D D E L B L O G - Bundìn er bàtlaus mađur (Bound is boatless man)

What is 'backwards'?
I too am not a fan of 'real' whitewater canoes,
the only one I remember I could appreciate, was the Old Town H2Pro.
I have found that I prefer the so-called river- or whitewater touring designs
for the kind of whitewater paddling that I (like to) do.

Dirk Barends

A friend bought an old fantasy last year to use as a crossover for playboating and light trippi
ng. I paddled it once in easy class 2 and found it to be responsive and very, very fast. It doesn't have enough capacitiy to be a decent tripper but it was a fun boat to paddle. The only problem is that its pink!

I like the Fantasy. It's old skool according to the rodeo crowd, but the Fantasy is much more usable for any sort of paddling other than playboating than any of the new playboats. It's fast compared with an Outrage, and super fast compared with the Phantom. It surfs well, attains stuff you don't have a prayer of attaining in the Outrage.

I think it could work for short (2-4 day)whitewater trips with others and sharing gear if you packed light, but you'd need a bigger boat if you're planning on doing weeklong or longer whitewater trips.

Recped, I've actually been looking around for a pink Fantasy (they don't come up very often). It takes a "real man" to paddle a pink canoe... but I'd be game to give it a go!!

PK

It does take a "real man".......but it's not me!

Here's the real man who paddles pink!

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"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915

Arg, I saw more than I needed to see.

But, my question is... what do you guys do on your canoe trips that you have a picture like that? On second thought... forget I even asked.

Pk

let me guess, most things stay on the river .......
a new marketing tactic for team B, we can paddle with Ben's coordinates and never worry about having our ass in public viewing.
All things concidered not a bad behind and the bangs haven't recieded all the way to the crack yet...... hey, cougar bait gentlemen, might be good to keep this guy if you're stuck on a friday night and need a shuttle.

I can't find the specs for the fantacy alothough I have seen the occasional......does it really have a bigger capapcity with respect to larger paddler? I'd confirm that first

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http://campfireblues.wetpaint.com/
home of the opinionated old farts!

It is really difficult to find informations on these old boats. Cboats.net (http://www.cboats.net/c_db/list.php?typ ... me=Fantasy) tells that the Fantasy is the smaller version of the MadRiver Me - annother boat that has vanished almost unnoticed by the internet. That is a pity since I have seen this boat last summer somewhere beside a river and liked it from its looks almost instantly.

As it turns out now I will buy the Fantasy on short notice and keep the Phantom as a second boat for a while...

With 'touring-abilities' in a WW-boat I meant something like being able to manage the calm streches without too much efforts. I do not intend to travel weeklong trips in such a boat.

Axel

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P A D D E L B L O G - Bundìn er bàtlaus mađur (Bound is boatless man)

Mad River Canoe Catalog 1996 FWIW

Fantasy

Designer: John Berry and Jim Henry

Extreme Rocker
Asymmetrical
Shallow arch
6" Freeboard capacity: 540 lbs
13' long
30.5" gunwale width
25" waterline width
15" depth
22" bow height
21.5" stern height
4" rocker

Well, I actually bought the boat and paddled it already.

I love it!

This boat has glide, it turns pretty fast when leaned and dances on the waves (though I am sure it will take over some water in larger waves). The fitting suits perfect as the former owner is as large as me.



Not many canoes get names but this one will in all probability be named 'Gurkan' - the swedish word for cucumber.


And it provides enough space for my dog to travel with me (though I doubt that she will be pleased by squirting water and the rocking moves in whitewater - but she's always keen on coming along)


Now I have to decide whether I will keep the Phantom or sell it sooner or later.

Axel

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P A D D E L B L O G - Bundìn er bàtlaus mađur (Bound is boatless man)

Congradulations on the new boat!

Congrats. New boats are always fun to get!

If you need to part with your Phantom, I've got some friends in Germany who'd probably love the opportunity to buy it!

PY.

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Learning to paddle is like learning a language:
It's easy to learn the basics, but will you be understood in a strong wind?

Floating Toolbox..... Looking at your picture, I can say that the Fantasy is NOT a sized down ME.

Incidentally, Millbrook still offers versions of the ME in S-glass/Kevlar. They offer the ME II, but have never offered a downsized ME.

You are correct, the Fantasy is not technically a dimensionally sized down ME (but then again what other canoe pairs really are either?). But, both were John Berry designs that were modified to be built in Royalex (technically Jim Henry is also listed as the co-designer of the Fantasy). They don't look identical, but they look enough alike to see the family resemblance both in the side view and in cross-section. The Fantasy was Mad River's rubber short class slalom solo produced during the last few years that the ME was produced as MRCs rubber long slalom class solo. Both were essentially replaced at approximately the same time by the very different Outrage and Synergy. Even Mad River stated in their 1992- 1996 catalgs that the Fantasy is "for paddlers that find the ME a bit large for their needs". So I fully agree they aren't the same boat just stretched. But, I think for comparison purposes the only other Royalex canoe that is remotely similar would be MRC and Berry's other cooperative effort, the Flashback in Royalex which preceeded the Fantasy.

PK

Since we're talking old W/W boats, one that really sucked was the Prophet But on the other hand one that was a great boat and that fit the bill as long weekend tripper was the Genesis......if you ever come across one of those in good shape grab it up!

Gail...... thats the last time I go boaten with you....you've just changed my thinking towards you......YOU YOU Cougar!

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Al Greve http://www.canoewateradventuring.ca South Western Ontario's canoeing specialist