Souhegan or Coho anyone own one?

[Jake002]

I've recently been considering the purchase of a canoe. I've been told the Souhegan or Coho are nice.

Anyone own either of these that might be able to give me a little more insight so I don't make the wrong purchase decision?

[Roger]

Jake, I'm not familiar with either boat, but what kind of waters are you looking to paddle and explore? They were designed for poling according to the Millbrook site.

Jake, look at this one for sale in the other forum. Nice boat and Richard takes care of his. This is a steal of a deal.

http://forums.arkansascanoeclub.com/vie ... =2&t=17651" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Al Donaldson]

Jake:

I am the happy owner of a Souhegan. (For those of you who don't know this boat, it is an Ed Hayden-designed kevlar-hulled competition poling canoe, built by Millbrook Boats in NH.)

To be quite honest, I am not a poler, but the boat fit my design parameters for a canoe for "solo paddling in Iowa's constricted, log-jammed flatwater creeks." In spite of having relatively little rocker, the boat tuns well and has enough primary and secondary stability to allow medium-sized elephants to dance in her.

The boat makes horrible noises when going over rocks and other sharp objects, but the result of such racket is just a tiny scratch. So far, I haven't even been able to put a big scratch in it.

It is the canoe in front in the below photo:



Afew more photos of this canoe and several other odd ones are at:
http://s377.photobucket.com/albums/oo21 ... 1QQtppZZ20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Email or call if you have questions.

Regards,

al

[Jake002]

Thanks for the response Al,

How long have you owned the boat? I like the look of her. So in your opinion of the stability I could bring a dog and even if they moved around a lot the canoe would feel secure? I've heard they turn better than most.
What would you say the differences are from other canoes? You mentioned taking 2 canoes along with you, but you weren't taking the Souhegan. Makes me think you prefer something else better. Or can it only hold one solo? If so, would I be better off getting the coho which I heard is the same style but larger?
In your opinion is it more unique than other canoes or just like any other I could purchase at a sporting goods store? What type of water have you used it in, lakes, rivers, calm, white water?
It's good to know you've found them to be durable against rough contact, cause I probably will be ruff on it being new to canoeing.
I appreciate all the info you can give me. I'm going to fully research them before I purchase one.

Any other details would be great!
Thanks again
Jake

[Al Donaldson]

Jake:

I've had the boat for two years now. The Souhegan would do just fine with a dog. (At least as well as, for instance, an O.T. Penobscot, Mad River Explorer or suchlike. ) I'm sure that an Old Town Tripper XL (20' long and almost 40" wide) would do better with a large and unruly dog, but....

The Souhegan turns better than most commercially-available river canoes, but not as well as a dedicated whitewater boat. Of boats that are its approximate size, I'd rate it as having slightly better glide than the Esquif Pocket Canyon and a bit less ease of turning: not much difference in either, but enough for me to notice a bit.

I didn't bring the Souhegan on this trip, as I needed to bring the tandem boat that my wife and I paddle (and that I use as a solo) and her dedicated solo boat. If I had enough patience to deal with more, I'd have brought all of them, but on a month long stay like this, two is about the number that I want to keep up with, clean, maintain and inspect on a daily basis. But I've always been willing to bring additional boats if needed. The Souhegan has the advantages of being quite light (although not quite as light as Kaz claims), bulletproof (I don't worry about hammering it into rocks, as the kevlar just squeaks and begs for more) and fun to paddle.

I am, however, a paddler of large canoes: I would no more load a Souhegan up tandem than I would personally fly to the moon. When canoes ride more than 5" deep in the water, I become an unhappy camper. The boat could carry two: I just would not be one of them.

If you can find anything like a Souhegan in a sporting goods store, let everyone know! With the nicely-finished kevlar/glass hull, ash gunwales and good design, this canoe is not a common critter. With me, she has covered about 300 miles of twisty, obstructed Iowa creeks and rivers (mostly Class I and II-, but with enough interesting features to keep the paddler occupied...) and a few miles on the Missouri Big Piney and Current rivers. She has not seen anything over a II+ rapid, but, then, I usually don't see them either.

I've paddled her on lakes ONLY for testing, but she does do remarkably well in head or crosswinds, due to the low bow and stern heights.

The Coho did not interest me at all, as Ed Hayden (the designer) told me that it was a bit less agile boat (read a bit sluggish to turn) and it is only a tad bigger.

I did put in my own seat and thwarts, as I have particular ideas about placement and attachment (ones with which Kaz disagrees...)

All in all, the canoe is a incredibly versatile solo boat. With our usually shallow and rocky midwestern water, I would not pick it for a tandem (but it might work for others in other locations.)

If you are looking for a dual (tandem and solo) canoe and you don't mind a Royalex boat (and extra weight), consider a Two Brothers Arkota. I have two of those now, and have been quite happy (although if I had to portage one for any distance, I'd probably like them less...) (...of course, I choose not to paddle often where there are long portages...) Any size dog would love the "big play box" of an Arkota.

BUT, if you want a light and rigid, good handling canoe and if you don't mind paying the asking price, this would be a top choice.

HTH

Email me directly if more information might be helpful.

Regards,

al

[Jake002]

Thanks alot Al,

That information is very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to fill me in. If I have additional questions I'll be sure to contact you.

Thanks again!

Jake