Advice Needed

[rlrrar1]

I just took my new 12" solo boat on the Mulberry yesterday. It felt very unstable although I have not been in a canoe in 8 years. Before I quit going I was floating a 17' Coleman usually solo. Is it that big of a change going to a solo shorter boat? I have taken the Coleman down the Frog mant times but am real unsure about this new solo boat. Has anyone been through this or is it just me not having my canoe legs?

[JTarver]

Although admittedly I'm not an open boater, I have paddled quite a few of them. It's my experience that the shroter the boat, the steeper the learning curve, kayak or canoe. I'm betting you'll get the hang of it, you will just have to modify your style somewhat. Also, not being in a boat in 8 years is going to come into play, no matter what.
Just a thought,
Joe

[Clif]

What kinda boat is this 12 incher?

Any boat that short...'suming you ment 12 foot.. is gonna be made to be super more maneuverable. Along with that comes yes, much less stable. What make and model you got? Some are less stable than others. See if your boat is listed HERE. What others say might be some help. I am no expert.. nor do I play one on tv....

[Cowper]

Boat model? Big differences, even for the same length...
Your weight? The lighter you are, the more stable the boat will feel. And the other way around... The acceptable weight range for the Coleman would be very broad. A 12 foot model will have a much lower weight range, and will be unstable if you are near the top of the the published paddler weight range for that specific boat model.

Kneeling or sitting? In a 17ft coleman, I would imagine sitting on the seat may have been your normal mode of travel. A 12 foot touring boat might have a seat; any 12 foot whitewater model was designed to be paddled while kneeling, and will feel unstable if you are sitting up on a seat.

[ckuntz]

It is a Big change when moving to a 12' solo boat if you were used to paddling a 17'. Have to get used to a constant correction stroke(pry,draw)that you probably didn't have to do as often in your bigger boat. Maintaining momentum and making proper adjustments through whitewater in that shorter boat has a learning curve.. in my case it was a swimming curve! It is fun when you get the hang of it.
Chris K

[rlrrar1]

The boat I paddled was a Mohawk XL12. I am looking at buying an XL14. I am 6'2" and 230lbs.

[Prairie Tater]

You say that you bought the boat new, so I'm guessing that it didn't have outfitting in it. What kind of a seat did you install? I'd like to reemphasize what Cowper said about sitting and kneeling. You need to keep your center of gravity very low in a whitewater canoe, which is what the XL12 is. If you installed a regular canoe seat, and you are sitting on it, then you will have a looong day on the river. You will need to put a saddle (pedestal) in it and KNEEL.

Also, all WW canoes tend to have poor primary stability. The boat will feel "tippy" at first, however when it gets to a certain point it will stablize and it will be hard to dip the gunnel below the surface of the water. This is the secondary stability "kicking in". They are made this way on purpose so that they will be more maneuverable.

Your size should not be much of an issue in this canoe. I had an XL11 (one foot shorter) and found it to be very stable. I was pushing 200# at the time. I also paddled a Mohawk Viper 12 for several years. The Vipers have much less primary stability (much more "tippy") than the XL's. Again, I was at the 200# mark while paddling the Viper.

Hope this helps. Terry

BTW, if you buy that XL14, I would paddle it as a tandem.

[T Yamashita]

My 2 cents:

look for a boat in your weight range. The XL 13 & some of the larger boats will fit you better. check out the esquif website and see what they recommend. Also, if you are planning to run mostly class I-III, a larger boat for your weight might suit you well w/o the swim curve. If you wanna run richland and other narrow creeks, a smaller boat is somewhat better but a lot of people run the dagger genesis and other larger boats down 'em. If you wanna to be aggressive as a paddler, a smaller boat may suit you well. Generally, A larger, more stable boat will help you ease into the transition. If you see people on the river who are paddling boats that you might be interested, ask 'em about it and they'll most likely allow to try 'em out. best luck with your purchase!

ty

[rlrrar1]

The rest of the story. I bought th XL12 off the internet and the pedastal or saddle was gone. I was just sitting on my knee paddling. Thanks Terry for telling me about primary and secondary stability I didnt know what it meant. Where I am right now is trying to decide which new Mohawk to buy for Class I-III. I am getting both outfitted with bags flotation and saddles from Mohawk. Any advice on saddle position? Anyways this sport gets in your blood and could only run from it for so long before I was back on the water. Cant wait until next time probably the Mulberry again then the Big Piney. I think the Frog is better than the Big Piney? Any opinions on that?

[Prairie Tater]

You will also need thigh straps. Controlling a WW canoe involves more than just using different paddle strokes. Thigh straps help you to become part of the boat. In fact, you should think of the canoe as being an extension of your body. By using your knees and upper legs with a snug pair of thigh straps, you can lean the canoe in the various river currents to do essential WW maneuvers.

Here is a good example of rock solid WW canoe outfitting:
http://www.mikeyeeoutfitting.com/demo/s ... estrap.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And here is a good website which has everything you ever wanted to know about WW canoeing and then some :
http://www.cboats.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;