River-Tripping Canoes

River-tripping is to canoe design what walking is to shoes - the activity that defined the original invention. From Native American travelers to the voyageurs who explored most of Canada, early canoeists on this continent used their boats largely to get from one place to another while carrying lots of gear. River-tripping is the great-grandfather of modern canoeing, the common origin from which most canoe functions and designs have evolved.

While all "river-trippers" are similar in some sense, the five canoes reviewed here vary somewhat in design and construction. Three (Nova Craft, Western Canoeing, and Esquif) are "Prospector" variations, classic North American river-trippers. Another (Bell Alaskan) is a brand-new "designed from the ground up" modern river-tripper. The fifth (Bluewater Scout) is a versatile "all-arounder" with tripping capability.

In addition to the brief descriptions that follow, each of the boats was scored on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being highest/best) for speed, maneuverability, stability, and overall comfort (the general "feel" of the boat). Although the designs and construction materials vary considerably among these five boats, river-tripping is a broad category, and as such, different paddlers may have different ideas as to what constitutes the ideal river-tripper. Therefore, these ratings are not directly comparative but are instead based on how each boat would be initially perceived by the average canoeist.

A Word About Materials

Because these boats are made from different materials, this review is as much about variations in performance to be expected from the respective constructions as it is about the differences in their designs. Royalex, a laminate of ABS plastic sandwiched between vinyl skins, is very well suited for the construction of river-running boats because it is extremely impact resistant. However, when used to construct a 16- or 17-foot-long canoe, the material flexes noticeably, robbing the hull of efficiency (making you work harder to get from point A to point B). Royalex canoes are also relatively heavy, and the process of molding flat sheets of plastic into the shape of a canoe limits the potential for sharp entry lines on the canoe stems.

Fiberglass and Kevlar canoes (generally referred to as "composites") offer both advantages and disadvantages. The molding process for composites allows for a very sharp entry and stiff hulls, if properly reinforced. Kevlar has an additional advantage in that the material is so strong that quite a bit less of it is required to build a canoe in comparison to other materials, lightening the overall weight of the finished product by about 30 percent (around 25 pounds in a 17-foot canoe).

While Kevlar is a very strong material, composites in general won't take the severe pounding that a Royalex canoe will endure without some damage (though Kevlar "expedition" layups can be remarkably tough). Kevlar is also a very expensive material, on average increasing the cost of a canoe by $700 to $1,000 over the price of a similar boat made of fiberglass or Royalex.

Of the boats paddled for this review, two are constructed of Kevlar and the other three of Royalex. Each manufacturer represented here offers canoes in a variety of materials and/or layups except for Esquif, which makes Royalex canoes only.