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4/23/2019 12:49 pm  #18


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

@solos: yeah, that's almost certainly what I'm going to need to do. I'll take my daughter (car) camping in Algonquin some weekend, and go test paddle anything I can get my hands on, and then rent whatever interests me for the day. 

@Rob: can you explain a bit further about a sling seat in a solo boat hurting performance? I'm completely ignorant on the subject of canoes, and my mind can't figure out why it would matter that much (or is it not so much the seat but the person sitting in it?). 

@Gord: yes, it certainly is a sexy boat, and thanks for your personal review. My kayak is 16 feet long, and I can only get in/out in the middle where the cockpit is, so the cruiser would still be a huge upgrade compared to what I'm used to (when it comes to portage landings). Thanks for the review link as well. 

 

4/23/2019 3:57 pm  #19


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

A solo boat is set up for one person to sit in pretty much one location, give or take a possible few inches of a sliding seat but the Cruiser might be set up with a fixed seat location like the some of the Keewaydins where you can switch the seat between single blade/kneeling height and double blade/sitting height. 

Kids and people in general tend to come in 2 sizes for canoeing - too small and light so they don't provide much weight for the volume they take up, or too big and heavy so they provide a lot of weight for the volume they take up. In a tandem boat with a 9 year old or younger you help to offset the small and light by paddling a symmetrical canoe using the bow seat for the stern. With a 12 year old or older you get more use out of a sliding bow seat.

You also have more flexibility in moving gear around to balance the boat in a tandem boat. With a solo boat where the one and only designed paddling position is the middle, you are stuck with putting the kid either in front of center or behind and your giving up a lot of your flexibility on how you position the other gear to balance out. 

Overall I think you are very likely to end up either bow or stern heavy trying to use a solo boat as a tandem. 

Perhaps in the interest of full disclosure I should also mention that my dream solo boat is still an Osprey. I can see some attraction in a Keewaydin but the Cruiser is too long and doesn't have enough rocker for me. Interestingly the Cruiser is actually 1/2" wider at the waterline than the Osprey and 1" wider than the Keewaydin. 

 

4/23/2019 3:57 pm  #20


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Your search is over Bob !!

This just popped up on my Kijjiji search page.

- Kayak/Canoe Hybrid  Exactly what you are looking for !!!

- Very reasonably priced

- Looks like it would be a dream on the portages ;-)

- Best of all. It’s VINTAGE


https://www.kijiji.ca/v-water-sport/hamilton/canoe-kayak-15-foot-vintage-with-wood-ribs/1326007040?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios_social


We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.
 - George Washington Sears
 

4/23/2019 7:10 pm  #21


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

ShawnD wrote:

Your search is over Bob !!

This just popped up on my Kijjiji search page.

- Kayak/Canoe Hybrid Exactly what you are looking for !!!

- Very reasonably priced

- Looks like it would be a dream on the portages ;-)

- Best of all. It’s VINTAGE


https://www.kijiji.ca/v-water-sport/hamilton/canoe-kayak-15-foot-vintage-with-wood-ribs/1326007040?utm_campaign=socialbuttons&utm_content=app_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios_social

Just needs some green paint
 

Last edited by R2 (4/23/2019 7:12 pm)

 

4/23/2019 7:37 pm  #22


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

It’s the boat I never knew I needed.

     Thread Starter
 

4/23/2019 7:39 pm  #23


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Rob: thanks for the detailed reply - I appreciate it. As a kayaker I’m already used to having my gear spread out but yeah, not ideal to be pulling my pack apart for balance reasons when I wouldn’t have to otherwise.

     Thread Starter
 

4/24/2019 10:48 am  #24


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Uppa wrote:

But I also appreciate the simple logic that my daughter's not going to be happy sitting on the bottom of a solo boat, so either I find a reasonable solution for a second seat in a solo boat (like the sling seat perhaps, or even something more permanent), or I have to look at tandem options.

In my experience no designated seat necessary for kids. A smaller size backpack filled with soft gear will do or even better - my 3 year old son is quite comfortable with a rolled foam sleeping pad. Here's a picture of 9 year old kid sitting on a pack in the bow of 15' solo Nomad canoe (26.5" gunnels width).

 

Last edited by EddyTurn (4/24/2019 10:56 am)

 

4/25/2019 5:23 pm  #25


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

The trouble with asking for opinions is that even experienced campers are going to have twenty different ones, especially about something as personal as the boat you paddle. 

I really appreciate all the feedback in this thread. I still have no idea what I'm going to end up buying, but I'll be test paddling everything I can this season to figure it out, then likely going to the outdoor adventure show to get a good deal next February. 

Thanks folks!

     Thread Starter
 

4/26/2019 10:40 am  #26


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Hey Bob, the more I think about it, you shouldnt lower yourself to the level of a canoe. You should get another vessel that is as equal to APP as your kayak!

 

4/26/2019 11:28 am  #27


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

It’s okay Martin - I long ago came to understand that you’re a closeted kayaker. You desperately want to come out but just aren’t... quite... ready. And so until the day you’re ready, you’ll slag kayaks at every opportunity.

On behalf of the kayak camping community, we’ll be here for you when you're finally break free of your canormative constraints.

Last edited by Uppa (4/26/2019 1:03 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

4/26/2019 11:38 am  #28


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

It's some huge closet. Being in it myself for many years I can testify that I never met anyone there - so big it is!

 

4/26/2019 11:50 am  #29


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Well yeah, that's the impact of peer pressure when everyone does something the same way. It's easy to start thinking that's the only way you can be, and it takes courage to step out of the mold. 

I believe in you Martin - you'll get there. 

     Thread Starter
 

4/26/2019 12:40 pm  #30


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

I'm thinking that it's time to set up a formal race between Uppa and Martin. A neutral 3rd party can pick the route and we will see who manages to survive -er, um, finish - it fastest. 

BTW - Eddy that shot of your solo looks better trimmed than I thought it might. What I don't see is a paddle in the hands of your paddling partner. Is that just out of sight on the other side of the canoe?

 

4/26/2019 12:52 pm  #31


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?




 

Last edited by MartinG (4/26/2019 1:11 pm)

 

4/26/2019 12:53 pm  #32


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Solo Brent runs!

     Thread Starter
 

4/26/2019 12:57 pm  #33


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

In Pedalos

Last edited by MartinG (4/26/2019 1:02 pm)

 

4/26/2019 1:06 pm  #34


Re: Swift Cruiser 16.8 - opinions?

Camping isn't, and should never be, a race. But I understand why you'd try to switch the race to pedal boats, because solo canoe versus solo kayak is a recipe for you getting smoked. 
 

     Thread Starter
 

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