For your next BWCA canoe trip, why not rent a GREAT kevlar canoe?
Sure, your can rent a one of those "kevlar" canoes from any outfitter in the Ely area and the Gunflint Trail region as well. If you are prefer stability, control, and durability in your canoe make sure you request a Souris River Quetico 17 specifically. Be certain that if there are two of you and you want a good, lightweight, stable canoe that you designate the model which is a Quetico 17. Some outfitters still use the Souris River Wilderness 18 which is a good canoe compared to other-brand kevlars, but not a real stable-feeling hull when you don't have a load in it. If you simply reserve a Souris River, you may get the wrong hull - remember that the hull's shape is what determines stability, not the construction material, or the brand name or anything else. If there are 3 of you going, be sure to request a Souris River Quetico 18.5 three-seater. You absolutely won't choose wrong with any Souris River Quetico hull. If you are going solo and want to fish, ask for Q-16 Solo model. If you are more solo-experienced and interested primarily in paddling, ask for the Souris River Tranquility Solo. If you think you absolutely must have a Wenonah or other brand-specific kevlar canoe because your buddy rented one last year, here are some rental concerns to consider:
To reserve your Souris River Canoe call us at 1-800-280-1078
| Rental Concern: Stability - Who wants a tippy canoe? | ||
| Souris River Queticos are simply more stable than Wenonahs and most other major brand kevlar canoes. They provide more flat surface in their hulls than other kevlar canoes including Bell and Mad River. Due to their clever hull design, Souris River Queticos still provide good secondary stability as well. You need to do something pretty dumb to tip one over. | ||
| Rental Concern: Control on water - will it turn into a cross wind or be blown WAY off course quickly? | ||
| Souris Rivers Queticos are easier to turn on water than Wenonahs especially in a crosswind. Being able to turn without losing ground means less paddling and greater safety for novice to intermediate paddlers. The majority of other-brand kevlar canoes tend to be racing hulls with no rocker which does not allow the canoe to turn quickly unless the bow paddler is a skilled paddler knowledgeable in paddling maneuvers including sweep-strokes, draw-strokes and cross-bow rudder. If your bow paddler doesn't know these strokes, rent the Souris River Quetico. You'll be much better off in the long run. | ||
| Rental Concern: Payload and Freeboard height when loaded | ||
| Souris River Quetico 17 has more payload than the Wenonah MN II which means more canoe sticks out (freeboard) of the water with the same size big load. You stay drier when it gets windy out. There will be times when it gets really windy. | ||
Rental Concern: How cramped will you be for 4-6 hours of paddling at a time per day? |
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| Souris River Quetico 17's are roomy up front. You can fit most normal-sized feet side by side with no difficulty in the Souris River. Wenonahs usually have racing hull design lines that follow through their entire fleet. To see what I mean, take a look a a Wenonah from above and notice that their canoes have a diamond shape to them. They are widest at the carrying yoke and rapidly taper off to a point in the bow and stern and form an elongated diamond. As a result, in the MN II, one foot fits up front and you have to tuck the other foot back under your seat. It's only about 4" wide where your foot ends up in the bow. A big guy's knees will rub together for the entire trip. Souris Rivers are more oval in shape allowing for more sideways movement closer to the bow and stern of the canoe. | ||
| Rental Concern: How comfortable are the seats? You'll be sitting for a long time? | ||
| Souris River only installs contoured, ash-framed web seats in all of their canoes. These seats provide flex so you don't really need a cushion. Our customers comment constantly how comfortable the seats were during their trip and note that they are higher than in the other-brand kevlar canoes. Very few people like the tractor seats that you'll find in a LOT of Wenonah canoes. You can't turn to fish because these seats lock you into the straight-forward-facing-racing position. They are also lower to minimize your wind resistance. If you're not really racing, do you really need to be concerned with shaving seconds off your journey? It's not a very comfortable sitting position for most general recreational paddlers. | ||
| Rental Concern: Racing canoes don't ride up and over waves. Canoes that cut through waves are faster. True, but... | ||
| ...if you are in a canoe that slices through upcoming waves without riding up AND your bow height is 20" AND the wave is 24", guess who's getting 4" of water in their lap? On the other hand, ALL Souris Rivers are noted for their ability to rise up and over instead of "through" the waves. They tend to lead the others by staying upright and completing the rough crossing high and dry. | ||
| Rental Concern: Souris River Canoes are slow. How slow, really? | ||
| Our best data to date, provided by Greg Nesty and his son-in-law in Eureka, CA compares a Souris River Quetico 17 to a Wenonah MN II for speed. The Souris River Q-17 is a general recreational canoe which is 17'3" long and the Wenonah MN II is a "retired" racing canoe design which is 18'6" long. Using a GPS and the same two guys paddling in a wide array of conditions, the Souris River Quetico 17 was about .4 MPH slower than the Wenonah. The Quetico 17 cruises at about 4.7 MPH and the Wenonah travels at about 5.1 MPH depending heavily on who's paddling and how they are paddling. This means that it's pretty hard for the Wenonah to lose the Souris River on even a big lake. Also, when the going gets rough, the Souris River will gain a full day's paddle over the Wenonah due to its ability to climb up and over waves while staying high and dry. Like Bob Cary says, "How fast does your racing canoe go when it's full of water?" | ||
| Rental Concern: Kevlar Canoes are fragile and I might be responsible if there's damage to the canoe from my canoe trip. | ||
In the BWCA outfitter's world, it's no secret that most other kevlar canoes are built using the usual, weaker, vinylester resin and a sheet of styrofoam in the bottom to keep the floor rigid. It's also well-known that these old-tech kevlar canoes are in constant need of repair-work by the outfitters who use them in rentals. It is not unusual for these canoes to require repairs after each trip out. This is not the case with Souris River Canoes. Souris uses a unique flexible rib system in the floor and super strong epoxy resin that allows the canoe to flex without cracking. Both Bell and Wenonah have experimented with epoxy resin canoes and both companies have since dropped attempting to use epoxy resin. It does produce a much stronger canoe and the low repair demand by Souris River Canoes is proof. Knowing this, of course, is not an invitation to smash or damage rental canoes, or to ram shore with ANY canoe at 5 mph which so many people who rent canoes frequently are seen doing. You can wreck an a aluminum canoe just as easily as a kevlar canoe by being a fool. You'll be charged for excessive damage to your canoe no matter who the outfitter may be. Long story short - Souris Rivers are very tough and rival plastic canoes in durability. Unlike all other kevlar canoes, they hold up to impact far better. However, you should not treat them abusively just because of the fact. If you end up with a hole in your canoe when you're 20 miles out in the woods, how are you coming home? In over 10 years of renting Souris River Canoes, we've never had a problem with customers returning home safely. We've even seen white-water-crushed Souris River Canoes paddled home after being stomped back into shape! It's doubtful that any other brand of kevlar canoe has this capability due to their applying a rigid styrofoam core in the bottoms of their canoes. Once the foam is cracked, there's no nice repair. Please paddle wisely! |
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| Rent a Souris River Canoe - preferably a Quetico 17 - you'll enjoy your trip more! | ||
 Souris River Quetico 18.5 with three paddlers |
All Souris River Canoe rentals from Red Rock include paddles, pfd's, yoke pads, and FREE trip routing if you need a little planing help. Call to reserve your canoe. 1-800-280-1078 |
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