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Author	Message Text
Atb	06/13/2018 06:12PM   Took delivery last week, paddled it for the first time Sunday. Awesome! Hats off to Northstar and Midwest Mountaineering for delivering on schedule. I heard they had a massive wave of custom orders at the expo...
Atb	06/15/2018 02:15PM   ducks: "Atb: "Took delivery last week, paddled it for the first time Sunday. Awesome! Hats off to Northstar and Midwest Mountaineering for delivering on schedule. I heard they had a massive wave of custom orders at the expo..." That's great!!!!! When does it get to go on a canoe trip? The Green Machine made it up to Homer Lake EP for a quick solo 3 weekends ago. It seemed very happy to get out :) and Echo loved the extra room compared to a solo. Great trip... didn't see a single other person. Big duckling gets her first trip in the Green Machine in 2 weeks!!!! After paddling the Polaris you probably don't miss her any more. I hope your recovery is coming along. " Hey Ducks, Great to see the SR out and about. It is roomy for sure. Recovery is going well, and the girl and I will be hitting Gabbro on July 8. I'm very excited. Depending on how I'm feeling, we may limit day-trip portaging and base camp on Gabbro or Bald Eagle. I'm just grateful I didn't lose the whole summer with this injury!
awbrown	06/15/2018 08:06PM   I really like the looks of the carbon fiber gunwales. Saw them for the first time last weekend at the BWCA Expo. Northstar is putting out some great boats.
ducks	06/16/2018 09:04AM   Atb... good fishing in those lakes :) and a lot of good campsites... but busy. That's where my wife and I did our first trip together about 10 years ago. If you end up not camping on Gabbro and continue to Bald Eagle my wife and I stayed on the first campsite you come to and had good shore fishing (walleye, pike, and sunfish). As you paddle the narrows from Gabbro to Bald Eagle it's on the right just before to get to the point where it opens up into the big part of Bald Eagle. Have a great trip!!!
Atb	04/30/2018 11:26AM   After selling my SR16 over the winter, I went to Midwest Mountaineering this weekend to get a new tandem. I was leaning towards the Northwind 17, but in viewing them side-by-side I went with the Polaris. I am very excited, and here are the considerations that swayed me: *Tripping partner is usually my 10 YO daughter, light and limited bow power *Faster hull for when I'm driving us *Concerned the Northwind would be under-laden and wind susceptible with our light load *Narrower at the gunnel will improve solo paddling *Special ordered with Carbon Fiber gunnels, bringing it in at under 35 lbs. Also got rear kneeling thwart for times when I need to put down power. It will not be ready until June, but neither will I. I broke my ankle a few weeks ago and will be back in action about the same time the Polaris comes in. Something to look forward to!
OCDave	04/30/2018 05:08PM   Atb: "... I went with the Polaris. ...!" I am envious. Congrats to you and your paddling partner!
Atb	04/30/2018 05:32PM   sns: "They had a gorgeous Polaris with the carbon gunnels and what looked like birdseye or curly maple thwarts on display - bet that one sold quick. Enjoy your new addition, and let us know what you think once you've paddled a bit...I have a similar decision to make later this year." I considered taking that one, but the Kevlar shaves a few more pounds and $$$s. I’ll definitly come back with a review
WhereRwe	04/30/2018 06:46PM   Congrats on your new addition! Hope you heal quickly so you and your daughter can enjoy your Polaris!
ducks	04/30/2018 08:37PM   Congrats man!!!!!!!!!!! You will love it!!!! If you remember I rented one on my daddy/daughter trip w/ little duckling last year. Your old SR is getting restless hanging in my rafters............ I'm just as restless and bummed my solo won't be the 1st weekend of May like it has been the last 2 years. Maybe the weekend of the 18th I can get it up to the bwca. Good luck with the recovery.
Dooger	04/30/2018 09:17PM   Nice! Don't be so sure about the June finish date though. I've have a Northwind Solo on order since Feb 2nd and nothing yet.
jhb8426	04/30/2018 10:36PM   flynn: "...Does it paddle well solo from the rear seat?..." Paddling a tandem solo from the rear seat generally does not work well, especially with that style hull. The bow will be out of the water and the canoe will be very tippy. I had a similar canoe at one time and added a third seat at the position of the rear thwart. That worked well. The seat was positioned such that the rear bar of the seat was in line where the thwart would be. This was done on the advice of the company that made the canoe. Of course if you have it loaded for tripping you can place your gear to the front and it should work ok as long as the load balances your weight and the canoe sits level in the water.
mjmkjun	05/01/2018 06:06AM   Congrats! Give it some LOVE
Atb	05/01/2018 07:40AM   ducks: "Congrats man!!!!!!!!!!! You will love it!!!! If you remember I rented one on my daddy/daughter trip w/ little duckling last year. Your old SR is getting restless hanging in my rafters............ I'm just as restless and bummed my solo won't be the 1st weekend of May like it has been the last 2 years. Maybe the weekend of the 18th I can get it up to the bwca. Good luck with the recovery. " Thanks Ducks, enjoy it...it’s worth the wait!
Atb	05/01/2018 07:41AM   Dooger: "Nice! Don't be so sure about the June finish date though. I've have a Northwind Solo on order since Feb 2nd and nothing yet. " Yikes, fingers crossed.
Jaywalker	05/01/2018 09:06AM   I looked over that Polaris with the carbon gunwales at the Expo too. That thing was just beautiful, and the thrarts really blew me away. Congratulations!
Atb	05/01/2018 01:18PM   Jaywalker: "I looked over that Polaris with the carbon gunwales at the Expo too. That thing was just beautiful, and the thrarts really blew me away. Congratulations!" Thanks!
ducks	06/14/2018 09:34AM   Atb: "Took delivery last week, paddled it for the first time Sunday. Awesome! Hats off to Northstar and Midwest Mountaineering for delivering on schedule. I heard they had a massive wave of custom orders at the expo..." That's great!!!!! When does it get to go on a canoe trip? The Green Machine made it up to Homer Lake EP for a quick solo 3 weekends ago. It seemed very happy to get out :) and Echo loved the extra room compared to a solo. Great trip... didn't see a single other person. Big duckling gets her first trip in the Green Machine in 2 weeks!!!! After paddling the Polaris you probably don't miss her any more. I hope your recovery is coming along.
sns	04/30/2018 11:44AM   They had a gorgeous Polaris with the carbon gunnels and what looked like birdseye or curly maple thwarts on display - bet that one sold quick. Enjoy your new addition, and let us know what you think once you've paddled a bit...I have a similar decision to make later this year.
flynn	04/30/2018 02:15PM   Congrats! I've been curious about the Polaris and have seen Shawn James of My Self Reliance paddling it solo. I haven't been able to tell if he's kneeling but I figure he has to be, to be sitting/placed roughly in the middle. I don't know if I could kneel for multiple hours at a time. Does it paddle well solo from the rear seat? I'm quite inexperienced when it comes to paddling tandems solo, or actually just paddling in general. I've been looking at various boats over the past few months trying to watch and read as much as I can, before going somewhere to try out a few, and the Polaris is one that caught my attention. I look forward to hearing your impressions of it!