Hello Forum -

Three years ago, my wife and her moto friends rode their hogs to Saranac Lake in New York. They rented canoes at St. Regis Canoe Outfitters, and paddled out to an island campground and by the sounds of it, had the time of their lives. The following year, she invited me! I don’t ride motorcycles, but I do ride bicycles, so we pedaled up Whiteface Mountain near lake Palcid before driving to the same outfitter to pick up our two seated yacht, in the form of a white 17’ Nova Craft Cronje. With the canoe on the roof rack, we made the short drive to the first pond/second pond boat launch and loaded up.

As a bike packer and backpacker, I was borderline uncomfortable with the amount of crap, or rather, weight, we were bringing. We brought our family sized North Face Bedrock 5 man tent, cold weather sleeping bags, air mattresses, two burner stove, three grocery store loads of fire wood, lights galore, a hammock, and multiple duffel bags of food and clothing for any possible weather scenario we’d face on our two night stay. Stuff rose more than a foot above the gunwales in some spots, we were glamping to say the least.

Prior to this paddle, I had been on a long hiatus from canoes. I grew up paddling with my father and big brother, mostly lake fishing, but we did plenty of rivers, overnights, and even a few local races, all in my dad’s 19’ fiberglass Wenonah Sundowner. That canoe saw a lot of bass and a lot of laughs. College, jobs, life, and before I knew it, I had been out of a canoe for decades. But here we were, my wife and I, paddling our fully loaded Cronje to an island camp ground, and I felt like I was exactly where I should be. I had never been to Saranac Lake before, but fell in love instantly. It’s big, serene, and beautiful. The island camp grounds, a New York State gem, are idilic. Ours had a large flat spot for our tent, two picnic tables, a fire pit with a grill cover, a pit shit, and ample room to hang out. The shore was also readily available for a few late night casts. The sky was grey and drizzly the entire weekend, and it was still the highlight of my year.

The trip was such a smash success that we booked it again for the same weekend the following year, but this time we’d invite my brother and twelve year old nephew. They had recently made the big move of purchasing a canoe, and were jonesing to bring it on an “expedition” weekend. We had made the big move of rescuing a dog, and were just as excited to see how she’d take to her first paddle, and first campout.

We met at the launch, this time under blissfully sunny skies. My brother’s boat, A Northstar Northwind 16’, is the nicest canoe I’ve ever seen. The “Starlite” weave was brilliant in the sunshine, and taking the canoe off the car was effortless as it was so lightweight, a far cry from the Wenonah or the Cronje! Our rental, a red Cronje, looked and felt like a pig in comparison, not that we cared for this trip. We loaded the dog into our empty canoe to see how she did, a few paddles made it clear that she’d be just fine, so we loaded both canoes up and shoved off to the same island as the year before.

One night we took the unpacked Northstar out for an evening fishing trip and I manned the bow, with my brother in the back and nephew in the middle, it felt like 1990 all over again! The thrill of paddling the Northstar, paired with my rekindled love of canoeing, planted the seed. When the trip was through I dug in to the research, the reviews, the dreaming. That’s where I found this forum!

When I’m not paddling I am working at my small bike shop where I sell custom frames from builders like Seven Cycles and Royal H bikes, both US made, top of the line manufacturers that listen to what their customers want, then fabricate frames one at a time. When I learned of Savage River, it felt like a brother from another mother, so I emailed them a list of questions I had. I received a call back from Ben Diller almost immediately. He had so much to discuss, he thought it’d be more beneficial to chat first. He also has a ton of charisma and passion for the boats he and his father make, I was impressed. He steered me out of the 17’ Deep Creek model that was more or less the equivalent of my brothers boat, and into the Blackhawk, an 18’ er that’s fast and stable, but big enough to haul glamping gear and a dog.

I placed my order just before Christmas 2022 with the hope that we’ll have it in time for our third trip to Saranac this May. Ben thinks we’ll have it in February. I’m beyond excited, and will post pics when it’s in my hands.

I also learned of the BWCA from this forum, can’t believe I’d never heard of it. Next year we’ll be looking to plan a trip to the Boundary Waters and I’ll scour this forum as I did for the boat.

Keep up the good work!
- Karl

Great intro post--welcome to the forum!

TZ

Same as trailgen - love your post! It's too the way it should be. Saranac is nice, just not as much solitude as some places. Check out the North Forest Canoe Trail - which goes right through Saranac.

Will definitely check that out, though we've been a few times, we haven't explored much more than what we know already. I'll check out the NFCT for sure, thanks for the tip.

Also, posting photos isn't working, likely a me problem, but will post them when I figure it out.

Welcome to bwca.com!

posting photos - use the add photo link below editor box. I find on my phone most clicks require 2. Select "add new photo" and then you should be able to navigate your files. Also may be size limit. I reduce size to 1024x768 before selecting. I never fill in any of the name,description fields. And click - probably twice - to add photo.

Good luck! We like photos!

Welcome! You'll find this community to be a fantastic resource in not just BWCA and Quetico but really all things paddling. It's great group I'm happy to have found a couple years ago.

I'll offer a word of warning in planning your first trip to the BW. If you do it once, be prepared to do it many many more times! You'll be instantly hooked.

Sounds like a good choice on your boat. I have the Northwinds 16', and while I love it, it wold be two small for two adults carrying a lot of gear and a dog. It works great for an oversized solo boat or two adults and a smaller amount of gear.

I bought a boat from Savage River two years ago and it couldn't have worked out better. Talked to Ben on making the order and then John called for a further query and tweaked the design to accommodate my dog and tripping style.
The canoe is a marvel of design- fast, stable, comfortable and stunningly quiet.
Well worth the premium price. The customer service experience was beyond great and I got to meet Ben when he brought the canoe to Minnesota.

Congratulations on your purchase.

Beautiful boat! Is that Textreme? How has it held up to bumps and bruises?


I gave quite a bit of thought about the materials, but couldn't find too much online, so Ben helped me figure it out, namely, kevlar inside for durability (tossing gear in, logs, dog claws, etc) and cooler in the sun then the other options that are mostly black. My wife and I are only just beginning to learn to paddle as a team, but plan on racing (read p-a-r-t-i-c-i-p-a-t-i-n-g in) the Down River Classic this summer. I told Ben that we will surely slam into a rock or two and he felt that Textreme would fair better head to head than the stock carbon and could be patched to look like nothing ever happened.


I wanted to discuss the uni-bilateral material because I couldn't find anything at all about it, not even a picture other than the swath on the website! It looks like it could be a cool look and scored well on their little scale for stiffness and strength, but I forgot and who cares anyway the Textreme looks good too. Do any of you have a uni-bilateral boat? I'd love to see it.

Banksiana: "I bought a boat from Savage River two years ago and it couldn't have worked out better. Talked to Ben on making the order and then John called for a further query and tweaked the design to accommodate my dog and tripping style.
The canoe is a marvel of design- fast, stable, comfortable and stunningly quiet.
Well worth the premium price. The customer service experience was beyond great and I got to meet Ben when he brought the canoe to Minnesota.


Congratulations on your purchase.


"

I can't imagine I'll be able to paddle this one by myself which wasn't something I was considering at first but am now second guessing! Now that I have the bug, it's probably not the end of the world to have a spot, at least mentally, for another boat at some point.

I've watched endless youtubes on the BW and can see why you say that, really excited to check it out. For a variety of reasons, September might be the month we do it, are permits required that late in the season?

AceAceAce: "Welcome! You'll find this community to be a fantastic resource in not just BWCA and Quetico but really all things paddling. It's great group I'm happy to have found a couple years ago.


I'll offer a word of warning in planning your first trip to the BW. If you do it once, be prepared to do it many many more times! You'll be instantly hooked.


Sounds like a good choice on your boat. I have the Northwinds 16', and while I love it, it wold be two small for two adults carrying a lot of gear and a dog. It works great for an oversized solo boat or two adults and a smaller amount of gear."

truecyclery: "For a variety of reasons, September might be the month we do it, are permits required that late in the season?"

Yep, permits are required for May through September and there is a daily quota per entry point. On October 1 you still need a permit but you simply complete it at the entry point - no quotas.

Welcome! Sounds like you have definitely been bitten by the canoeing bug. Hope you are able to try out the BW someday.

Textreme is holding up well. It seems really stiff and quite capable in fending off scrapes, Noticeably more brittle though. The hull design is brilliant. I love paddling the boat.

I took advantage of me having President’s Day off, and Savage River not, and drove out to Oakland, MD this past weekend. I didn’t know until I got close how mountainous that area of the country is, and beautiful! Farms, fields, and water everywhere. I arrived at night and checked into the Garrett Hotel where the owner asked if I was there to ski, when I told him I was picking up a canoe, he said “one of those Savage Rivers?” I was so pumped! Plus all the signs for bodies of water are all names I remember from the Savage River website, so I knew I was in the right spot.

The next morning I headed over to find their headquarters at the end of a dead end road that eventually turned to dirt, then ended at a decrepit looking building with no markings that you might see in a photo of someone’s last known whereabouts. There were newer cars out front, but it was quiet, and all of the windows but one were covered over. A few ancient, jalopy type canoes were lying around the perimeter, and the only window I could peer into was of an office that looked packed to the gills with boxes and stuff, none of which said Savage River. I double checked that I had the right address, I did. I called Ben to confirm I had the right place, he said “come on through the double doors.” I did, and inside was nothing short of fabrication paradise. One guy pulled his head out of a future canoe and asked “you picking up that Blackhawk?” I brought donuts and beers, which one guy brought to the snack room by way of telling telling John Diller that I was there for pick up. John came out of a sealed room, climbed out of his HAZMAT suit, dusted himself off, and spent the next twenty minutes chatting, helping me load it on the car, and being awesome in every way. His son Ben, who I had 100% of my dealings with up to that point came in a few minutes later and was equally great. I was really impressed with the two of them, their space, and how down to earth they were. For a group that is making, in my estimation, some of the coolest canoes on earth, they were just as thoughtful as you could have hoped for.

The factory was so cool, boats in every stage of the process, including a “new design” that John was working on. They had new boats, old boats, repaired boats, and…my boat. It’s a thing of beauty and I can’t wait for the inaugural paddle.

I’ll now, once again try to upload some pics…

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Insert impressive whistle here...nice canoe! Elegant. Sleek. Congratulations on the new watercraft. What a canoe!

THANKS Yetijedi!

YetiJedi: "^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Insert impressive whistle here...nice canoe! Elegant. Sleek. Congratulations on the new watercraft. What a canoe! "

Love it. What's the final build actual weight?

I didn’t weigh it, but will next time I remember to bring the scale home.

When do you hope to go on your first paddle?

Welcome to the board!

Thanks for the photos- so cool to see the inside of the shop. What a beautiful boat. After two seasons of paddling my Savage River I believe John Diller to be a magician, a genius of canoe design. Let us know how the inaugural paddle goes.
Simply beautiful canoe.....

Bikepacking is where I learned pack very light. It easily transfers over to canoe camping. Same camping gear as Bikepacking, but bringing more food along in most cases. Single portages are easily obtained with a Bikepackers mindset. BTW the area surround the BW is a great Bikepacking distention.

Just as soon as:
- the ice is gone
- it’s warm enough
- it’s the weekend

So probably never.

YetiJedi: "When do you hope to go on your first paddle?"

Sweet ride and welcome to the community!

truecyclery: "Just as soon as:
- the ice is gone
- it’s warm enough
- it’s the weekend


So probably never.

YetiJedi: "When do you hope to go on your first paddle?"

"

Oh dear!!! It'll happen soon enough. Maybe more important than when...where will you go for your first paddle?

Congrats on your new ride & welcome! Those canoes sure are pretty, I love the color.