So, gents, I have my eye on a Mike Galt designed Solo/Tandem 14'2" Egret. 42 pounds! It is a kevlar/PVC lay-up which sounds a little tougher than a plain kevlar lay-up, but I'm not really familiar with that type of layering. I am hoping it might be able to handle whitewater a little better than say the MN II we rented in the BWCA. Has anyone on the forum had any experience with Kevlar/PVC canoes?

Thanks,

Krusty555

who makes it krusty?

Hummm..

I remember Galt's Egret from my younger (and skinnier) 'freestyle canoeing' days, never thought of it as a BWCA boat...

I read Bell bought the rights to the Egret on Bob Foote's website;

I know Sawyer made an Egret canoe, once upon a time...

I have not seen a PVC-Kevlar mating before, a Google search turned up zip...

Apparently, it was made by Navarro, but not anymore. Information about it and kevlar/PVC is scant. What I could find refers to it as a 16 footer, so I'm going to check it out.

Krusty555

Mike Galt's Egret was a model from his canoe company - Lotus Canoes. It went out of business in 1990.

I, too, heard that Bell bought the design.

As far as thge kevlar/PVC layup, I never heard of it, but that was a time of kevlar experimentation. Obviously that was one of them. My 1990 Sawyer is "Goldenglass", a fiberglass/kevlar hybrid.

I bet Charlie Wilson in Lake Placid knows about them. He hangs out at solotripping.com.

solotripping.com...i did not know that was out there. thanks bannock.

So, I went and checked out the Egret. It turns out that it was built by Wilderness Systems after Mike Galt's business went under. It is by no means a white water boat though it is made of kevlar with a layer of PVC under the hull bottom to stiffen the floor. Soft chine, looks stable enough and very maneuverable. Hard to tell how it tracks though. The sides are no thicker than a regular kevlar layup. The thwarts and gunwales are a little chewed up, though it's a well-cared for boat.

Volume-wise, it would be a nice solo tripper, but certainly not big enough for two people and their gear. I am looking at it as an exercise boat/solotripper/occasional tandem daytripper. I think it would stand up to the rigors of tripping, though I'd hate to scratch it up. This pic is not the boat I'm looking at though it's in much the same condition. He's asking $750. Whadda youse guys think? I'm on the fence.


Krusty

--Paddle it, if you have not already done so, a freestyle canoe tends to be a bit more 'tender' then any other canoe...

This boat has its fanatics, but its a small select group.

Thanks, WM. I tried to make that happen yesterday, but I couldn't catch up with the guy. Hopefully, I'll get a chance on Wednesday. Does "tender" mean a little "too maneuverable"?

Krusty

Tender is Freestyle Canoeing speak for not alot of intial stability.

This hull is not a style typically used in the BWCAW. This is a hull best suited for Freestyle paddling.

Dan Cooke

Thanks for the information, Dan. I appreciate the advice about not solotripping with it. I hope to paddle it today, failing that, maybe the seller will let me bring it back if it's really hard to handle. He seems like a decent guy. I really am looking at it as a lightweight exercise boat for paddling on local flatwater and maybe the odd tandem trip to a lake with my wife. I have an OT Tripper which is fine for the rocky rivers around here, but it's heavy and no fun at all solo. I doubt that I'll ever haul a boat from Va. all the way to the BWCA.

Krusty

I took my wife to look at the Egret.

She liked it but she found the legspace kinda confined. I was not too excited because of the somewhat "restrained" reviews you guys gave it. The seller showed me a video he had of the late Mike Galt paddling it solo and tandem. It certainly was a sight to behold. peeling and carving and laying the boat over on its gunwale. But, it also seemed to be a little "tubby" when paddling forward, so we left, and talked about it driving home. So I said, "Well, let's stop at REI and see what they have." Many transactions have started this way. I saw this odd black boat and I had them pull it down. She kneeled in the front of it and said, "This is much better. Let's get this one." As many of you know, you don't make your wife say that twice. A few hours later we came home with a brand new Esquif Mistral 16 footer. 53 pounds (9# more than the Egret)and a sweetly formed yoke, and much better tandem features. As many of you know, the boat is made of this Twin-Tex material which is "as light as kevlar and as strong as Royalex" (we shall see...). I think I'm gonna love this boat and I know I REALLY love my wife.

This boat really fills every need we were looking for, but the big one is that we can take it on these rocky Eastern rivers and streams around here. I would never have done that with the Egret. Also, I found a lot of complimentary comments about the Mistral on Solotripping.com and Paddling.net and a few comments on here. There's always REI's return policy if necessary.

We will take it out this weekend. When I get a decent amount of time in it, I will write a review if anyone is interested.

14% off at REI, BTW, NFI

Krusty

congrats on the new craft!

Definately write a review. I am very interested.

I got to see that boat at Canoecopia (Madison, WI) two years ago. I was really impressed, It's been kind of just hangin' there in my mind since then.

Will do, give me a couple of weeks to get some butt time in it.

Krusty