Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: New canoe Savage River vs Souris River
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Bamthor |
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Gaidin53 |
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timatkn |
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andym |
And you are right about price. It is a lot compared to a used canoe but nothing compared to what some people spend on motor boats. |
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Jackfish |
Looks like a dandy canoe at 18'6" long. Pretty pricey, too. |
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nctry |
Enjoy your new ride as you have a good one. You mentioned above not liking the color of the wenonah boats... I believe you can get them in gel coat. But a boat that size would be pretty crazy heavy. The savage river is a great boat. The scratches will show, but that just shows adventure! |
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Banksiana |
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Bamthor |
Pros: Handles big water excellent. We had the boat out last fall for a week on Basswood and had at least three days of paddling where we would have had issues in my past boat. The boat can take waves from the side with no problem and is ridiculously stable. It seems to ride the waves well loaded or unloaded and I think we could have stood in it and surfed from one end of Pipestone bay to the other. Plenty of room for the bow paddlers feet and fishing gear. This isn't always an option in a lot of boats. Crazy light and portages like a dream. Honestly, sometimes it is hard to believe I have a canoe this big on my back. I can easily single portage with my normal pack which is about 26lbs and I'm 50 years old with a herniated L4. Craftmanship is literally a dream and everything seems like it was very well thought out. The finish including how the fabric was overlaid is excellent. For example they took the time to match up the squares from one sheet to the next so it is perfectly aligned in the canoe bottom. This is a small thing but when you are in the boat for hours on end hoping for the next walleye an OCD person like myself appreciates that. The boat is extremely rigid. I know that some people like this and others prefer the SR approach. To me the rigidness feels like your not losing any of your paddling power. Both myself and my paddling partner really love this especially when the waves kick up. It conveys a sense of confidence in the boat that is hard to put into writing. Cons: She is not a ferrari. :) I'm cool with enjoying the scenery and I knew it wouldn't be the quickest boat going in. I'm more than willing to sacrifice the speed I had before for the amenities noted above. I'm just putting this out there for other people that may be considering their options. I'd say it paddles like a stiff Wenonah Champlain. Scratches really show. This kind of goes without saying on a black boat but I thought I'd mention it. The lack of gunwales can make the grip hard on portages in the rain. This is a little thing that you only really notice in the rain going uphill or on long portages but you can't easily grab the gunwales like you could with wood because they are molded into the canoe. I have adapted to this by always snapping the bow paddle into the paddle clip and then I basically hold the canoe with my hand on the shaft of the paddle as a balance. I don't really need two hands since it is so light but I thought I'd mention it. As a side note this also serves as a pro when fishing because if you have big legs they don't dig into the side of your legs. If anyone has any other questions I'd be glad to answer them. Have a great season ! |
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Bamthor |
I wanted to post up a couple pics of the new boat and give my feedback on the buying process. The Dillers were excellent to deal with and very honest with their opinions. John and Ben helped me get the boat right on schedule and to find the best shipping method. I was expecting to hear some excuses which seems to be the new normal but they delivered everything when they said they would and in perfect condition. The boat was protected in plastic and had no major scratches of any kind. It is lighter than I expected and feels like air on my shoulders. I can honestly say I love the boat. It is rock solid, handles chop well, and is extremely roomy. This week will be the first trip to the BWCA so I'll report back if I have any issues but so far at least on the local lakes it has been a dream. |
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LarryS48 |
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Bamthor |
First off, light weight wasn’t my primary goal, durability was, so I blame Banksiana’s comment for tipping the scale this direction. Second, fortunately I’m in a position where my buddies all use 80k fishing boats so my wife didn’t go nuts when I told her I was dropping big bucks on a canoe since one of them just spent 6K on a trolling motor and talons. To me I’m going to run this baby hard for twenty years so the price is more palatable. As far as the specs go, I upgraded to the carbon yoke, thwarts, float tanks, and foot braces with the built in paddle holders for the ZRE power surge paddles, and the Textreme inner and outer layers, but still opted for the dual layer of Kevlar so basically four layers. The Textreme inner was just aesthetic as I think it looks better than yellow. It was a $200 upgrade, but saves about a pound. This is meant to be a rugged go-anywhere boat for fishing some of the big lakes and maintaining stability. He is also mounting some of my Ram track for the rod holders. I’m very aware it won’t be a Ferrari more like a souped up F350. We are doing the Crane Lake to Fowl trip this fall and I like the thought of a big boat that is still light. In talking to John, he said it should come in at 41 lbs because of the two layers of Textreme and carbon upgrades. If I would have opted for one layer of Kevlar instead of two, it would have dropped 4 to 5 lbs, but I wasn’t really looking for that. I wanted the piece of mind to run a few rapids and not stress about it. John said it would handle whitewater and rocks no problem with a moose in the middle. I’m not quite as big as a moose, but what the heck. I also really respect Dan Cooke and Rob K and they both run Savage Rivers so I figured that speaks well of the company. My options were slightly custom, but that’s the great thing about John, you’re dealing with a custom guy. I honestly think that all the builders - Souris River, Northstar, Swift, and Wenonah are great and each bring their own unique angle to the industry. This is the link: Savage River Voyager |
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kona |
The favorite bent shaft paddles of my lot are Savage River, a matched pair from an earlier era when he would do such a thing. These paddles are incredibly stiff, light, and a pleasure to use. Thinking you might be interested, I've attached a photo. |
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timatkn |
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Voyager |
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fishcane |
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mgraber |
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timatkn |
T |
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sns |
It did take me longer than it should have to get the trim right, but it did even better when it was true... |
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Bamthor |
I’ve read the reviews on the Williams and Hall boats they are all positive. I’ve also read Charlie Wilson's reviews on Textreme in general and Dan Cooke's reviews on his Deep Creek. I’ve just never seen any hands-on owner reviews on a Textreme boat in real world use. I was hoping somebody tells me they can run light rapids and beaver dams with it and it holds up. I know the Q17 can do that no problem. |
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Banksiana |
Savage River is among the best in reducing weight. Really good lay ups. I've only paddled the Deep Creek and the Blackwater so I can't address your specific model. Souris River's designs suffer from a lack of bow to stern stiffness- this might be a concern considering the mass of the paddlers and gear. The carbon fiber is more resistant to abrasion but more prone to fracture (like from sharp blows- i.e dropped on a rock) than kevlar. The Tex-treme is pretty to look at. |
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IronRangeMike |
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sns |
My Savage River, dog Cerberus and I head north tomorrow... |
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Bamthor |
I just sold my MN2 and am in the market for a larger stable tandem. I want something for big water and heavy gear that can still be fished from empty and be relatively stable. My typical load is 700to 800 lbs as my buddy and I run 265 each and we like carrying real food like steaks and pork chops so the food pack averages about 80 lbs. With that being said I want something with room in the bow to fish from but lighter than the Royalex Wenonah Champlain we usually take. This is most likely my last tandem purchase as I’m 50 so I want something light but tough as hell. The boat will be stored indoors. I’ve read everything I can on the Souris River and have paddled a Kevlar Q18 multiple times but I’ve never paddled a Savage River. I feel like the Deep Creek would be overloaded with us or I’d buy that so I’m leaning towards the Savage River Voyager in the Textreme with the dual Kevlar layup, foot brace, and carbon thwarts or the Q17 in the carbon layup with a foot brace. The two boats are basically identical in weight. Any feedback on either boat would be greatly appreciated. If anybody has a boat with the Textreme layup how has it held up? Any gripes about it? Thanks for your time. |
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LarryS48 |
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andym |
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Bamthor |
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fishcane |
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Banksiana |
sns: "Banksy, just out after my first solo in my Blackwater - it handled everything pretty perfectly, even the almost-one-mile psedo-bushwhack into a PMA lake. Only negative is the obvious turning aspect. You can lean to make corners, she'll keep you dry. I head out with the dog tomorrow. If I can remember how to put a trip together. |
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IronRangeMike |
Northstar's IXP is a great layup, but if you're thinking Savage or Souris River, you've probably got your heart set on an UL epoxy boat. I'm probably not going to sell you on the advantages of a B19 in IXP as its a little hefty at 76 lbs.... It'll be extremely seaworthy and bombproof though, mine sure is. They offer it in their blacklite and starlite layups as well at 55 & 49 lbs respectively. Might be worth considering... |
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Banksiana |
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cyclones30 |
And as for the border route...it should be fine now that the BWCA is mostly back open I believe |