Tripper

Have owned Tripper since 2003 and use it on mountain lakes and rivers in Oregon/Washington ranging in size from Deschutes to Columbia. Canoe handles all waters extremely well, even when winds come up on large lakes. Often carry 2 adults w/camping gear for extended periods to out-of-the-way sites. Canoe always serves us well. Fast, stable, easy to paddle distances - love the tractor seats for comfort and better paddling entry. Very maneuverable compared to other canoes I have tried. Relatively lightweight for 17'6" canoe at 71 lbs - easy to cartop. Narrow bow entry cuts through waves rather than slamming through them. Good for 2 adults with small kids (2) or dog as well. Can't say enough good things about this canoe - would highly recommend. Love it and if it ever wears out (no sign after all these years/trips) I would buy another without hesitation - they are that good!

Good things; Faster than hell. Easily the fastest canoe I've owned. Little rocker meant it was easy to keep on a straight line.

Turning it was interesting. My partner and I found that if we leaned it hard enough we could do a very snappy eddy turn, but that much lean was deep into the secondary stability: The edge between enough lean to turn fast, and a bit more that required changing your turn to a high brace in a hurry wasn't very big.

I'm a 'motor moron' It takes me a large number of reps to learn a new mechanical skill. My partner Murray was a lot faster at picking this up. We figured it out with under a dozen dumpings.

The Tripper, for speed has a narrow bow and stern. This gives it a tendency to cut through the waves, instead of bouncing over them.

The answer here was easy too: Go through big waves backwatering lightly. This gave the bow time to rise over the crest. If you did this through a hay stack however, it gave more time for foam to pour over the gunnels. The balance was learned over few fills, where, after each, we'd paddle gingerly to shore to empty out.

Most of this learning was done on a training course on the canyon on the Athabasca river just below the falls. Long runs of big class II+ water

This is a great canoe for running rivers like the Yukon, Slave, McKenzie, where rapids are infrequent. It's a great canoe for Northern Saskatchewan where most of your time is on small lakes separated by portages.

It's satisfactory for expeditions, as long as the paddlers are experienced. E.g. I would seriously consider this canoe as MY boat when leading a group of kids in Discover 169's say. The faster lines give me enough speed to check up on members of a group slightly scattered, and the difficulty of handling in white water makes me more conscious of the new paddlers limitations.

Mine was in fiberglass. This makes for a moderately heavy portage. We usually portaged with 2, with one person under the sternplate and the front person resting the bowplate on one shoulder.

Build quality was good. Because it's FRP, it will show wear, and the narrow ends concentrate that wear on the centerline of the bow and stern. If you are going to use it on rough country, buy and place the kevlar skid plates now.

I hate the tractor seats. Both of us had trouble kneeling for rapids. I generally find them too low, and I don't feel I can get power with my feet that far in front of me and my back unbraced. We ended up putting spacer blocks between the seat and the support brackets, raising the front a bit over an inch, and the back a bit over 2 inches. This gave the most comfortable position for kneeling and was good for paddling too, provding you had a load that you could brace your foot against to keep from sliding off.

We weren't finished experimenting with the seats when the canoe was stolen.

Other things:

Aluminum gunnels wear against paddles, and the resulting very find powdered aluminum is black. on hands. It's also bright and shiny--one of the reasons I don't like aluminum canoes.

Split PE pipe can be used to cover the gunnels, but it adds pounds. If I get another boat with aluminum gunnels I will cover the aluminum with the marking tape they use on gym floors. This will wear through on actual wear points, but the bulk of the metal will be covered, saving both the black problem and the reflection issue.

The workmanship in these boats is by far the best I have seen and the attention to detail does not go unnoticed, with features like the sliding bow seat that make it an excellent option for families with kids who want to paddle from the front without the canoe riding stern heavy.

...on the river, the Tripper handled the moving water eagerly and with ease. Not once did we find ourselves concerned with the stability of the craft and were content to point and shoot our way down the length of the river.

The build quality was fantastic (I've never seen a better showing fiberglass or Kevlar canoe), the black aluminum trim and eye-catching colours really set the boat apart. The sliding tractor seat in the bow really made a difference for keeping us trim and dry in some of the rougher conditions we found ourselves in, and in the fiberglass lay-up we had the opportunity to paddle, the weight was considerably more manageable out of the water than our 15 foot 'Alouette'.

All in all it was a very eye-opening experience for us, and beyond a shadow of a doubt my next canoe purchase will be a CLIPPER.

This boat is really fast, none of my friends can keep up in their canoes. Will probably trade mine in for a Ultra-Lite Kevlar model in the next couple years.

We have transported big game animals in it, even towed a moose shot in the water across the lake - but that was a workout! so decent load capacity

It has excellent secondary stability even for less experienced folks we have lent it too in challenging wind-whitecap conditions.
It's been a big part of the family.

Only reason I give it an 8 is it's terrible for Solo, and on real windy days on our large northern boreal forest lakes (yes one of them is Grey Owl's lake :))the bow catches the wind and if you have a weak partner in front, it will require more zig-zags to get where you want to go.

What a beautiful craft. Fit and finish is excellent. On the water this canoe moves very well. My wife and I were imediately impressed. With bent shaft paddles there is little effort to make this thing go and keep it going. It's very fast. We have paddled the Tripper in calm and rough conditions and have never once felt nervous. Wind does affect it's tracking (tends to turn perpendicular) if it's not loaded but I believe it will do better with a few hundred extra pounds. Initial stability is less than the "prospector" canoes that I've paddled in the past, but I would still rate it as "good". After a few outings it was no longer an issue. Final stability is excellent. On one choppy outing, my wife and I let the canoe drift with the 2'+ waves (perpendicular) and as mentioned before never felt nervous. Very stable!

I tried paddling this thing solo without much luck. The slightest amount of a breeze will have you frustrated in seconds. There's simply too much boat out of the water for that sort of application. The only way I could get any real control was to sit in the centre like in a kayak. But the reach to the water with the paddle is too much.

So now I'm in need of a solo canoe too!

All and all, we are very satisfied. I believe anyone looking for a tandem family / interior expidition / touring canoe would be a fool to not seriously consider this wonderful craft.