Peregrine (Falcon Series)

I bought the Peregrine without a test paddle, something I was more than a little worried about but given the history of the design and knowing the many canoes of similar design I decided to go for it. Prior to this canoe, I've owned three Bell Magic's, a Mad River Independence, a Mad River Traveler, and Bell Morningstar. I currently also own a Swift Keewaydin 16 tandem. I had strongly considered buying another Magic as I do love the way they handle but don't love the aesthetics. Despite my changing my mind a few times on what options I wanted, Dave built the boat I finally had settled on. I had two other canoes built from different manufactures where that was not the case.

I met one of Dave's employees in Erie, PA to pick up the canoe which saved me six hours of driving. Unfortunately the canoe was damaged along the way. So, I'll have to make the eight hour round drive again to pick up the replacement canoe. I'm not excited about having to make the long drive but the silver lining is that I am changing the layup from Premium Plus to Premium Lite. I found that the Premium Plus is really built way stronger than I should ever need. It's construction is rock solid, there appears to be zero flex in the hull and even tying it down on my car is a different experience from my past canoes. I use rope and do not over tighten my tie down. But, I don't think it really matters with the Hemlock build unless you use some type of lever you're not going to hurt this canoe. It's nice not having to worry about it. It also has the best woodwork I've ever seen outside my 1980's built MR Indy. The ash gunwales and walnut decks are incredible. There are a few minor blemishes in the carbon Kevlar fabric but I think that's understandable in a hand layup.

The Peregrine has great secondary stability to the point where I really had to force the rail down to the water to test it. I find it a little tender when the rail is right on the water but that is likely a function of my stiff hips and the fact that the canoe is leaned over quite a bit when placed in this position. I'm still learning about the canoe and will update the review after my first loaded wilderness trip later this summer. It is a very dog friendly canoe.

Although it may be useful to some to see a review from someone who has owned the boat for a length of time, I see those are already there and I'd like to give my impressions as a new solo canoeist.

I didn't spend much time shopping around for solo boats because Hemlock is so close to me and I could paddle them as often as I wanted at demo nights. My first time in a Peregrine I had no interest in even buying a solo canoe. I took it out just to go out for a paddle with someone else who was in a Kestrel. I was a bit underwhelmed by my first paddle in the boat but I quickly learned it wasn't the boats fault. I wasn't very proficient with a solo stroke or heeling a narrow boat so I found it a bit hard to get good speed and turn. That said, I spent a good two hours out in it and never felt compromised. I got around where I needed to go and was able to switch between kneeling and sitting. I had been in this boat for a short time before this and also paddled the Eaglet solo, a larger and wider boat than the Peregrine.

After a month or two I began to get the urge to seriously consider buying a solo canoe. I'd paddled my tandem solo and felt more comfortable doing so. The attraction was a lighter and sleeker hull that I could use on long carries without as much effort.

When continuing my testing, I decided maybe I should try a Kestrel. This was based on my lukewarm feeling for the Peregrine based on earlier paddles. I am a bit large for a Kestrel, weighing in at an average of 200lbs and standing 5'-1O". Dave assured me that larger paddlers than myself could handle the small boat no problem. After my first test with the Kestrel I was in love. The boat did everything I wanted it to! It turned, accelerated fast and handled wind and waves with ease. Because of my lack of experience in a solo boat I was urged by others to keep trying the Kestrel or consider a Peregrine for extra stability.

My next test day I soon found out why. I found it difficult to maneuver myself around the cockpit of the smaller craft and soon found myself in the water! It was then I decided to give the Peregrine another look.

I soon found that I had come a ways in terms of my stroke and confidence in a solo boat and the Peregrine seemed to do everything very well. I also found I could be quite aggressive with moving about in the cockpit and switching between sitting and kneeling with no concerns of falling in... this was an added bonus.

Another day of testing with the Peregrine and I decided I would buy one. It is a very good beginners boat I would say. When you are a bit green it won't bite you too hard and it rewards you when you push it a little farther. I thought the boat was slow at first but it is actually rather quick as has a sick glide. It is, as others have said, secretly fast.

All in all, an awesome solo boat for any ability level and for those who are larger and/or want to carry a big load. Not quite the sports car that the Kestrel is, but a sleek cruiser none-the-less. I opted to pick up a new-old-stock Kevlar hybrid weighing in at 33lbs that Dave had listed on his website.

I have now had my Peregrine on a couple of extended trips. One was on large lakes in the Temagami region of Ontario (eight days) and another in Everglades National Park (eight days)

My Peregrine is a 2008 model in the expedition layup. I bought it for extended trips that might involve dropping the canoe by accident on sharp rock and lining for portage-less areas. I needed something tougher than a Kevlar only layup.

It is pleasant to be able to cruise at 4 mph effortlessly. Leaned to the rail, it turns almost in its own length. I used it on the Noble Hammock water trail in Florida which has a couple of hundred turns on itself in two miles.

A couple of complaints. The stern is sticky. When the boat started to swing off downwind on the Gulf of Mexico, it took some sharp stern draws to kick it back in line... Weighting forward helped but the paddle reach is therefore father. Peregrine could probably use some more stern rocker.

Mine is a two tone boat. The tape that delineates the white from the green came off with the first rub against a rock. Frankly I would rather dispense with the tape. However the delineation of white and green is far from straight and has a uncomfortable wave in it. I would not reorder a two tone color combo, but the white bottom does hide scratches.

Flipping the hull over reveals there is a small hog in the keelline. In theory that should affect performance but all it does is make me not worry about scratches in the boat. Its not a perfect boat so I will wilderness trip without worrying about ruining it.
I have the Ed's bucket seat. Its well worth the price.

I have spent 30 years paddling a 15ft. Grumman believing that I was pretty good at it. My leap to a solo canoe was rooted in a strong desire to do some Adirondack tripping and needing a boat light enough for those 2 and 3 mile portages I envisioned. I did not do extensive research on solos but I was aware of this guy in Hemlock, NY that built canoes. Meeting Dave Curtis I found a man who possessed strong opinions on design, construction methods, and materials. Being a woodworker myself this pleased me, (one should have conviction to their craft). After a 4 hour test paddle on Canadice Lake I told Dave to build my premium hull peregrine.

That was one year and hundreds of paddled miles ago. In that time I have learned that I really am good at this and lament not having jumped to a dedicated solo years ago. Mine is about 34lbs. and performs as advertised, (a great lake tripper). I am 5'-8" 162lbs. and prefer kneeling with a single blade straight shaft paddle. On a recent lake trip carrying 65lbs. of gear I was surprised to have covered 13 miles in 4 hours of casual paddling. This included a portage around a dam and several stops because fellow paddlers wanted to admire my canoe. The same trip had miles of wilderness river with hairpin turns, log jams, and beaver dams all negotiated without difficulty. This canoe has performed beyond my expectations, secretively fast, maneuverable enough, and light. I would give it a 10 if I believed perfection by humans was possible.

Although I have only had my Peregrine a short time, I feel I know enough about now it to write a fair review. It was a bit of a leap of faith for me to buy the boat, since I did not test paddle it before buying. Hemlock Canoe works is about 600 miles from me and uses no dealers. I made my decision to buy the Peregrine based on research and on the well-known reputation of Dave Curtis. My original plan was to drive up and test paddle it, but with gas at $2 a gallon I decided to have it shipped instead. Dave did a great job of wrapping the boat and it arrived without a scratch. The first thing that impressed me was the quality of workmanship. My boat is the premium layup in gleaming white, with ash gunwhales and walnut decks. The overall woodwork is very good with nice details like scuppered decks and bevelled edges. The Kevlar/carbon fiber cloth appears to have been carefully layed up, and even the indside of the boat is very attractive. She weighs in at 33 lbs. The Peregrine is designed for lake paddling, but would do well on larger rivers as well. The secondary stability is outstanding. The boat tracks well, and when leaned will carve a decent turn. And man, she is fast! She slices through the water like a knife and has excellent glide. Dave mounts the seat high, which is ideally suited for kneeling and using a straight shaft paddle (my personal preference). However, it would also be possible to sit and use a bent shaft as well. I deliberately turned the boat parallel to approaching powerboat wakes to see what happened, and the boat took them without giving me any cause for alarm. The Peregrine is fast, predictable, and beautiful. She is going with me on an extended trip this summer to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. I am anxious to see how she does with a week's worth of gear. I am certain that she will be a joy to carry on the portage trail. I would recommend the Peregrine to any intermediate to advanced paddler looking for a fast flatwater tripper. I think that giving a boat a score of 10 requires something special, and in this case I feel it is deserved.