Revelation

The Revelation is a great canoe for moving rivers. It is difficult on lakes with wind. It is a heavy boat at 70+ pounds. Royalex is a great material for the day and holds up well. If you want to pack a lot of gear and have ample room for a person in the bow to stretch their legs, I don't think you would be disappointed. I have had mine for about three years and just replaced the seats, yoke, and thwart. The gunnels are PVC and are holding up well. The stability is good and compliments multi-day trip with some added insurance for making dumping a little harder.

Wow, 17+ years with my green Royalex, vinyl gunwhaled Revelation and finally need to replace the cane seats. I have taken it down many 1-II and rare III rapids while portaging the beast on my shoulders on B.C's Bowron Lake circuit. Now days a canoe cart has made moving this good friend MUCH easier.

It has withstood bending it around a few rocks, busted center thwart-like impacts, been kept intact with early-in-life applied front and rear skid plates and patching of the dings. I have carried gear galore while teaching many how stable a canoe can be in modestly rough waters.

Even with its well described short comings I'll keep applying the 303 vinyl product until I can no longer get into the boat.

The less than 10 reviews here are a reflection of misplaced expectations placed on the Revelation. This is a high volume workhorse for expedition purposes. It cannot be all things to all people. The thing is, the more experience you do have, the more you will understand and appreciate a boat of this nature, even when it is not used for its specific purpose. Let me have a Revelation for extended tripping in the Everglades, flatwater/whitewater on the Allagash, or cooler cruising on the Delaware.

I used this boat for extended river tripping for several years. I found the construction/quality to be great compared to other boats I've owned. However, this boat is slow compared to everything else out there and wet in the rapids. I added a spray skirt but have since moved to a Starburst and I'm much happier.

Yeah its a heavy boat, but a 174 OT Discovery is just as heavy. The Revelation is great in moving water. I've taken mine on the Batiscan, Spanish and Dumoine Rivers. It operates fine in Class III if you know what you are doing and scout well. If you are planning on a long wilderness trip, with some whitewater this is an excellent boat. The guys who bring 16' MR Explorers always look real cramped.

I have owned my duck hunter, which is the revelation hull for about 5 years. i have taken it on several BWCA trips and to Canada 4 times on rivers and lakes. I feel this is a great tripping canoe that can do most things well, perhaps none excellently. I use this canoe as my go to canoe on trips where I am uncertain of conditions. Why, because this canoe will not fail in tough situations. If you are going into the Canadian Bush you need a rugged, tough canoe that will not fail. this canoe does that. On flatwater it is slow but stable and great for fishing and hauling gear. On rivers it is stable and even though I have gone down rapids in reverse I have never had this canoe tip on me. Its biggest drawback is on portages. I can portage this canoe one half mile without any trouble. I have portaged it one mile. It is heavy. But then, portaging has a lot to do with technique. I am only 5'8" and 52, but have no problem portaging it. Shorter portages are not a problem. Nevertheless, you need to be able to portage a 78 lb. canoe if you plan to use it for tripping. My hull has held up reasonably well but after 5 years I may put skidplates on the bow and stern. The overall workmanship is great and durable. I highly recommend this canoe as a general purpose tripping boat.

The first thing to know before buying the Revelation is to realize that it is designed for RIVER tripping. It will not track (or go in a straight line) well because it has 3" of rocker (raised bow and stern). This boat is designed to give the paddler a mix of quick maneuverability, stability, and tracking. What that means is that it will do all of these things well, it will not excel at any of them.

With that said, If you want a canoe with acceptable speed and tracking, and very good maneuverability, intial stability, and secondary stability, than this is the boat for you. This boat will gobble up gear, and never lose a bit of it's performance. However, do not plan on paddling this boat by yourself. With a freeboard capacity of 1200 lbs, its like a cork with only one person. I have owned this boat for year and have used it on many trips, both flatwater and moving. Although it is slow compared to my friends' flatwater boats, I can run rivers without the arm strain of trying to turn a boat with a keel.

The only thing I don't love about this boat was that it was only available with wooden or aluminum gunwales. I would have been much happier with vinyl because it is easier to care for and more indestructable than wood, and much better looking than aluminum. Mine is the color cherry, with ash gunwales, and it looks like a piece of art.

Below you will see this boat compared to a log, and a diving platform. If you want straight line tracking and speed, buy a composite boat with a full keel and slight to no rocker (From Mad River, look at the Lamoille, or the Malicite). But if you want to trip on moving water (I have had mine in class III whitewater), than definately look at this boat.

By all means, you should paddle every boat before you buy it. Buying a boat before you've paddled it, is like buying a car without driving it. Most companies do demos all over the country throughout the summer.

P.S. I am not a Mad River representative, I do however work in a store that sells boats (although not Mad River canoes), and love their products.

This royalex canoe is beautifully crafted, with nicely carved woodwork. One would think it an art piece. Paddling it on flatwater even down stream is a different story and one without much pleasure. My paddling partner described it as giving her the same feel as she gets from paddling over a dense mat of aquatic weeds. For me it is like paddling a log. In a good cruiser the canoe glides, but this is more like a slow ardourous process.

I have noted reviews where it would make a good diving platform. And would be a good freighter, but I would not recommend it to someone who likes to cruise. It might serve as a barge carrying a large load.

A really good friend got one in mint condition for $500.00 and sold it for $500.00 within a year. He would not paddle it when he had it when he had a choice; avoiding it like the plague. He has many boats and has never sold one that I know. When he and his girlfriend were paddling with us they had a hard time keeping up, something that never happened before.

I am sure there are things it would be good at but one of them is not paddling for pleasure or cruising that is for sure. I cannot believe the high numbers of the previous reviews. And strongly recommend you paddle this before you buy it. There are many great canoes out there that will bring your great pleasure, this one is not one I would recommend.

The rating of a 5 is mostly because of the craftsmanship and the woodwork. I give it a 0 for the design and paddling pleasure.

Stable with or without a load. Good to fish from. Doesn't oilcan like most royalex canoes. Only drawback is weight, which is a fair trade-off for all of it's other attributes.

Used this canoe in lakes and rivers. Handled well in current and extreme wind conditions. Four adults were in the boat and it handled like a champ.

Mine: Royalex, green with ash gunwales, medium rocker, symmetrical hull with light V-bottom and flared ends: Very stable, stiff, medium heavy, runs dry in big waves; carries parents, two children and a lot of gear with ease. An ideal family tripping canoe with beeing a little bit more a whitewater canoe than a lake tripper (full ends/rocker/V-bottom - good, but not excessive speed on flat water). Beautiful just to look at.