Summersong

I've had my Summersong now for over a year and have paddled it many times and in various conditions. Been quite pleased with it's performance. Coming from kayaks and a surf ski, I found the Summersong very stable and quite fast. At 44-45 lbs, it's easy to lift and carry.

The Summersong I have is 28 years old and I did a complete restoration, the boat looks almost new and does attract quite a bit of attention. Overall, I'm very happy with this acquisition.

Wow, wow, wow. Mine is a kevlar Summersong. The measurements are 15'6" by 27 1/2" wide, 23" at gunnels. Mine has a rudder, so I won't have trouble in the wind. I think this is as narrow and long a boat I want for flatwater. It is not a river canoe, although it'd be fine for slow rivers.

Wow, wow, wow. My favorite, perhaps (yes) over Bell Merlin II, maybe even over Magic. Nice, nice hull...

I've owned a Summersong for 15 years. It's the goldenglass layup. Also in our inventory of solo's is a Lotus Bucktail, Sawyer Shockwave, d.y. Special, starlight, autum mist, curtis vagabond, and a bell magic. Over the years I've used all the Wenonah solo's and a few others. As a friend of mine once stated, the Summersong is simply the "Boston Whaler" of solo canoes.

My Summersong has been a good friend for many years. I bought it used at The Chicagoland Canoe Base in the early 90's. The original owner left it there on consignment, he claimed that he couldn't keep it upright. I assume he was a big dude with not much experience. As soon as I layed eyes on this boat,it was love at first sight. I was looking for a solo to kick around on local rivers and The Summersong has been a pure joy. Previous reviewers have mentioned that you have to learn this boat, I completely agree. Because of the lack of rocker, this boat can be a challenge to turn. This can be compensated for by thinking ahead and anticipating the next turn. I think this adds to the joy of paddling. It's kinda like driving a 5speed sports car on a winding road. Your more involved in the process and you become part of the machine. Of course when you remove rocker you gain speed, and lots of it. The glide on this boat is amazing. Another advantage of no rocker is that you can easily keep a straight tack without switching. I belong to a paddling club and I can easily keep pace with even the strongest tandem paddlers.We hit the rivers every weekend and I get alot of comments on the beautiful design of the Summersong. I have an 86' with a foot brace and a sliding seat,which I like a lot. It also has holes for changing the elevation of the seat. I have done over 40 trips in BWCA/Quetico area. I have done two solo trips and I rented a Winona Advantage both times. I didn't realy feel comfortable bringing the Summersong at the time as it is a bit undersized for the task. I think I've changed my mind on this and if I do another solo I will use my Summersong. I would not recommend this boat to newbies, however experienced paddlers would be very impressed with the speed and uncanny stability of this wonderfuly designed boat. Peace

First I bought a Sawyer Autumn Mist. The next year I traded in for a Summersong with foot brace and fore-aft/vertical adjustable seat. My wife paddles a Blackhawk Zepher and I've paddled solo touring canoes by Mad River, Swift, Clipper and other Blackhawks. We've been on numerous backcountry trips in Ontario, Georgian Bay, the Everglades and Okefenokee Swamp (sp?). Big lakes, wide open bays, large rivers, and small streams. No whitewater above class I - definitely not the realm of the Summersong. The Summersong is a fast, capable tripper. Responds equally friendly whether using steering strokes or sit-&-switch. Very straight tracking yet can turn "on a dime" with the right amount of lean. I lean the Summersong way over without experiencing instability - the paddle is a trusty outrigger. When playing around I routinely heel over till water comes over the gunwales - not an easy task but possible with practice. Very comfortable paddling - no having to reach out due to extreme tumblehome. Very ample room for gear and food - disappear for several weeks no problem. Very bouyant in the bow to rise over waves and chop for a dry ride (I've never taken water over the bow - but I don't charge foolishly into snarly breaking waves either). My best story is of one trip in Georgian Bay south of Killarney: I paddle with a 48" and a 56" bent shaft. This particular day, about the 6th day out on a 11 day trip, the waves were enormous! They were coming at me on my starboard bow quarter. I sat with the seat at it lowest position. I was using my 48". When I was in the trough between waves I could reach up with my bentshaft and the tip of my outstretched paddle over my head was below the crest of the wave. That puts the waves at around eight feet high from trough to crest. I'm not exagerating! I was laughing the whole time. It was totally unbelievable. My wife was in her sea kayak having a great time. I've paddled head on and quartering in 20+ knot winds gusting to 30+ knots and made great headway with sit&switch power paddling. I've paddled equally in extremely narrow twisty streams and with outward leans and an offside post I fared just as well if not better than my wife in her freestyle rockered Blackhawk. Lastly I want to say that my wife loves her Blackhawk and doesn't like the straight tracking Summersong as much. Friends have taken our solos out and some like the Summersong and others don't. Everyone looks for something different in a canoe. The Summersong was radical when it showed up for the "Vortex of Visionaries" back in the 80s and it's still just as radical today. I also like paddling a legend.

I bought a new Summersong in 1987 and didn't know what I was getting into. After much awkward frustration and a LOT of time, I mastered the boat. Took it on small windy streams and surfed barge wakes on the Mississippi. I loved it. I also have a 19 foot Current Designs Extreme kayak. I can't prove this, but the Summersong feels faster. Only drawback to the Summersong is that all its good for is to paddle. I've tried fishing, photography, and camping. No way. One person rating the Summersong here said that their boat had no foot brace nor 4-way seat. Mine has both, but then I've never seen another Summersong.