Prospector 17.5

I can't say I'm the expert canoeist, but we have been canoeing for 30 years and within this time and throughout Ontario I've had adventures with aluminum Grummans (indestructible work horse that almost killed my back), fiberglass Swifts and kevlar Wenonahs and Scotts.

For last 4 years we are the proud owners of Souris River Protector (We-means me, my wife and our 90 pound dog Petrus ). In my opinion nothing beats Souris's workmanship, stability-primary and secondary and overall quality of paddling.If you also add lack of gelcoat as a bonus of lesser weight you have the canoe for life. The only minor minus is(that's why I gave it 9 not 10), that is somewhat slower than comparable my friend's Scotts or Alchemist fully loaded. Otherwise we can highly recommend Souris to everybody looking for the great canoe.

Just returned from a trip on the Churchill River. My Prospector's performance was great! Prior to the trip the Epoxy/Kevlar was showing it's age.(lots of oxidization) I wiped on four coats of diluted exterior polyurethane, sanding in between. The finish came back as close to new as a six/seven year old canoe could.

Performance: Capacity is excellent. Loaded for two weeks plus our 100lb. Malamute the canoe handled and paddled very well. Initial stability is OK but secondary is great. This canoe handled large waves very easily with the bow coming up on top of a wave whether we were quartering,going headon or downwind. We have a sliding bow seat which makes trimming the boat easy.

We were able to backferry and sneak down beside standing waves without a worry. At 55lb portaging is a breeze.

The Souris River Prospector 17.5 is perhaps the best canoe I've ever paddled! It has about 3.5" of rocker and handles much like a wood canoe as far as grace on the water is concerned. While caught in the wind on Basswood by Ely, MN, we needed to turn into the wind and I swung the bow around by myself in 2.5' whitecaps. My bow paddler (11-year-old son) didn't have quite the strength to turn sweep or draw in that situation. It also does not feel tippy in choppy water because of the round bottom. The waves pretty much slip right underneath. The Prospector has excellent secondary stability and might feel tippy to paddlers who have left the stable feel of flat-bottomed Grummans however. You also need to actually know paddling technique like a good J-Stroke and feathering. Overall, it tracks well, turns well, carries a big load and portages well. (mine is 44 lbs. in kevlar) The durability of the epoxy resin and flexible rib system is unbelievable. I accidentally dropped it on a round rock and it bounced with no damage other than a scratch. Other kevlar canoes that I've owned wouldn't do that. I'm very happy!