Profile

My wife and I have had a Tripper 17 for a couple of seasons and have used it in a variety of ways. We have paddled several different canoes over the past 30 years including the Pat Moore Peter Pond, Mad River Malecite, and Mad River Explorers (glass and Royalex). We are vigorous paddlers and our total weight is about 260#. The seats are not original, so I will note that both are about 10 inches above the floor of the boat.

This boat measures about 13.375" deep and jigs about 30.75" at the 4" waterline. The layup is nylon/kevlar with gellcoat. The weight 50#. As a tripper, it is small. We have had it on choppy lakes with about 400# in it and were getting an occasional slop over the rail. The speed is good but it is a rockered hull and will go into a slow spin rather than coast in a straight line when the paddlers stop paddling. Stability is adequate but not totally relaxed. The maneuverability makes it a very nice river tripper for class I, twisty water.

Paddled without a load it is speedy, very maneuverable, and durable. Stability is a little vague at our seat heights but kneeling or a foot brace works wonders. It will handle easy class 2 whitewater and is fast enough for paddling upstream on easier rivers. The gellcoat is extremely chip resistant and the layup can take some impact though is not Royalex. It tracks well enough to paddle hit and switch and is stable enough for us both to paddle hard on the same side without drama.

We have had it out in 18 to 24 inch surf and it did very well, dry enough to go out with some baling, fast enough to surf in, and maneuverable enough to make a quick turn at the beach to go back out. Compared to the Malecite it is equal speed, much more maneuverable, runs noticeably dryer in sloppy water but is more wind blown. Compared to the Explorers, it is much faster, turns better, is less stable and forgiving, and has much less capacity.

Because this canoe is light weight speedy and a fair whitewater and tripping boat, it is our best all-rounder.