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Name: sailor1031

Most Recent Reviews

Our Mattawa is a kevlar fusion model. Used primarily around the St Regis area of upstate NY and here in Virginia in the lower Rappahannock.
First: this is a very comfortable canoe with seats formed specially for kneeling against - a nice touch. Excellent initial and final stability. Light and handles well in brisk winds. With optional kneeling thwart it's a great single - I wish I would have had this years ago in Labrador and N Quebec.

I bought this several years ago when my aging body started to rebel at schlepping heavy FG or plastic canoes around the woods. The light weight makes for easy portaging especially for daytrips or overnights and was a major selling point. We tried other makes of canoe in the same range but this was the best for us. We've never regretted that decision.

Last year an issue arose with some deterioration of the clear gelcoating. Long story short, Bill Swift took the canoe back to Ontario (I just had to get it to NY) where they completely refinished the hull coating at THEIR expense. Bill thought it shouldn't have happened and he was going to fix it. Because of discoloration of the kevlar they coated it in the Champagne gelcoat. Result: I now have a Mattawa that looks brand new. Colour me impressed by this level of customer service.

Bottom line: if you want an excellent canoe made by a man who stands behind his product 100% I don't know how you'd beat a Swift.