Super

Last year I drove from Minneapolis down to Madison and picked up an old 1975 Sawyer "Super" in sunshine yellow for $350.
The online ad said it was an unlabeled "racing class" canoe and from my initial once-over everything looked good. Later when adjusting the seats, I noticed they had "super" scrawled on the bottom of them from the factory. It did appear long and narrow but not having another canoe around to compare it to, I figured it was similar to my friends Cruiser I am used to paddling. I also thought the "floats" looked a bit odd. But the seller was a real nice guy whom had no use for it and I was in a buying mood so it was a done deal.

We put it in the water on a calm evening and I noticed right away the 10" depth was quite a bit lower than the Cruiser. Even with two paddlers and no gear the boat seemed to not have a lot of freeboard to spare. But I can confirm that it REALLY MOVES in the water. It’s really effortless to paddle, tracks smooth, and feels really stable.

Its a bit harder to steer (more work than the cruiser) and I am a bit hesitant to take it tripping in the BWCA for fear of taking on too much water when packed down (here the Cruiser or a Minnesota II would be preferred). But for a recreational canoe on local lakes it is pretty fast and sweet.