16' 6"
Length
discontinued

This Product Has Been Discontinued

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Raven Description

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Raven Reviews

Read reviews for the Raven by Swift Canoe & Kayak as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

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5

I purchased my Royalex Raven…

Submitted by: opensideup on 9/21/2015
I purchased my Royalex Raven in 2002 for a celebratory solo from Lac des Oeufs to Whapmagoustoui via the Coates and Great Whale Rivers which Steve M. and I helped the Cree to save with "The Voyage of Odeyav 1990'.

I was looking for a forgiving solo boat with volume in the ends. I needed capacity for the food for 36 days, ax, saw, tent, fly, bag and me. Headwinds suggested lowish ends. The sharp rock of the Coates made Royalex the best choice, but age (56) over-ruled and I went with Royalte.

I bought my boat after testing several thoughtful Swift types with my load weight aboard at a Demo Day at the Rideau Canoe Club from Mr. Swift, and drove it home to Massachusetts for fine tuning...... My purchase was a bit of a risk, because the Raven had either too much or too little rocker for me. But my background in one/off strip canoe building and design (including Rob Perkin's Loon) permitted me to go ahead and buy. So here's where Raven became 'Bernadette'.

I removed the excellent synthetic webbed Swift seat and cross thwarts and rigged four thule straps around sections of the hull at regular intervals. Then I tightened up the straps, cinching the midship gunwale beam in from the designed specs at 32" one inch at a time. I weighted her, got in and test paddled for the performance I required.

After two hours, I was at 29" mid ship gunwale beam. The performance, tracking, turning, location of buoyancy was perfect for me. So I carefully sawed down the thwarts and seat, varnished the ends and reinstalled them, noting how they held the Raven in a new form - tough and sweet.

The Raven and I spent 33 days crossing heights of land in upper watersheds leading to some weeks on the intimate Coates and massive Great Whale Rivers to Hudsons Bay.

My conclusion: The materials and lines of the Raven were excellent for everything I faced except in the hydraulics of the Great Whale Gorge where my memories of the old Eastman '71 trip were rekindled by a swim. Note to canoe designers; This gorge was where the Crooked Canoe in Adney and Chapelle was fine tuned.

My criticism: The 'vee' bottom has no place in my river canoe. The 'vee' caught on many sharp rocks, rubbed throught the gel coat exposing sensitive plastic to sunlight, and slows the boats turning in a jam.......Sorry the mistaken "shallow vee" malarky ever achieved credibility to sell otherwise extraordinary contributions to N.American canoeing.

When I arrived at Great Whale River, Mathew Mukash (former Cree Nation Grand Chief and brilliant designer of Odeyak) took me to the dozen old building beds for the 'Crooked Canoes' pictured in Adney and Chappell's Classic book. Wow!

The Raven was for me a 10! materials, durability, function. But please loose that 'vee' and My vote is Super 10!

4

I've owned 20 canoes , 10…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 12/4/2011
I've owned 20 + canoes , 10 of them solo and paddled others that belonged to paddling buddies. The Raven is the best long distance (7+ days) big water solo tripping boat on the market. Of course everything is a compromise in canoe design with speed and tracking ability balanced with gear carrying capacity, maneuverability and a dry entry. The Raven's best feature is ample capacity and a bow with enough volume and purposeful sheer to keep things pretty dry. Since fully loaded tripping boats rely less on turning ability than ease of ferrying to maneuver the 3"//2 1/2" bow/stern rocker is a little excessive (2 1/2" //2" would probably be better)and a little less rocker would make tracking and ferrying a tad easier. That said the Raven is not a difficult boat to paddle straight and has very comfortable appointments (read seat!). The extra rocker would actually be a plus if you were running a rapid with the boat empty. The deep hull and pronounced (for a tripping boat) rocker can make paddling this boat a bear in windy conditions but if you're using it for it's intended purpose you'd probably want to add a spraydeck which will help to ameliorate the effects of the wind - plus keep you all-around drier in any situation
4

This is a good wilderness…

Submitted by: paddler232648 on 6/12/2008
This is a good wilderness tripper. Good speed on open water, tracks well, OK glide, turns in moving water (have not had it out in any class 3 yet), good primary and great secondary stability and you can stand up to scout rapids.

You can easily put in a propack and small pack and still trim it so the gear is not jammed in the ends. If I was ordering one I ask for aluminum trim to save weight. Or look for a used Royalite.

This a better canoe than the SuperNova (not as fast). The Mad river Guide(aka solo Freedom) is nice but lacks the volume for extended trips.

4

I concur with the previous…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 9/15/2006
I concur with the previous review. On flat water, no wind, it's am agile and quick canoe, easily kept on track. Not too shabby in a light crosswind breeze, either.

On a solo canoe trip, with a pack fore and aft, it really shows it's tracking abilities. on rivers and streams that twist and turn it is very maneuverable. I do wish that it had a sliding seat to better distribute weight, but when tripping, pack placement does the trick. The kneeling pads are great.

I suggest the use of 303 Protectant on the hull for UV protection and to keep the boat looking great.

5

What a beautiful boat!…

Submitted by: paddler231461 on 2/23/2006
What a beautiful boat! Signature model. The perfect river tripping canoe. I found it used at an outfitter who did not know what he had. It did everything well and looked good doing it.