Plastic or Glass?

[Joe Hyde]

Wow! That Quessy is one beautiful canoe. Besides its raw attractiveness, it has a couple of features that are very useful to the owner. One of these features I've seen on just one other canoe.

The first would be those upward curving carry thwarts, located at each end? The shape of these give relief to the hand when you and your partner are carrying the boat (one person on each end) with your carry arm hanging straight down. The upward curved shape of the grab thwarts lets the canoe pendulum in the hand during the carry; there is no lateral strain on the wrist.

The other feature really blows me away. Take a look at the center thwart; immediately aft of the center thwart you see what at first appears to be a secondary cross-thwart (between the center thwart and the stern seat). Actually, this is a kneeling thwart intended for use by a lone paddler who is propelling this tandem canoe in the solo style.

Notice that this kneeling thwart is suspended on each end by hangers? This lowers the thwart so that when you rest your butt on it your body mass is automatically positioned lower in the boat (which lowers the boat's center of gravity and balance, thus improving stability).

And...look below this kneeling thwart and you will see foam kneeling pads that the manufacturer has glued onto the bilge surface. No need for you to buy aftermarket pads to keep your knees comfortable while paddling solo style; this boat comes with kneeling pads already installed! This kneeling thwart/kneeling pad design is very well thought out and executed.

Plus...it looks like bow (and probably stern) kevlar skid patches are standard equipment on this model. These durable, abrasion-resistant patches are very useful protective devices, especially important to have on any canoe in the area of the world where you live. Due to past glacier actions that have scrubbed away much of Canada's topsoil, most of the places where people go canoeing you encounter granite stones and formations. Granite is a rock with absolutely NO sense of humor when a canoe hull comes in contact with it.

Anyway, this is a really beautiful, highly functional boat -- both for tandem paddling and solo paddling.

My only general complaint about canoes with all-wood trim is that they have a higher need for regular maintenance. Especially the gunwales. If you buy one of these puppies, Chris, I suggest you make a spot for it inside your garage or under an awning -- anyplace where you can store it away from sun, rain and snow.

Someplace out of sight would be nice, too. If your first boat looked good enough to attract thieves, think how they'll drool if they spot this baby strapped on your roof rack.


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[fcch]

Joe,

Add also the sliding bow seat to balance the load.

I believe the home page shows one of their top of the line jobs. I prefer aluminum fitting because my gear gets pretty abused

As for the stolen boat, ... It was sort of my fault leaving it hidden in the woods for 3 months . I'm looking for a place to store the new one as the new apartment doesn't have a garage.

[Joe Hyde]

Chris,


Yeah, I like aluminum trim better, too. It's not as pretty, that's for sure, but a lot more utilitarian.

Maybe Quessy makes this canoe with aluminum gunwales while still maintaining the wood center thwart, carry thwarts, kneeling thwart and seats? That would be nice.

I can't read, write or speak Spanish and my French is even worse. But from looking at the pamphlet link I would hazard a guess that this canoe is made in French-speaking Quebec. If that's the case, then due to their strong sense of independence I would not expect the company to make available an English language version of that pamphlet.

Whether that's the situation this is really a beautiful canoe, one I've never seen while exploring canoes on-line. Could be I just missed it, is all.

Very nice boat.


Joe
"Better small than not at all."

[fcch]

Actually I'm pretty lucky. In the region here, there are a dozen or so makers. Mostly fiberglass. I'm moving on monday-tuesday, ... then I'll start seriously looking over the different shops.

[bowfin47]

I've been white watering and fishing out of my Blue Hole, an ABS white water canoe, for well over 25 years... and I purchased it used! No glass boat would have survived the abuse this boat has taken over the years... and it still looks pretty good!

As a white water canoe's high profile catches too much wind, it isn't the best for fishing, but an ABS boat kept out of the direct sun is indistructible. Even if ya' don't give it proper care, the life of an ABS canoe can be extremely long. My Blue Hole has never been 'treated right", i.e. stored indoors or under cover, but rather, it has spent almost all of its life "up under the bushes" or just shaded in the filtered light of my huge oak. It's faded a little, but the vinyl and ABS is still in excellent shape.

Beside glass boats are too heavy, "grab" rocks and dump ya' when ya' least expect it, and crack upon impact with solid objects.

Oh yeah, and the gel coat of a glass boat doesn't hold up too well to long term exposure to direct sun... I own that tee shirt also.

my two cents...

Bowfin47

PS

While oysters will chaff and scratch glass and plastic, plastic is still more forgiving of the damage.