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| New boat arrives home |
I have a new boat – a 15-year old, but like-new Mad River Outrage. I bought it from Nancy Gero, and picked it up this week. A great find.
Mad River Canoe was founded in 1971 by Jim Henry in a shed at his home near the Mad River in VT. In its early years, Mad River was known for innovative designs and the use of new materials. Mad River was among the first to mold Royalex canoes in 1973, and introduced Kevlar to the canoe industry in 1974. Its best-known canoe, the Explorer, was introduced in 1975. Mad River merged with Wilderness Systems in 1998 to form Confluence Watersports, which would later acquire the Dagger, Harmony and Perception brands.
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| Bags installed - ready to go |
In 1995, Mad River introduced the Outrage whitewater canoe, which was designed by Tom Foster and Jim Henry. The Outrage is a fish-form design (widest section forward of the centerline producing a buoyant bow that is ideal for paddling upstream and rising over large waves) with soft chines, a shallow arch hull, and lots of rocker. Specifcations are:
- Length: 12'
- Gunwale Width: 25.5"
- Depth at Center: 15.5"
- Weight: 52 lbs.
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| First paddle at Lincoln Woods |
Back in the old days a 12’ boat was considered short and a 13’ version, the Outrage X, was introduced for paddlers over 180 lbs. Today, 12’ is “old school”. Mine is the 12’ version with wood gunwales, outfitting by John Kaz (Millbrook Boats) and hardly a scratch on the hull itself. All I needed to do when I got it home was adjust the straps and put in the bags.
I finally got it out on flatwater today. I am 50 lbs. over the old 180 lbs. max. weight, but it paddled fine. It is great at spinning and carving circles, but like all whitewater boats, it can be a challenge to paddle straight. I love the hip blocks and lack of foot pegs. I added a half inch to the pedestal, which is now 8 1/2 inches - much lower than the 10 1/2 inches in my old Encore.
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