My $.02 Cdn. (at par!)

Posted by Chris J. on Sep 22, 2007

Dave...the Mill Creek is great to paddle and much faster than a similar length canoe...you really move even when paddling at a leisurely clip. It's very stable when reaching for items, photography and probably fishing. Our day on Lake Opeongo was very breezy with about a foot chop - the kayak kept a straight course and we felt very comfortable. If my wife stopped paddling to take a picture etc., I still found it easy to paddle and keep up good speed. I have not tried to paddle it solo.

With the stability and open cockpit, it's much easier to board the Mill Creek at full float than a Chesapeake.

My dog, a Tolling Retriever mix, is a bit too energetic to take out but if your dog is calm you'll have plenty of room.

I'm 5'9" and my wife is 5'1" - our paddles are 240cm - neither our arms or paddles hit the deck or sides.

I'd say the only drawback with the Mill Creek is it's 33" beam. We found it a little difficult to launch parallel to a dock with low water levels without rubbing the hull on the dock. Now that I type this, I'm thinking we probably should have just launched it bow first and fed it into the water....The slat seats are nice looking but a bit uncomfortable after about an hour paddling. We'll add some removable padding this winter (to the seats not our rears I hope).

If you still can't decide, don't worry...you'll probably end up building both!

If you're contemplating kit vs. plans I kept a detailed journal of my Mill Creek plans build. From plans to sandpaper to brass nails in the seats I spent a little over $1400 Cdn. complete.

Hope this helps...keep in touch.

Chris

P.S. to Mac in Montreal - how about our $.02 Cdn?...our opinions are almost at par!

In Response to: Re: Saturn Rack by Dave T on Sep 21, 2007

Replies:

• Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by Mac on Sep 23, 2007
  • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by theo on Sep 24, 2007
    • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by Mac on Sep 24, 2007
      • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by theo on Sep 24, 2007
  • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by Chris J. on Sep 25, 2007
    • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by theo on Sep 25, 2007
      • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by theo on Sep 25, 2007
        • Re: My $.02 Cdn. (at par! by theo on Oct 3, 2007