I’ve now had the chance to test the Huck Finn Canoe several times, and I was definitely wrong about the stability. The boat is very stable. In fact, when I tried to tip over to see if I could re-enter from the water, I had a hard time getting it to tip. One has to roll to about 80 degrees before it goes over – I think this is because of the high, flat sides.

I was also concerned about being able to get back in the boat after a wet exit, especially because of the deck height. This turned out not to be a problem either. The boat was practically dry inside when I turned it upright, and I was able to jump back in on the first try with no difficulty.

I also checked the speed of the boat with my GPS. If I paddle pretty hard I can reach 4.6 kts. Paddling at a leisurely pace I can maintain 3.5 kts. This was in flat water with a light breeze. We haven’t had much wind lately so I do not know how the wind will affect performance.

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I’ve always wanted to do the Huck Finn thing and float down the Mississippi River. If I were smart I would fly to Minneapolis, buy a kayak, paddle to New Orleans, sell the kayak, and fly home. But let’s face it, I’m not that smart, so instead I ask myself what would Huck Finn do? Of course we know the answer – Huck would hang out on an island until a raft floated by, jump on, and be on his way. Since I live nowhere near the Mississippi River this will not work for me, and anyway it is doubtful that derelict rafts are still as plentiful on the Mississippi as they were in Huck’s day.

I like designing and building things, so I decided to try to design a boat that I could build in two days with indigenous materials sustainably sourced near the headwaters of the Mississippi (you know – Home Depot in Minneapolis) and a few hand tools. I failed miserably – it took me six days and $230 in materials to build the prototype – but it is actually a pretty nice boat. Continue reading →