Wenonah Sundowner:
$25/day (Royalex)
The Sundowner is a 17 foot canoe made of
Royalex, which is an engineered material consisting of layers of plastic
(for strength) and foam (for weight reduction and buoyancy). The Sundowner
has very high paddling efficiency and will travel further for each paddle
stroke than other canoes in its class. It weighs 68 pounds and and will
outperform heavier canoes in its class such as the plastic Old Town
Discovery 16'9"(85 lbs), the aluminum
MichiCraft 17' (84 lbs), and the Coleman 17'5" (91 lbs). It has very good seaworthiness and stability, and will
easily hold 2
paddlers and enough cargo for multi-day trips. This boat is an excellent
canoe for Montana's Upper Missouri River.
The Sundowner can be fitted with a third seat to hold small children.
Wenonah Spirit II:
$25/day (Royalex)
The Spirit II is a 17 foot canoe made of Royalex, the same material as the Sundowner. It weighs 68 pounds, making it 15-20 pounds lighter than competing canoes it this size class. This canoe is slightly less efficient (and slower) than the Sundowner, but its greater depth makes it even more seaworthy and stable, its fuller width gives it a higher cargo capacity, and it's more maneuverable. The Spirit II would be good choice for shorter trips where you may want to carry more gear than usual - such as a couple of coolers, and it would be a good boat to use as cargo hauler to accompany a flotilla of Sundowners.
For a short trip of 3-4 days it could carry a child in the middle who is too young to paddle his or her own canoe.
The Champlain can also be fitted with a third seat to hold kids.
|
The
Champlain is one of Wenonah's newest canoe designs, and is a component of
our fleet that offers paddlers the opportunity to experience a high
performance canoe at an affordable rate. The Champlain is an 18 foot canoe made of
Royalex, the same material as the Sundowner and the Spirit II. Its
additional foot of length makes it a good choice for holding extra cargo
for longer trips, while also adding to this canoe's efficiency, which is
quite high. The
Champlain weighs a light 73 pounds, at least 15 pounds lighter than other
canoes in its class. It is a full-bodied canoe, which adds to its cargo
capacity and also gives this canoe very high stability and seaworthiness.
Wenonah Escape: $40/day (Kevlar)
The Escape is the "sports-car" of our fleet. Made of Kevlar, a high-tech, ultralight, strong material, it is 17'6" in length and weighs an amazing 38 pounds. Its light weight combined with its sleek design makes it a highly efficient canoe. The Escape is well suited for longer trips with a relatively lighter gear load, or for shorter trips with some extra gear on board. Its length - combined with a relatively high bow and stern, and a turned in gunwale (called 'tumblehome') - gives it ample cargo capacity and excellent seaworthiness/stability characteristics. Because of this canoe's high paddling efficiency it is an excellent choice for solo paddlers, who should easily be able to make this canoe keep up with less efficient canoes with two paddlers. This canoe has padded bucket seats for added comfort. We do not recommend using this canoe with a third seat for a child.
The Minnesota 2 is the most efficient 2 seat canoe made by Wenonah, having been designed for use in the Boundary Water Canoe Wilderness in northern Minnesota. It offers a superb combination of cargo capacity and stability, and due to its length - incredible speed and efficiency. It is the canoe of choice for longer trips on the Upper Missouri, particularly if your itinerary involves putting on the miles. The Minnesota 2 is well suited for long trips due to its gear carrying capacity, and it is a good choice for shorter trips, where it can serve as a boat to carry extra cargo (such as coolers) while accompanying other smaller canoes; or, it can seat a child sitting in the middle of the canoe. This is the favorite canoe for our guides to paddle, and once you have paddled one of these quality canoes, its can be hard to go back to a heavier, less efficient model.
Wenonah Itasca: $60/day (Kevlar)
The Itasca, 19 feet long, is
Wenonah's premier expedition canoe. It is made of Kevlar, a high-tech,
lightweight material used in bulletproof vests; this canoe weighs 48
pounds. Its design is very radical - it is wide in the midsection where it
will hold huge amounts of gear (or two smaller children sitting abreast) -
but the bow and stern are very narrow, a design element which makes this canoe
incredibly efficient, and easy to paddle. The Itasca has 1.5 inches of rocker
which provides it with good maneuverability.
The sheer size of this boat makes it almost impossible to capsize, and it will plow through rough water should the wind pick up. We are the only outfitter offering a canoe in this class and of this quality.
For extended trips of 5-10 days this is the canoe for the job! Or, for families with kids, it can be rigged with one or two center seats, and used on shorter trips to hold the whole family and all of the gear.
The Itasca is a top-of-the line canoe which retails for $2500. It is fitted with many extras including sliding seats - for trimming the canoe and for comfort, padded bucket seats, a stern footrest - to prevent overextension of the ankle, and knee padding - to cushion the outside of the knee from the edge of the gunwale. This canoe excels in every category: efficiency, cargo capacity, seaworthiness, stability, comfort, and lightweight high-tech design.
The Itasca is also a good choice for large parties who want a larger, high cargo-capacity workhorse to accompany a flotilla of smaller Sundowers, Champlains, or Spirit II's.
Wenonah Minnesota IV (four-seater): $75/day (Kevlar)
The
Minnesota IV is a 23-foot long canoe that seats 4 persons. It is made of
Kevlar, which keeps its weight low (64 pounds). Its a highly efficient
canoe, and even with only 2 persons paddling will easily keep up with
other canoes.
It is an excellent choice for a family with 2 kids, or for 3 or 4 adults
who want to travel together.
The Minnesota IV, when all four seats are occupied, is excellent for shorter trips (up to 4 days), and is also highly suitable for longer trips when only 3 of the seats are occupied, thus reserving space for the extra gear required on longer trips. If four people are using this canoe on a longer trip, it would be suitable if they were accompanied by other canoes into which some gear could be distributed.
Because of its length the Minnesota IV is a little more challenging to pilot than a shorter canoe, and therefore is not a good choice for beginner-level paddlers, unless they are accompanied by an experienced stern paddler with established skills in steering and maintaining a course.
Rent-A-Guide / Gear Boat Rental
We offer the following two services for parties who do not want to take a fully guided trip, but who would like to take advantage of having an experienced guide accompany them on their trip.
Rent-a-Guide An experienced guide will
accompany your party as you paddle downriver, either as a paddler in one
of your canoes, or in his/her own solo canoe. The guide will recommend good
campsites, interpret the history, geology and ecology of the river, lead you on hikes to spectacular off-river locations, and
be
available in case of an emergency. This package includes a portable toilet
which will be set up and maintained by the guide; new BLM regulations
require that all parties use a portable toilet when they are camping in
undeveloped campsites that do no have toilets, such as in the Badlands
section. The cost for a guide to paddle with your group is $450 per day.
Gear Boat Service This service
provides a guide who will pilot a gear boat downriver. The gear boat is a
17 foot boat with a small, quiet 3 horsepower motor that can hold a large
portion of your party's gear, thus lightening the load that you'll carry
in your canoes and making your paddling easier. The gear boat will leave
camp early each day, and cruise downriver to secure a choice campsite for
your party, allowing you to travel downriver at a leisurely pace,
confident that you'll have a good campsite waiting for you. Your guide
will help you plan your days on the river, and will lead you on hikes from
camp. This package includes a portable toilet which will be set up and
maintained by the guide; new BLM regulations require that all parties use
a portable toilet when they are camping in undeveloped campsites that do
no have toilets, such as in the Badlands section. The cost for gear boat
rental with a guide is $450 per day.
Rental Equipment
Our rental gear and camping equipment is the same gear that we use on our guided trips. The quality is superior, and it will serve you well. See below for information on reservations and deposits.
|
Item |
Cost per Day |
| Super-Light Canoe Paddles: High-tech paddles made of space-age carbon fiber, weighing an incredible 12 ounces! They are ergonomically designed with a bent shaft. These paddles virtually eliminate upper body fatigue during a day of paddling. | $8.00 |
| Canoe Backrests: Attach to canoe seats and provide excellent support for the lower back. | $3.00 |
| Dry Bags: Set includes one extra-large (110 liter) and one medium (30 liter). These will keep your clothing, sleeping bag, and camera bone dry. | $8.00 |
| Camp Mattress: Super comfortable ThermaRest self-inflating air mattress for a good nights sleep. Great for lounging around camp, reading, stretching. | $4.00 |
| Tent: Sierra Designs mountain tent (Clip 3 CD model) sets up easily, is very storm-worthy, and will keep you protected and comfortable in the most adverse conditions. The fly can be left off in fair weather to let in the evening breeze. | $15.00 |
| Camp Kitchen: Coleman propane stove, set of pots and pans, silverware, coffee mugs, spatula, serving spoons, and washbasin with scouring pad and detergent. You provide paper plates and napkins. Fuel included. | $15.00 |
| Cooler; Standard: 40 quart cooler good for shorter trips. | $4.00 |
| Cooler; Super-Insulated: Coleman Extreme Cooler will keep ice for 5 days at 90 degrees; for longer trips - 30 quart. | $5.00 |
| Dry Goods Storage Box: Rubbermaid boxes with lids used for transporting food and kitchen items; they fit conveniently in canoe and will stack. | $1.00 |
| Camp Table: Gets your food and cooking tools off the ground for sanitary and comfortable food service and makes a great table for dining. Rolls into a compact bag for canoe transport. | $5.00 |
| Camp Chairs: Lightweight, compact, comfortable chairs with a backrest for lounging in camp, dining, and relaxing. Gets you off the dirt. Folds up for easy transport in canoes. | $2.00 |
| Water Jugs: 5 gallon jugs for transporting fresh drinking water. | $1.00 |
| Portable Toilet: Check with us or with BLM for the most current regulations regarding necessity of this item. We provide these free with all canoe rentals. You'll need to purchase waste disposal bags from us or provide your own. | FREE w/ canoe rental |
| Waste Disposal Bags: These convenient and low-hassle plastic bags with chemicals make waste managment easy. | $4.00 |
| Foul Weather Gear: Rubberized nylon hooded rain jacket and pants will keep you dry. | $3.00 |
Our shuttle vehicles are well maintained,
air-conditioned vans, and are driven by responsible, conservative adults.
If we are transporting your vehicle we want to assure you that it too, will be
driven by the same responsible individuals. Pictured at the right is John
Lulf, a fifth-grade teacher in Fort Benton, who runs our shuttle service
and is our primary driver.