Swift Osprey
Manufacturer's Description:
The Osprey draws on the lessons learned from our highly acclaimed tandem, the Dumoine. Through skillful manipulation of the shape, the Osprey’s heavily rockered, asymmetrical hull provides exceptional maneuverability yet remarkable tracking, while its high Prismatic Coefficient assures fast traveling. The uniquely sculpted, flared hull keeps water out yet permits proper strokes and easy paddling. Osprey owners have an almost cult-like fanaticism about their boats and, if you are serious about solo paddling, it will be worth your while to find out why.
Specifications:
Length: 15`-0"
Width: 26"
Centre Depth: 12"
Bow / Stern Height: 18" / 15.5"
Weight: 50 lb. (Swiftech)
Weight: 44 lb. (Expedition Kevlar)
Weight: 40 lb. (Ultralight Kevlar)
Capacity: 150-260 lb.
Manufacturer:
Swift Canoe and Kayak
RR # 1, Hwy 11 North
ON
P1P 1R1
Gravenhurst
ON
Web site:
Email:
Phone Number:
(705) 687-3710
Fax Number:
(705) 687-5587
(5 votes)
Les Morgan
- Email
$2500.00
Swift
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 12:21
I\'ve paddled my Osprey for about 3 years on a variety of lake and river trips up to 15 days long. It\'s the 36 pound kevlar/carbon layup, and I have a lightweight spray deck for it. It comfortably handles waves on lakes to about 4 or 5 feet (with spray deck), and easily manages rapids to Class 2 (but I avoid any bouldery runs). Love the contoured sliding webbed seat, and it comfortably carries all gear for extended tripping. Fairly fast, but could not quite keep up to accompanying tandem on a recent 2 week mixed lake/river trip in northern Manitoba. For general solo tripping, it\'s perfect.
Arthur Lyndaker
- Email
$500.00
home built cedar strip
Saturday, December 3, 2005 - 15:38
An excellent all around solo boat. Perfect for my size 5\'10\" 160 lbs. I built my own from plans from greenvalley. I did add 1.5\" more depth and .5\" of rocker front and stern. Rewards an effecient paddler. Wonderful glide. Turns decently. Ok in up to class 2 but after that scary. Definitely not a play boat. bit of a wet ride in larger haystacks. My larger friends are scared of the boat but all my like sized friends love it. somewhat tender for novices or large people. All in all an excellent all around boat that does everything well but does not excell at anthing.
Mark
- Email
$2500.00
Swift
Tuesday, October 11, 2005 - 17:30
I actually have a Temagami. But just wanted to let every one know that once you buy the canoe, don\'t expect any good service from Swift. THE SERVICE SUCKS!! I took my canoe in for a repair, they fixed it but sanded a 1\' x 5\' section and left it. It looks like crap and they are making the biggest hassle about it. They have had the canoe for 2 months and I still don\'t have it fixed yet. I would recomend either a different Manufacturer or call them a throw-away canoe. Unless just about $5oo for a 3\" crack repair and some other factory damage doesn\'t bother you.
slipper
- Email
$1895.00
swift
Sunday, August 26, 2001 - 20:23
Mine is an expedition kevlar with aluminum gunnels, sliding centre seat, skid plates and with a removable yoke. It is a joy to paddle. It’s tender at first but hardens up as it leans over. But because it’s narrow, there’s no need to lean it to comfortably paddle it. It’s relatively dry in waves and easy to control. I haven’t tried it in white water; I wouldn’t be afraid of class II but would probably hesitate at class III. Its strong point is that it tracks very well. In wind and waves, you can concentrate on forward paddling rather than controlling direction. I am a kneeler and I find it very comfortable to kneel in for long periods. However, I can’t get comfortable paddling it in a sitting position. This doesn’t bother me, but it’s something you might want to check out. On the down side, I think that both the sliding seat and the removable yoke could stand some further engineering. The yoke mounting is clunky and the seat doesn’t seem very robust. If you are looking for a solo paddling canoe, have a look at the Osprey; it’s one of my more successful purchases. I’ve had it out almost every day for the last three months.
Chris
- Email
A Lot
Swift
Monday, October 10, 2011 - 09:52
I love this hull design. Mine is a 2-tone kevlar version. I can get her to do whatever i want; paddle straight or turn effortlessly with just a little trimming with the adjustable seat or balancing the gear. I just finished a 3 day tight winding river trip and it was awesome, leaning her over to the gunwales, either on the inside or outside - did not matter, just before the apex and a couple of strokes later, the turn was complete and the boat rocketing straight to the next turn. Once in full rhythm, i felt like i was some sort of F1 racer on a track. Only issue i had is i got swamped when launcher her over a 2 ft + beaver dam. The narrow nose came down hard and broke the water surface pretty easily and ended up with 3" of water in the boat, however please note, that i was about 75 - 100 lbs over the "optimum load" however i'm sure this would have still happened with less gear. I could easily say that the bow should be deeper &/or wider, but i cannot as I would lose valuable wind control on open water and/or speed. I love how i can easily control this hull on a windy open lake. A deeper bow would take this away. I guess i just need to get a bow-skirt for some trips.
This is my second Osprey (2011 model) and i found it to be much better built then my 2004 Osprey. It seems to me that Swift now use a far better resin. The resin seems softer and less brittle and the gunwales appear stronger too, but other than that, same great boat. Any solo tripper should note that this boat carries it's wider part of the beam behind the seat toward the stern which is critical for carrying capacity. Although a fairly narrow hull, i was still able to lay my 115 litre canoe pack down flat on the bottom of the hull keeping it firmly in place which maintains the hull's predictability. Nothing worse than gear rolling around when leaning a boat over. I'm giving this boat a 9 out of 10, 1 star short of perfect, due to the blemishes in the hull. For some reason, every Swift i've owned had some sort of gel coat blemish and out of shape cloth above the water line. This leaves the aesthetics of the boat coming up short which is too bad because other then that, it's dead-sexy.