On Evergreen Canoe's new redesigned website, I notice they also offer a Bob Special. Has anyone had any experience with it? Also, Novacraft's brochure says it has a shallow arch hull, so why the references to its "flat" hull?

The shallow arch refers to the shape of the chines or sides as it meets the bottom. Rather than being rounded or v shaped the bottom itself is relatively flat. While flat bottom boats are generally considered to have better primary than secondary stability, my cedar strip version of the Bobs is very relaxed and predictable in high waves. Structurally, a wide flat bottom is not as strong as a rounded hull but for flat water paddling this is not really a concern. Hope that helps. Jay

I have a cedar and canvas Bob's made by Chestnut in the '60s. It's a wonderful canoe and I love to paddle it solo or lightly loaded. Wouldn't want to use it for longer trips with a heavier load though.

I haven't looked at the current Nova Craft Bobs, but the last time I looked at their hull, it looked to me as though it's been modified from the original design. Even Chestnut varied their hulls a bit from year to year, so Bob's made by Chestnut from different vintages might not be identical and storage problems or the nature of wood contribute to differences as well.

My Bob's is not a dry canoe. It doesn't perform well in choppy waves or white water. That's the only place my experience has varied from the previous posts on this canoe. It is very manouverable and is surprisingly fast for a boat that's as short and wide as it is.

The hull shape in my canoe would be best described as a modified shallow arch. After the chine (or bilge if you prefer), the hull is fairly flat, but forms a distinct "V" at the keel line instead of continuing in an arch. The V improves the speed and tracking when the canoe is flat on the water, but produces a more mobile shape when its heeled over on the side. My canoe handles quite differently when flat compared to heeled over. The "V" shape is quite pronounced and if you're looking at a replica canoe that doesn't have this shape, it will have been modified from the original shape as any of the original Chestnuts I've looked at all had this shape.

In summary - quite a nice canoe but not as versitile as other hulls in the same category.

hth

Rolf

I have put many mile on my Royalite Bob by Novacraft. An excellent solo tripping boat, when my Son was younger (smaller) we used it a lot for river tripping. The Nova Bob in Royal is actually different in design (has a bit of a V bottom at the keel line and a little bit of rocker) than the layup version (FLAT). Both versions tewnd to perform better with lighter payloads. Mnay scout groups own bobs, great for instruction but suffer when loaded for the trip. Only complaint I could have is that the keel line tends to wear before the rest of the bottom because of it's design. vaughn

My husband is talking about getting one. We had a person on CCR loan us one! for a trip, and it was awesome- handled everything well solo or tandem. He liked it because he didn't have to kneel all the time. Anyone paddled the H20 Helium version?

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Present: Slip, Slap and Slop, hide from the sun! Past: Get some colour in those cheeks! Paddle Naked!

I'm the CCR guy who lent Cheryl his Bob Special . Had it since 1990 ,in the ultralight layup with ash trim. Great solo boat and very good light tandem tripper. With the right bowman it can be quite fast. Have used it on many trips with a 180 bowman and I am well over 200 lb myself with gear for 5 days. Best speed it achieved with a strong female paddler. Works well in the windy creeks of Algonquin . Main comparisons are to the novacraft prospector 16, and the langford nahanni 16.5 . AT 37 lbs it portages beautifully .

Hey canoetripper! We still talk about your generosity, and man, that boat sold us! We have been keeping our eye open for one just like yours, and need to get serious, although it has to be on a budge. The littlest guy is now a big guy, and were we say "beware the winds on lady evelyn", he says "remember the time dad was lucky enough to be paddling the Bob, rather than the "barge" when we were in that wind storm on Kioshkokwi?"

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Present: Slip, Slap and Slop, hide from the sun! Past: Get some colour in those cheeks! Paddle Naked!