Q. Hi Joe, 

I have been a fan of your web-site for a few years.  Good information and entertaining all at the same time.  Kudos! 

We have been tripping to the Q for over twelve years now and in the past few years, I have been fortunate to 'addict' my two boys as well.  Seven years ago I bought my first canoe, an OT Penobscot.  A boat that I could use in the Q and still use on our local shallow rivers for fishing smallies.  Now, I am trying to convince myself that 1) at 44y.o., my OT Penobscot is getting too heavy for me to carry anymore and 2) renting a kevlar boat (for our second boat) for 8-9 days every year is like throwing money into the lake and 3) as the boys are 'hooked' on tripping with me to the Q each year, maybe I should consider investing in a good 'lake-only fishing boat'.  (Any other reasons you might think of…?) 

Anyway, for the past few years, I have kept my eyes and ears open considering alternatives.  Last year while waiting for our tow at PP, I was admiring a traveler’s SR Te Tigre.  He graciously offered to let me take it for a paddle.  Hmmm…   

Well, after a bit more ‘research’ and consideration, I am now leaning towards a green (tiger) SR Q17 LeTigre with black gunwales.  We have worked with Dave Sebesta (originally at CBO and now with W&H) for the past 12+ years and he has taken good care of us. Unfortunately, he does not use SR boats.  A friend of mine bought a boat from you a few years back and was well satisfied with RR. So here I am. 

To make a long story short (too late), I have decided to seriously explore costs with the various boat options that are out there.   After revisiting your website, I realized I just missed the ‘winter thaw special’ << bummer >>.  I also have a few questions re: what’s included in the above boat:  I assume the LeTigre green is a ‘standard ‘ color and the woven color is what makes a Le Tigre a Le Tigre and is not an ‘add-on’ and the choice of black trim is also standard?  So as I see it, the only ‘option’ I need are a set of yoke pads?? 

Sorry for all the questions...simply trying to think this all the way through.  Nothing better to do on a cold snowy day… 

Thanks for your help and information. 

Brad

A. Brad-
Le Tigre kevlar is our best selling material.  It's kevlar that has a black stripe woven into it.  The black stripes are still kevlar but have been dyed through a special process.  It costs a bit more than plain (butterscotch) kevlar and darkens up the kevlar to look more like dead grass.  As a result, the kevlar is darker in appearance and comes already built with black trim.  Getting a woven color green one (Green Tiger) is cool but they don't refinish as nicely as regular LT and they don't blend in as well either.  Plus, it'll cost you an extra $100.  I don't feel the color is worth all that much since when you are seated in the canoe, they all look the same.  Just kevlar color.  They also really scratch much whiter - although the scratches are the same as reg. LT, they really stick out. 

If you do a try-buy, we set you up with a rental Q-17, you pay for the rental and go.  When you return, you can pick out a new canoe and we'll apply the rental money you paid towards its purchase.  This works well for some folks, but, if you've ever been in a Q-17, your first 15 minutes will tell you everything your need to know about the canoe.  My point for bringing this up is that chances are extremely good that this will be the best canoe you've ever paddled.  It has the stability of the Penobscot 17 but it will hold it's ground better in wind and is faster on the water.  It only weight 43 lbs. and has an 1100 lb. payload just like the Penobscot.  Durability is also on par with the Penobscot.    Based on this info, and primarily how the canoe handles, it is doubtful that you would need to test paddle the canoe on a Try-Buy.  There are no discounts with Try-Buys.

Right now you could save $200 by pre-buying a canoe that we'll be hauling down to the cities for the Greater Northwest Sportshow at the end of  March.  We'll have about 10 canoes there for 6 days and we offer a $150 at-show discount.  With a pre-buy, you pay in full at time of order and just pick up the canoe at show, but you save the extra $50 ($200 total).   We only have 10-13 canoes going down at most and usually they are all  pre-sold because people want to pick them up in the cities plus save the extra $50.  We don't want to bring any canoes home from that show due to traffic and traveling, hence the extra savings offer.  You can still  get the $150 off from a canoe ordered during the show over the phone here at the store and pay 50% down with balance due at pick up.  In any case, none of these discounts would apply in a try-buy. 

Hope this info helps.

Joe
Red Rock