Viper 11's in composite are made legally. I own one, paddled it yesterday. They are popular out West, popularity as a measure being that, I know of 5-6 locally.
They are made under licence by Western Canoeing, a large British Columbia composite canoe manufacturer, that produces the Clipper line of canoes for various markets; been in business for many years, lots of continuous in house skill.
My hull was custom made for me and I requested no gel coat, for less weight. It quickly will show the use & abuse without the gel coat; cuts, scratches, abrasion, but repairs are easier as there is no colour matching. I don't care about the cosmetics.
Western usually touches mine up every 2 years for $100 but this year I'm going to haul it into the shop and do it myself. A pro repair adds only ounces, if that, and it makes the hull stronger than factory where it is most useful anyways.
A friend also has a Viper 11, with gel coat, we often paddle together, hitting the same rocks and yesterday we compared hulls and commented on how tough composite is. Absolutely no complaints on the purchase. (10 years old)
I also own an Occoee in royalex. On Sunday I ran them both in a local OC slalom event, Tamihi 50. I ran the Occoee in the first heat but the sheer line of the bow tagged one gate pole for a touch penalty. In the second heat I ran the Viper 11 and was able to sneak the bow under and round up the pole tighter.
Ran a clean heat but still didn't Win, Place, or Show
I had the feeling the Occoee was faster, but then that was in the first heat; probably-maybe, it was me? Forgot to check the compared times (corrected for pole touch)
Maybe Yarnell boat has that info.
A while ago I got a chance to paddle a privately pulled composite Occoee. A really interesting hull, something that I would be interested in owning. Liked it.
Looking forward to the composite Outrage by Millbrook Canoe. It's just one opinion but a composite hull always feels more rigid and livelier to me and it seems possible to "tweak" the radius of the chine a bit, making it sharper and a better carver. Those features would make the Outrage a more interesting hull, to me. As it is now it is a good hull, but not overly dynamic.
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