C-Forum

My back is killing me and I'm looking to lighten up. What is the durability like on the Millbrook Rival composite? Anyone drive this sweet little thing? Looks light as a feather. But in my parts (Potomac) we're in scrapy water and big rocks and I don't always drive very well.

Would you look for the Dagger version instead.

Any advice on this?

It will hold up far better than you'd guess, and if it needs repair the repairs are easier (markedly) than in a Royalex boat. I've never paddled a Millbrook Rival, but I own a Millbrook Defiant. You'll love the weight (or lack thereof).

A buddy of mine has a Millbrook Rival (got it about a year ago) and really, really, REALLY likes it. It is so much lighter at just below 30 lb. fully outfitted and it is a fast and nimble boat. He uses it for our slalom and attainment workouts and runs it down class 4 stuff without any problems. The rocks in the Potomac are far fewer than what we have in the James, so you WILL learn to keep it off of the rocks. He used to be quite abusive to his plastic boats, but quickly learned that he has to be a better boater--or else learn how to repair composite boats.

Well, Kaz. I believe that this is the second time I have plugged your Rival. Doesn't that warrant me a t-shirt by now?

KNeal

P.S. I will continue to plug Kaz's boats (at least until he nevers coughs up a t-shirt or something )

OK, Ok, free t-shirts for everybody.
Just kidding.
JKaz

You should consider Kaz’s Rumba as well as the Rival. I bought a Rumba with a weight of 24 lbs on arrival, 30 lbs after full outfitting. I liked it so well I bought another one with a heavier lay-up, 33 lbs on arrival, 39 lbs fully outfitted. (If you want to see my first one, it’s pictured below the Rival on Millbrook’s web page). I’m saving the light one for racing, the heavier one for recreation paddling. Although I prefer an extra layer of Kevlar for recreation paddling, light Kevlar lay-ups are plenty tough. I have a Millbrook Prowler, light weight, but now old and battered. I’ve patched it, banged it, patched again. It still floats. I don’t paddle ABS any more. Why?—because it’s such a joy to move a light boat (and to car-top it). Besides, you hit fewer rocks and batter them less because they maneuver faster. As for the Rival, I have one of those too, in ABS. My wife paddles it and likes it. It’s a good hull design but not as high performance as the Rumba. I keep waiting for the Rumba to be discovered. It’s fast turning, but drives straight and fast when necessary. It’s stable but nimble. And, because it’s light, it flies when you pull on the paddle—unlike ABS boats!

Once again I will join the Kaz/kevlar cheering section. Great boats! When I paddle my Defiant and hit something very hard, I still think 'well that had to have done some damage'. I will pull over to look and usually can't even figure out where I hit. When I first researched buying a Millbrook, Bob Putnam wrote to me and said I would know the sound when I had done some REAL damage. The only time since buying the boat in 1999 that I heard the "sound" was a nasty drop on the Lochsa. It sounded terrible.... when I looked, it was a small crunched spot the size of a dime. I didn't even fix it for awhile but eventully put a little dab of ABS filler on the spot. Western rivers might be a little more forgiving to paddle but I grew up in the East and would not hesitate to use Kevlar back there. As Bob Stecker said, the light weight will allow you to miss most of those rocks you use to hit!

You guys are the best! I appreciate all the kind words about my canoes. I also know there are some things people don't like about my boats. Of course I'm not going to post them here!
JKaz

Adam,
Is there any way for me to post a photo on here in a message? I just tried using the "Img" key above and it failed. This is a picture from my computer, not a website. I tried doing an old search, but I didn't find anything.
Alden

AB,

I'm surprised you don't have your own web site.

You need to post your image on a web server somewhere, unless your computer is on all the time, has a static IP address and is configured for file sharing. Here's a short list of places host photos: http://www.free-webhosts.com/free-image-hosting.php Once the image is out there, paste the URL of the image into the post.