C-Forum

I recently acquired a Mad River Howler. The hull is in great condition, but all of the wood needs to be replaced. It was was outfitted as a tandem and I want to convert it into an OC1. I kayak and this is my 1st WW canoe, so I have a few questions:

Is the Howler a good starter boat as an OC1 going from a kayak? I plan to use it on class III with the occasional class IV in the southeast.

Should I replace the gunwales with ash or would it better to retrofit with vinyl gunwales? Can you get vinyl endcaps for this boat? The original ash gunwales were completely rotten. What about the thwarts - stay with wood or go to something else?

This is a 15' boat, should I outfit with 60" bags or 72" bags as an OC1?

mechnginear wrote: Is the Howler a good starter boat as an OC1 going from a kayak? I plan to use it on class III with the occasional class IV in the southeast.

It's an interesting boat - been a long time since I was in one. If I recall correctly it's radically assymetrical and has a hard chine? It should be maneuverable given it's slalom heritage. Should be fun. No idea how it rolls, though...

Should I replace the gunwales with ash or would it better to retrofit with vinyl gunwales?

Go with ash - lighter, resilient, not that hard to put on, ultimately prettier and cheaper.

Can you get vinyl endcaps for this boat?

Yikes, not sure. That was probably dropped from production a long time ago. Go with ash gunwales and make your own deck plates from plastic (big, drier) or wood (prettier, but go smaller).

The original ash gunwales were completely rotten. What about the thwarts - stay with wood or go to something else?

Wood. Buy an ash board that's big enough to rip gunwales from and to make thwarts from. It might be challenging to find an ash board of adequate length (16'), I got mine through a local cabinet shop last time. I got a 1x6x16 for $60ish? Expect to pay more these days...

This is a 15' boat, should I outfit with 60" bags or 72" bags as an OC1?

As big as you can get!

Whereabouts are you in SC? I'm in Lexington. Give us a shout, come paddle the Saluda.

Thanks for the advise. The existing decks are OK if I'm going to use wood. They were out some sort of composite to match the hull and they wouldn't have worked with vinyl gunwales

I'm near Spartanburg. I've paddled the Saluda a lot in the past - learned to kayak from Charlene Coleman down there a few years ago.

Had a little exp. with one a friend had for solo. Fast, rolls easy, handles like a much shorter boat. Will side surf forever whether you want to or not. Bag it to the MAX!!! Bilge pump would be great also. The hardest part will be fore/aft trim - critical with Howler.. I had to call MR to get specs. The stern deck is trimed much higher than the bow deck - cant remember but 6 or 8 inches. The boat is still in the area and i can get back of saddle measurements if you need it.

The fore/aft trim was going to be my next question. The rocker on this beast is very asymmetrical. If you can get that measurement it would be great.

Kaz may have some tips, He posts on this board sometimes, or you can contact him at Millbrook Boats. As mentioned before, trim it out in wood, its light and much more good looking than vinyl. I paddle a smaller version, Hooter. It's great! I can only help with approx locations due to the size differance. Let me know.

Buff Grubb gave it to me and I don't have a clue what to do with it.

Louie: don't you have a Howler?

Louie IS a howler. On the vinyl endcaps, not sure why you would need them. Do you mean deckplates? You could get Kaz to lay some up and then you could just screw them down to your ash gunwales. Might even screw down to vinyl gunwales, if you go that way.

I've got the original deck plates and they are in good shape. I'd only need the end caps I replaced the ash gunwales with vinyl. I'm going to use ash gunwales, so I'm good with what I have.