Submitted: 10-22-2007 by johns913
The Mad River Traveler is a big volume solo canoe. It has been out of production for quite a long time and there were not a lot of them made. So, they are somewhat hard to find. I have used my Traveler mainly for canoeing with my dog. Unlike my Bell Magic, where I have to be very careful to keep my dog still, my dog can move around and goof off in the Traveler. It has a lot of primary stability. The secondary stability is equally good. I can roll the gunwales down to the water and bring it back up no problem. It is difficult to find information on the Traveler, so here are some measurements:
Bow Depth 18.5"
Center Depth 13.5"
Stern Depth 17"
Width 27 3/4"
Length 16'2"
The most similar canoe on the market to the Traveler is probably the Swift Shearwater. I find that I do use the sliding seat to adjust trim, mostly when I am facing the wind from a different direction. It is very easy to slide the seat forward or back while paddling. The Traveler is not 16’6” as some people have posted in prior reviews. It is 16’2”. My Traveler has beautiful straight grain ash gunwales. I wish they still made them like this. When I compare the quality of ash used between my newer Bell canoe and my old Mad River Traveler-it makes me sick to see the difference. The Traveler’s ash gunwales are truly beautiful, Bell not so nice. The Traveler is not as fast as a Bell Magic, but otherwise I find paddling the two canoes quite similar. I can sit and switch or paddle Canadian style with the Traveler. |