Blue Hole Starburst canoe for sale

kerry

Expedition Leader
Blue Hole Starburst tandem whitewater tripping canoe for sale. Red with wooden gunwales, minicell foam saddles. This canoe is comparable to the Esquif Canyon and the Old Town Appalachian. In fact I think the Esquif Canyon and Old Town Appalachian are deliberate attempts to mimic the Starburst. It's a class III tripping canoe designed by Steve Scarborough that does not sacrifice flatwater speed. (unlike the Dagger Dimension) It's faster than an Old Town Tripper or 17' Grumman and from what I read, it's faster and drier than the Canyon. It's a lot faster than a Dimension but that's like saying a rabbit is faster than a turtle. It's a rounded bottom canoe with a significant amount of rocker so spins nicely and handles well in whitewater, though it is not a whitewater playboat like a Caption. It's the boat I choose for multi-day trips up to easy class III. For big class III I prefer the Dimension but it is a dog between the rapids. It's a 1986 boat still in decent condition. I'm selling it because I'm not a fan of wooden gunwales or saddles and I found another Starburst with aluminum gunwales and seats. I had actually planned to remove the wooden gunwales and replace them with vinyl gunwales from an Appalachian. The boat is still being produced by Evergreen Canoes in Canada (unless the rumor I recently read on the internet is correct and they just went under). http://www.evergreencanoe.com/canoe_starburst.html

A new outfitted boat runs about $2250. http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...4442324815&FOLDER<>folder_id=2534374302700641

$500 for mine. Does not include air bag, lashings, or thighstraps. Does include anchors for thigh straps and anchors for 5 gallon buckets in front of bow paddler and behind stern paddler.
The Starburst was also known as the Cumberland in some configurations (vinyl gunwales?).

I'll post a picture once I get a chance to carry it out of the garage.
 

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Hltoppr

El Gringo Spectacular!
Where are you again? I'm looking at getting rid of my 2 kayaks since I now have a little one.

-H-
 

kerry

Expedition Leader
Denver.
 

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kerry

Expedition Leader
I'm off to teach a canoeing class for a couple of days early in the AM so I won't be able to get the pictures until Sunday. I don't think there are any spots where the vinyl has worn thru. It's got kevlar skidplates on the ends. One gunwale has a crack that has been repaired. It's been stored inside since I've owned it (1992?) and I think it was probably stored inside by the previous owner.
 

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kerry

Expedition Leader
At the class we had a 16' Legend, a Starburst, an Esquif Canyon, and an OT Appalachian. It was the first chance I've had to put all four boats upside down together and apply a discriminating eye. I'd read on an internet forum that an Esquif rep had said that the Canyon was basically a cut down Starburst. This is clearly not true. It is a shallower hull and it does carry it's fullness to the ends like a Starburst but the center section of the hull is flat, not rounded like the Starburst and the Canyon appears slightly wider. The Appalachian does not carry its fullness to the ends like the Canyon and Starburst. The Legend is much flatter with squarer chines than any of the other boats. It carries its width much farther to the ends than any of the other boats and I'm guessing as a result it is the slowest of all of them.
My prejudice in favor the Starburst is confirmed. It is the liveliest boat of all of them. It's end fullness keeps it dry. It's rounded hull makes it easiest of all of them to lean and it's narrower width makes it faster (I think). It probably has slightly more rocker than the other boats and spins a little faster. The other boats would feel a little more stable to a beginner paddler since their hulls are not as rounded, but it's overall stability is the equal of the others at least.
There was also a Mohawk XL15 in the class that but is an entirely different class of boat altogether.
 

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kerry

Expedition Leader
I've decided not to sell it. My wife and I paddled the new Starburst this weekend while my daughter and her friend paddled the old one. These boats are so amazingly responsive in moving water when heavily loaded and finding them for sale in the US is harder and harder that I've decided I should keep it. It was the first time my 16yr old daughter had paddled stern and been responsible for the paddling decisions. Her partner was a novice to moving water but my daughter had no problem putting the canoe exactly where she wanted it in the Class II sections we ran.
 

Hltoppr

El Gringo Spectacular!
Good call. I was thinking about getting rid of our two kayaks and picking this one up...easier with a family!

Sweet boat though!
 

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