This goal of this C-2 Guide is to provide information for the various flatwater marathon canoe racing C-2 models.  It is meant to be a continuation of the "Which Pro Boat?" article Gareth Stevens wrote for the March 2004 issue of USCA Canoe News.  A huge thank you to Gareth for his advice and support for continuing on what he started.

The majority of the information contained within has come directly from manufacturer spec sheets and/or websites, the "Which Pro Boat?" article, and feedback from various paddlers and canoe manufacturers.  Thank you to everyone who contributed, as this guide could not be possible without it.

Every canoe design has different characteristics, just as every racing team has different characteristics.  Racing experience, paddling skills, physical attributes, water conditions, etc. play large parts in canoe selection.  As such, there is no universal best racing canoe design.  In order to assist racers to answer the question of "which canoe is best for me or my team?", the guide aims to provide insight about the following criteria:

• Speed (top speed, cruise speed, glide?  quick strokes vs power strokes?  how does it deal with bobbing/flopping?)

• Pop (ease of pop, how does it start and maintain a sprint?)

• Stability (primary/level stability, secondary/leaning stability, forgiveness)

• Handling (cornering, maneuverability, steering response, how does it respond to leaning, or to corrective strokes?)

• Tracking (does it veer fast or track straight?)

• Wake riding (how does it perform in traffic?  stern wake and side wake performance)

• Water depth characteristics (how does it go though shallow water, intermediate/suck water, deep water)

• Wind and wave characteristics (how does it handle rough water?  does it cut through waves or ride over them?  )

• Weight distribution (does the canoe like to be ran bow up, bow down, or level?  relative max weight difference between partners?)

• Trim (sensitivity, how often does it need adjustment during a race, and how far do you have to slide the seats?)

I also want to highlight this, taken from the USCA Canoe News (March 2004, Volume 37, Issue 1), "Which Pro Boat?" article by Gareth Stevens:

[The question of stability is an important one for many teams.  Folks with less than good balance or those learning to balance will definitely be better off in a more stable boat.  Many of the paddlers with whom I spoke echoed each other with this message: get a boat that you are comfortable paddling in for long period of time.  If you have less than perfect balance, don’t get a boat with a tippier reputation.  What you lose by fighting instability in a supposedly faster boat is as great as the benefit you gain from the comfort of traveling in a more stable boat, and from the ability, therefore, to focus all your energy on propelling the boat forward and working with the river and other boats.  But, as Carl Normandin says, “Any boat you get, you need to spend time in, to get really comfortable.”]

Canoe Manufacturers