Back in July I ordered a new canoe, as a 50th Birthday present. I wanted to move to a lighter, solo touring boat and after a fair bit of research settled on Northstar canoes, imported into the UK by Marsport. They have perhaps one of the widest ranges of solo canoes available in the UK, and they and their precursors, Bell canoes, have a reputation for good design and good workmanship. They also produce some excellent lightweight lay-ups.
I chose the IXP version, not the lightest they offer, but touted as very hardwearing, and still substantially lighter than any of my other boats.
A few months after ordering, it arrived at Marsport. I was able to collect it in a brief window before the autumn lockdown began, and got out on my local waters several times through November. This trip, even though it was just to my local reservoir, was made into something magical by the atmospheric conditions.
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