At Mad River Canoe, we design canoes to handle all the conditions you can expect to encounter on the water - and some we hope you won't. Because each canoe's design features determine its performance characteristics, a basic understanding of canoe design will help you select the model that best suits your needs.

A canoe's overall performance is most affected by two basic dimensional measurements - length and width. Length of the canoe determines its potential speed. Given two hulls of equal width, the longer canoe will be faster and easier to paddle; the shorter canoe will be slower, but easier to turn. A wider hull, especially at the waterline, will generally be more stable than a narrower hull. Length and width, combined with depth, determine the weight a canoe can carry and the size of the waves it can deflect successfully.

Hull Configurations

Differences in hull shapes greatly affect a canoe's handling characteristics. Keel line shape, degree of hull symmetry, cross-sectional shape, and above waterline design are among the most important performance variables.
 

Straight keel line with no rocker
Straight keel line with slight to moderate rocker
Extreme rocker

Keel line shape refers to the shape of the hull bottom running from bow to stern. A straight keel line with minimal curvature from end to end will emphasize forward speed because more of the canoe's length is in the water. When the ends of the canoe's keel are curved or "rockered," the canoe will maneuver more easily, because the ends are out of the water.

Hull Symmetry refers to a canoe's having identically-shaped halves with the widest point of the canoe at the center, a design which makes for predictable handling. An asymmetrical canoe usually has its widest point a foot or so behind the center. In a straight-keeled canoe, this enhances forward speed, especially in shallow water.

Cross-sectional shape refers to the outline of the hull if the canoe were sliced in two at its widest point. Mad River canoes have long been known for their shallow V hulls, a design which offers an outstanding balance of tracking ability, maneuverability and stability - ideal characteristics for recreational and all-around canoeing. Unlike flat bottomed hulls, which offer stablility only in calm water, the shallow V hull is stable in rough and moving water as well as still water.
 
 

You might notice the lack of an external keel on all of our models. Hull design, not the presence of an external keel, determines how well a canoe will travel in a straight line. The shallow V hull, when combined with varying amounts of rocker, provides excellent tracking and maneuverability.

Above waterline design refers to whether the sides of the canoe above the waterline bend inward - a characteristic called tumblehome, outward - called flare, or do both. Tumblehome brings the sides of the hull in at the gunwales allowing the paddle to be more parallel to the keel for a more efficient vertical stroke. Where there is flare, the sides extend outward above the waterline deflecting water and giving greater stability in heavy waves, a good feature in a whitewater canoe.

Designed and Built To Last

Quality - it's a matter of choosing the finest materials and having them assembled by skilled people who take pride in their work. In a Mad River Canoe, there's quality you can see - like our grain-matched ash gunwales and our flawless gel coat finishes. There's quality you can feel - like hand balancing which makes for easy portaging over difficult terrain. And there's quality you can't see but will appreciate when the going gets rough - like the extra reinforcement we use in critical wear and impact areas of our hulls. Only when a boat meets our strict quality standards, does it get to