Spring Sale!!
We are having a Spring Sale this weekend from April 5th to the 7th!
We will not be attending the Cottage Life Show to bring you better deals!
All new 2013 stock and special orders are 15% off regular listed prices (See link)
Our in store sale is for this weekend only so don't miss it!
All 2012 new boats are 20% off (See link)
*We will match in stock prices of any of our competitors
To celebrate the fifth installation of the award winning This is the Sea series, Justine Curgenven has set out on a promotional tour and will be stopping by The Complete Paddler!
On Saturday, March 16 at 5:00pm Justine will be here for an exciting discussion on the making of and slide show of This is the Sea 5. Justine will also be showing extracts from all the TITS films. Tickets are now on sale at the store for $20.00, plus tax (this covers your admission AND your own signed copy of This is the Sea 5). Space is limited so buy your tickets now!
Though it may be hard to picture with all this snow, cold and ice, the 2013 paddling season is just around the corner and The Complete Paddler is ready to welcome it with open arms.
The Outdoor Adventure Show (February 22 - 24)
Yes, it is that time of year again when TCP loads up (what feels like) half the store and hauls over to the The International Centre for the ultimate showcase of all things outdoors - The Outdoor Adventure Show.
This year, TCP will once again have a selection of kayaks, canoes and Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boards ranging from first time paddlers, to seasoned veterans of the water. There will also be all the gear you'll need to outfit yourself for your next big adventure. For all you returning show goers, The Complete Paddler will be bringing something new to the show this year, CAMPING GEAR. The Complete Paddler is very excited to finally be breaking into the land of tents, sleeping bags, stoves and the like to better outfit you for the outdoors. Did we mention that everything will be on SALE? Yes, everything from boats to paddles to accessories will be 15-20% off including any special orders. Can't make it out to the show? The sale prices will also be offered at the store for the show weekend only.
Are you a Yogi looking for a new challenge or do you just like to watch cool things happening on the water? Be sure to stop by the indoor demo pool (which is conveniently located across from our booth) for our Stand UP Paddle Board Yoga demonstration. We'll be in the pool Friday at 7:00pm, Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 1:30pm.
There is something for everyone at The Outdoor Adventure Show and each year it really draws a crowd, so jump on the band wagon (just this once) and come see that all the fuss it about!
The OAS runs from Friday, February 22 to Sunday, February 24:
Friday: 11:00am - 8:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm
Print off this coupon.. and share it with others!
The Reel Paddling Film Festival kicks off its 2013 world tour here in Toronto on February 12, 2013.
Rapid Media’s 8th annual Reel Paddling Film Festival showcases some of the best paddling films in the world. This international competition begins in Toronto, ON, hosted by The Complete Paddler, before beginning its year-long tour across the globe and screening to over 30,000 outdoor enthusiasts and their families. The festival recognizes the best paddling films in a series of categories like, best white water kayaking film, best canoeing film, best fishing film etc. It aims to inspire more people to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push physical and emotional extremes, embrace the lifestyle and appreciate the heritage of the wild places we paddle.
On Tuesday, February 12, 2013 The Complete Paddler will be hosting the premier at the Royal Cinema in Little Italy. Doors will open at 6:30 PM for a 7:00 PM start.
One hundred percent of the night’s proceeds will be going directly to Project Canoe, a Toronto Based youth charity program which aims to foster a transformative environment for young people using the outdoors as a primary medium. Project Canoe will be present at the event to promote and educate patrons on the long running program.
To add even more excitement to the event; thanks to the tremendous generosity of some of our top manufacturers, there will be a number of door prizes to be won as well as two “Hot Ticket” prizes including the new Nova Craft Ocoee solo white water canoe, a remake of an old classic. Everyone who attends will be entered into the draw for the Door Prizes and Hot Tickets will be sold separately for the Nova Craft Ocoee and the Dagger Approach. Hot Tickets will be sold for $2.00/ea or $5.00 for 3 tickets.
Tickets: $12/Advance or $15/door
Advance tickets can be purchased online or in person at The Complete Paddler, 919 Oxford St, Toronto ON.
Purchase your advance tickets here
For more information on:
The Complete Paddler wishes to aknowledge the continued support from our door prize donors:
Moisie Review: by Kelly McDowell, President of The Complete Paddler
The Moisie is a brand new canoe design from Nova Craft Canoes. Although it is a new design this canoe is very similar to the whitewater tripping canoes called the Evergreen Starburst and Esquif Canyon. As a former Starburst builder I could see subtle differences right away. I started to measure the Moisie as soon as it arrived in our store and the specs confirmed that it was very similar to the Starburst. The first real difference between the Starburst and the Moisie I noticed was the bottom of the canoe. The bottom of the Starburst is very flat and the Moisie has a very slightly rounded arch to it. This is not very obvious unless you are really looking at it. The other difference I noticed was how deep it was, the specs are the same as far as depth between the Starburst and the Moisie but not all Starburst were trimmed to spec. My Starburst certainly was not as deep as the Moisie we received. I am not one to measure and compare stats too much as they can be very deceiving. The only real way to know how a canoe will paddle is to paddle it!
The first test paddle we organised was with Scott Macgregor from Canoe Roots Magazine and Roch Prevost and Dave Hood from Nova Craft Canoes. We decided on the Lower Madawaska River as the Moisie is designed for white water river tripping. My bow paddler on this first trip was Stephanie Pickett a very good friend and beginner whitewater paddler.
(Above right: courtesy of Scott MacGregor, Rapid Media)
The Moisie outperformed the Starburst in secondary stability. This improved secondary comes at a small price and that is the reduction in its initial stability. Don’t get me wrong as this reduction in initial stability is very small. Even for beginners this Moisie is a very stable boat and most people would not be able to tell the difference between the Starburst and the Moisie.
In a river situation where the water is moving quickly the Moisie is at home. In flat sections of rivers you will notice it to be slow and to be a little hard to track without a lot of correctional strokes. We outfitted the Moisie with knee pads, thigh straps and end flotation from Mike Yee. We then put a few barrels in the center to simulate the amount of gear we would have on a river trip only to find out that the Moise can fit four full sized barrels in the center!
Steph and I really enjoyed this canoe on the Lower Madawaska and we had a blast paddling with everyone. The river was not very high but it was perfect for some of the beginners out with us and it was a good class 2-3 rapid for the maiden voyage of the Moisie.
The next trip The Complete Paddler and Nova Craft planned was a day on the Upper Gatineau River. We wanted to test the Moisie on some really big whitewater. Roch and Dave joined myself and our store Manager Lindsay Finnie as my bow paddler. Lindsay is a seasoned whitewater tandem canoe paddler and absolutely fearless! Don’t let her youth fool you she has been paddling for a long time now and she can handle the big stuff. As you could imagine organising a day for all of us to go to Quebec was very difficult but we had come up with Oct 30th. As we got closer to the day we became increasing worried about the weather as some of you may recall that was the date Hurricane Sandy hit Ontario. We decided to go anyway as paddling the upper Gatineau River is like being in a hurricane anyway!
The Gatineau River was running very high and the sun was out with barely any wind at all, we really lucked out as Sandy was too far south to hit us. Lindsay and I scouted the first rapid and found out how high the river really was. Lucifer’s is the first rapid and it was a huge class 5 at that level. This is one terrifying rapid at high water! Definitely the biggest rapid I have ever paddled in an open tandem canoe. We knew we did not have a good chance of making it down without capsizing but we did want to push the boat and ourselves.
We made it down most of the rapid and ended up going over. When I say we went over, I really mean we had a violent flip from a right hand curling wave that we had planned on pushing through. It was a long cold swim as we were the only ones on the river as Roch and Dave were on shore filming. We did not have much of a problem with the rest of the class 4 and 5’s that day as this canoe was built for big water and it handled it with no issues at all.
The depth of the Moisie is what keeps the water out and I have never paddled a canoe so deep and dry. It was a big relief as Lucifer’s waves were huge and we really did not want to fill up with water right away. We did change the outfitting for this trip and installed a full center bag for added flotation.
The rocker on the Moisie is very similar to the Starburst in that it has loads!! Everyone measures rocker differently so I will not get into spec's but this canoe can spin on a dime.
I have owned a Starburst for almost ten years and this is the only canoe I would replace it with... and I have with #2 off the production line. Who wants #3? We will be the first store to have them on Nov 14th.
Kelly McDowell
President
Moisie Review: by Lindsay Finnie, Store Manager
I am not new to white water paddling but I am definitely new to this kind of white water paddling. In the past my white water vessel has been in the realm of the Prospector or, when I first learned, my dad’s 20+ years old Mad River Explorer (a boat with zero rocker and a keel). So it was an adrenaline filled day when Kelly and I took the new Nova Craft Moisie to the Upper Gatineau River to test it on some big water. What a ride. I knew I was in for a big day when we ran our first set, the famous Lucifer. The rapid pushed us around like a pin pall before completely punching us in the face and knocking us over. The Moisie has an incredible amount of rocker to it so it is both playful and responsive. At times I felt like it could read my mind because the action was so immediate. Unfortunately, my draw was no match for Lucifer’s fist. A big selling point on this new boat is that it is an attempted replica of the much loved, but no longer attainable Evergreen Starburst; and minus about half an inch in the beam, the Moisie comes very close to it. Now, I have never paddled a Starburst but I have paddled the Esquif Canyon which, until now, has been the closest comparing boat a paddler could get to the Starburst. The two differ in one big way – the Moisie has a much rounder bottom than the Canyon, which gives you great secondary stability but does take some getting used to. On the first few sets a simple lean with a draw made me feel like I was going to tip over but once the boat and I got to know each other we seemed to fuse together and move with each other. Another difference is that the Moisie is a deeper, drier boat. I paddled the Gatineau at lower water at the end of the summer in a Canyon and I had less water in my boat this time around with the Moisie (and the water was much higher). The Moisie has definitely been made for the die-hard white water paddler.
While paddling the Moisie, I had a much more intimate experience in the water than I ever have in another boat. When I first paddled a rapid in a kayak I remember saying, “this is much more personal than being in a canoe, you’re so much closer to the action,” because a kayak is so much smaller than a 17 foot tub. The Moisie gave me the intimacy that had been missing before and I felt like I was “with” the boat instead of being “in” the boat. One criticism I could offer was that the seat (I was in the bow) was quite high. This undoubtedly contributed to that off balanced feeling I mentioned earlier. I also had some trouble keeping my bum on the seat while knelt down (I’m short). Even just lowering the
seat an inch would have been a big help. I took to the stern seat for a brief period of time...this is a squirrely boat that does not want to go straight without lots of correctional strokes. Because of this, the Moisie would not be ideal for any kind of prolonged flat water paddling/tripping. If the majority of your paddling is going to be on a river with lots of rapids – the Moisie would be a total dream boat.
Lindsay Finnie
Manager
The Complete Paddler can customize this canoe to whatever outfitting you may need and we have decided to offer a day out on the Lower Madawaska with Lindsay and Kelly to the first five customers who purchase this amazing canoe. We will be the first store to have them in stock as of Nov 15th.
Nova Craft Specs for the Moisie
Brand: Nova Craft Canoe
Brand Website: www.novacraft.com
Model Name: Moisie
Product description: We are proud to launch the new Moisie 16’6, our newest dedicated whitewater tripping canoe. The Moisie 16’6 was created to carry a big load and still handle whitewater with ease. When it comes to whitewater tripping, from side slipping, surfing waves and ferrying in and out of rapids to moving quickly and tracking well in flat sections, the Moisie does it all.
Length: 16' 6"
Width at Gunwales: 34"
Width at Waterline: 33"
Depth at Bow: 26"
Depth at Centre: 15"
Depth at Stern: 26"
Material : Royalex Plus
Trim Material Vinyl
Weight : 77 lbs
MSRP : $1899
Material Royalex
Trim Material : Aluminum
Weight : 67 lbs
MSRP : $1899