The Ocoee rides again. Proclaimed one of the best solo whitewater open boats of all time, the Ocoee was rereleased this February by Nova Craft Canoe.
Designed by the late Frankie Hubbard and Dagger in 1996, this remarkable recreational open boat was the first to transition from a shallow arch hull to a flatter bottom—the Ocoee had hard edges in a world where rounder, softer edges were the norm. When Dagger got out of the open boat market six years ago, Bell Canoe Works picked up the mould, only to cease production four years later. The Ocoee’s absence from the mar- ket has been keenly felt since.
“The Ocoee has a cult following,” says Joe Pulliam, co-founder of Dagger. “To this day it’s considered one of the benchmarks in high-performance, whitewater solo boating.”
Famed for its high waterline, hard chines and extreme rocker, the Ocoee has been embraced by aggressive paddlers, and made a meal of out more than a few beginners. It’s been used for everything from winning rodeos to class V creeking. Voted the best open boat of all time in 2012 by readers of Rapid magazine, the fact that the Ocoee is easily cus- tomized and a favorite of instructors has further boosted its popularity.
“This is big news for open boating,” says Emma Stinson, a whitewater canoe instructor and one of almost 50 paddlers to pre-order an Ocoee. The re-launch news ended Stinson’s four-year hunt for the perfect boat. “I love the secondary stability, the gorgeous lines it carves, the way it handles big water—I can’t wait to get out in it.”
“Dagger had some wonderful canoe designs and I’m really happy to see those great designs still in production,” says Pulliam. He’s not her- alding this as the rebirth of open boating, but he does believe competi- tion will be good for the open canoe market. “More competition could drive more sales and interest.”
Roch Prevost of Nova Craft Canoe, anticipates their first year sales to be overwhelming—“the joke is we hope we’ll still sell some in the second year.”
He’s expecting to sell close to 100 Ocoees in 2013—a big deal for a small market. “The Ocoee is one of the best canoes for solo paddling. Because it hasn’t been available for two years, there’s a high demand.”
Paddlers can expect Nova Craft’s Ocoee to be available in two lay-ups and in red, green and burgundy. It comes standard with vinyl trim and roto- molded decks. Ready for outfitting, it retails for $1,499 CAD.
This article first appeared in the Spring 2013 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.
