Keewaydin 17

In 2018 or 2019, while paddling down the Moose River in the Adirondacks, I kept noticing an older—but impressively energetic—couple gliding along in a gorgeous red‑and‑cream Swift Keewaydin 17. Their canoe seemed to track effortlessly, which was hard not to envy as I wrestled my Old Town Tripper—older than me and nearly as heavy—especially with a 5‑ and 7‑year‑old in the middle along with all our gear.

When we reached our cabin on Fourth Lake, I was thrilled to discover that the same couple was staying right next door. I got the chance to admire their canoe up close and learn more about Swift during the one evening our stays overlapped. The next morning, when they were packing up, I offered to help lift their boat onto their SUV—only to watch them casually toss it up themselves. Meanwhile, my Tripper tipped the scales at just over 100 pounds thanks to extra fiberglass and whitewater reinforcement. Loading that onto my minivan was never going to be effortless.

From that moment on, the Keewaydin became my canoe crush. Each summer when we returned to the Adirondacks with the Tripper, we kept an eye out for other Swifts—spotting one always felt like confirming what I already suspected: I wanted one.

In 2021, fate intervened. Our garage collapsed under an extra‑generous Wisconsin snowfall, and the Tripper didn’t survive the wreck. I took it as the sign (or excuse) I needed and ordered my dream boat from Rutabaga in Madison (rest in peace). I’ve now paddled my own red‑and‑cream Keewaydin 17 for five summers, and not once have I regretted it. The boat handles even better than I hoped, and despite a few injuries over the years, I’ve still been able to load, unload, and launch it solo with ease.

My father‑in‑law was so impressed after one trip down the Milwaukee River that he bought himself a solo Keewaydin. Now, on family trips, we even match—something that still makes me smile every time we hit the water.

Have owned a Keewaydin 17 Kevlar fusion with carbon and cherry trim for 8 years now. Absolute dream boat. Carries so lightly and perfectly balanced, paddles effortlessly. No thwarts, no anything you don’t need. Just a trimmed down, exactingly designed and meticuloulsly built portaging machine. Hard to find any area at all for improvement. Wouldn’t recommend any other canoe for long, flatwater trips in Ontario.

We bought the Keewaydin 17 in carbon fusion just 2 months, ago. We’ve day paddled it on the Oconomowoc River and tripped with it in Sylvania Wilderness. The performance is everything we expected. It tracks so nicely, yet glides at hull speed so effortlessly. I thoroughly enjoy staring at it.

The blue bow – fading to gray is mesmerizing. At 38 lbs, portaging and loading are far easier than all but my carbon fiber solo, which is 17’6” but weighs the same 38 lbs.

We are delighted with our new Keewaydin17. We purchased a two-tone Ruby-Champagne, kevlar fusion with carbon kevlar trim, cherry interior and sliding bow seat. it is exactly what we wanted. It is light, swift, tracks well but also is reasonably manoeuvrable. The bow sliding seat works great and the seats are the most comfortable canoe seats we have ever experienced. The carbon-kevlar gunwales are very comfortable against the knees and quads when paddling. They are not as hot in the sun as dark aluminum gunwales. The champagne bottom hides the scratch marks nicely. After several muddy portages the inside developed a bit of a “camo” appearance that remains even after cleaning the canoe after the trip. If that bothers you, then consider the optional interior gel coat. It does not bother us, as we prefer the character of the camo look vs the extra weight of the interior gel coat. We have not yet had the opportunity to paddle the canoe loaded in larger waves and stronger winds, but we expect it will perform well under those conditions as well. Customer service and delivery were excellent. The staff we dealt with were knowledgeable and responsive. The videos were very helpful in confirming our choice of canoe and trim, while shopping remotely.

I wanted a boat I could trip with my 10 year old and I could also paddle solo. I have a full carbon 2021 Kee-17 with a front sliding seat and carbon foot brace. She’s 44lbs +-. This allows us to single carry every portage (so far!). The sliding seat helps get my lightweight bow paddler as far forward as possible, both for his comfort and for better trim. We find her incredibly stable, even when I’ve stood in the canoe while sighting the best path thru a circuitous weed bed. She cuts thru the wind and heavy water very effectively, I’ve never felt in danger. From the removable middle seat with a portage bag up front I was perfectly balanced for solo paddling. My only small complaint is that the middle seat is not as comfortable for me as the stern, which I think has to do with the angle of the seat itself. But she does everything I wanted her to with aplomb. We named her for Lake Louisa in Algonquin park. She’s a super canoe.