Prospector 14 Pack

You are most likely asking yourself what do I mean by “the perfect solo tripping/dog boat with one modification”. If you are tripping or even day paddling with your furry partner, the question is where do you put them. The most common place is in front of you, between you and the front thwart. When you do this, you have control of the dog, but performing a low angle/relaxed paddle stroke, with a kayak paddle, is difficult. If you put them between the front thwart and the bow, that takes up space for gear. And if you have an English Springer like I do, they do not like having the front thwart between them and you. If you put them in the back of the canoe you can’t control them well and less room for gear.

The answer, move the front thwart up towards the bow to allow for extra room for the dog.

Working with Swift Manufacturing and Bill Swift, they were able to move the front thwart all the way up to the front of the kayak foot brackets. The result; great room for Reagan (see attached pictures), roomy paddling station, enough room between the front thwart and the bow for my 70-liter Seal Line Waterproof Pack and easier to swing your legs in/out of the boat. The only downside is if you like the use the front thwart to hang a bag or attach equipment. My fix was to attach some latching points inside the hull to clip in my water bottle and a dry bag for snacks and other stuff.

The Prospector 14 Pack is a dream boat. Not the fastest boat, but covers distances nicely, tracks well and is highly maneuverable. This is the same whether the boat is loaded with gear or just out for a day paddle. I have had this boat loaded for three to four days with Reagan in very high wind and waves in the ADK. Very stable and just eats up waves. The seat is a dream to sit on for hours at a time.

My Prospector Pack has the Expedition Carbon Layup, Carbon Trim Components and Skid Plates and comes in at 33.5#. Very manageable weight. I use a 260 cm paddle.

If you need the “Perfect Solo Tripping/Dog Boat”, this is the boat for you.

Had the boat for a full tripping season, now beginning another and cannot wait to dive in. I’ll start with the only negative, it’s not a whitewater boat in any way, do not do more than a swift/class 1 (if you know what you’re doing). This is a flat water boat. If that’s what you want, this is one of the best options you can get. Weighs nothing, and the more you put in it the better it handles. Extremely fast using a double blade paddle and unbelievably stable. Including myself and the dog, I load mine to about 380 lbs (depending on trip length/food) and travel across the lake country of the Northwest Territories regularly. Portaging is a dream, the boat is light enough to carry a heavy pack along with it and cut down on trips. I have expedition Kevlar, it is durable enough to handle any damage that would reasonably be expected in lake travel. You don’t have to baby it. I look forward to many years from this thing.

I just completed a Solo Big Trout Lake Loop. This boat gave me the performance and stability i needed. Great fishing platform. Very glad I picked this boat.

I bought my prospector 14 a year ago and absolutely love it for flatwater and fishing. Do not recommend if you are dealing with any rapids at all but it’s everything I wanted for my Algonquin backcountry portage rig.

The only boat similar that I have paddled is the Old Town Next. By comparison the Swift has far greater Primary stability, is able to handle wind and waves far better. Swift says the design pushes the waves under so not to disturb the boat, I now know understand what they mean, waves just seem to dissapear. It is about 20% faster and tracks much better in glide and during a stroke but is still easy to turn when needed. In short it is living up to all that Bill Swift promised. At almost half the weight of the Old Town, just getting it to the shore and on the roof of the car is a joy not a pain. When I pick it up in one hand with ease to walk it back the car the look of other peoples face is pricless. The seat and foot braces are comfortable and sturdy. Final bonous it looks amazing. cannot think of a single reason to regret my purchase.