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"I've had a pleasure paddling this old Chestnut design. Its quite a sweet boat, its just a pleasure to paddle. It can do a lot: it's extremely responsive, its stable, and when you heel it over it locks right at the rail. It gives the paddler a feeling of confidence and comfort. Its just wonderful."

-Mark Molina, twice US national men's solo Freestyle champion and Freestyle Instructor Trainer.

An old Chestnut Fox came into our shop in 1995, and something about it caught our eye. Even though it was easily 40, or more, years old, it looked so modern and appropriate for contemporary solo paddling that we decided to duplicate it.

The result is the Red River Red Fox, a faithful reproduction of a wonderful canoe. It is truly striking how modern this small, classic canoe is. Fine ends, tumblehome, and modest rocker make it great as an all purpose solo canoe. The Red Fox has a shallow arch bottom, slight tumblehome at center, plumb to slight flare towards the ends, clean waterlines with sharp entry, and slight re-curve of the stem.

Length	14’
Beam	30” @ 5” WL 28” at gunnels
Depth	13.5”
Rocker	1 .5”
Stem height	19”
Weight	40-45 lbs, average

My paddling experience in this canoe has been extremely favourable. This is a canoe to get excited about! It is hard for me to imagine a better all around solo canoe. Period. I find the Fox to be very versatile, forgiving and comfortable. It is entirely predictable in every way. It tracks well and is quick when paddled in a straight line. No wonder that this is our most popular canoe model.

Its volume allows it to carry a good load for solo touring or to accommodate larger paddlers. It has very predictable heel for Freestyle maneuvers, offering a great feeling of security. I have paddled some of the best canoes being used for Freestyle, and I would feel comfortable declaring the Fox to be in equal company amongst them. The Fox is ideally shaped and sized for smaller paddlers to apply Style padding technique.

This is a great canoe for kids to learn tandem skills in, as it will behave for them just as a larger canoe would for adults. Set up with a center position, either a seat or kneeling thwart, for adults, and bow and stern kneeling thwarts for kids, all sorts of paddling combinations are opened up.

"Hi Douglas,
The canoe arrived Monday evening and all is well! I was able to take it out briefly yesterday. First, I must say it looks flawless! It's absolutely beautiful! I'm sure you hear it quite often but I am impressed! The myrtle wood doesn't look too bad, either. It paddles just as you described and similar to the Wildfire as you mentioned. It has a nice glide, turns easily and tracks while leaned and/or with the j-stroke. To say the least I'm very pleased! I'd like to thank you for your input and for your skill/craftsmanship as a canoe builder!"

“I wanted to canoe some faster - more technical rivers solo and did not want to bust up my Red Fox, I bought a Bell Wildfire. While the Wildfire is a nice canoe, it in no way compares with your Red Fox. It may be a little faster but for comfort, cargo space it does not compare. I can do anything (turning) in the Red Fox that I can do in the Wildfire and with more comfort. I also think the Red Fox is easier to paddle, J-stroke and pry. I am really happy with the Red Fox after using it for 2 years now. “

"I don't mind sharing a few thoughts with a fellow canoe enthusiast! First a little background, I'm in the 50+ crowd, 5' 8" and 165 lbs wishing I was 150 again. There is one thing I'll attempt to say. This is difficult to describe, but there is a difference between paddling a canoe and having the canoe be an extension of your body. To me, in a bigger boat, you're paddling the canoe, attempting to get it to go where you want with varying degrees of success. Then there is the wonderful feeling of having the canoe be an extension of your own body. It responds immediately to your paddle to turn or go straight, as you wish. You're in perfect control and don't have to think about what to do next, the canoe goes where you want, right now.

With the Red Fox, it was instantaneous. I felt instantly in total control and just loved the way it handled. It was fantastic! The Red Fox handles like a dream, it will turn on a dime yet still will paddle pretty straight. The seat height, the angle, and position are perfect and one could very comfortably kneel for paddling. In addition, if one wanted to be more leisurely, the seat was very comfortable for sitting in the conventional way with your feet on the floor, knees up.

This canoe definitely exceeds my expectations, and responds perfectly. I've had time to look over the Red Fox, and it is obvious it was made with great care by an excellent craftsman. It's actually a work of art! For my purposes the Red Fox is perfect."