Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Listening Point - General Discussion :: blackhawk__________ canoe

Author	Message Text
VermontGal	03/19/2012 07:40PM   I'm just about to look at a boat advertised as a Nighthawk. I'm wondering about this "permanent" pedestal seat. Can it, in fact, be removed if I wanted to switch the boat to having a cane seat? I grew up paddling in an old wood & canvas Penn Yan with kneeling thwarts, only. I like a high seat that can be used mostly for kneeling with an occasional chance to stretch the legs on a calm lake. I think I might have paddled a ww boat with a pedestal, once, but I'm not sure that this is something I want to commit to... Advice from the Blackhawk crowd? Thanks in advance!
mrgreen	01/08/2012 06:04PM   thanks BOB, this boat came with a cane seat hung about an inch below the gunwales. but at 12 ft and 24 inches it was a little unsettling for me so i paddle it from a seat on the bottom. it is quite fast for its length. i will post pictures someday for you to see.
mrgreen	01/07/2012 09:10PM   I bought a canoe in october that was listed as a blackhawk nighthawk canoe but from what i can find it may be a kitty hawk instead. hopefully someone can help me with this. it is 12 ft long and 24 inches wide. any info would be appreciated.
ozarkpaddler	01/07/2012 10:11PM   I have a friend who is a Blackhawk collector, I'll e-mail him for you. TW
mjmkjun	01/07/2012 11:55PM   I have a Starship. Not well versed on Blackhawks but till you get someone posting who is...... here is a link to bwca thread on Blackhawks.
thebob.com	01/08/2012 04:05PM   If it's 12 feet long; it's probably NOT a Nighthawk. A Nighthawk is slightly longer than 13 feet. In several old buyer's guides from Canoe magazine and Canoe & Kayak magazine I have seen the Nighthawk's length listed at 13'1" 13'2" 13'3". You seldom see any spec. information about Nighthawks in old Blackhawk brochures. The Nighthawk typically has a pedestal in it. It might be a removable pedestal, but more often than not it's a pedestal that is permanently mounted in the bildge; actually a part of the canoe. A Fishhawk, for all pratical purposes is the same hull design as the Nighthawk, but has a wood/cane seat, as opposed to a pedestal. I currently own 6 Blackhawks; one of which I'm sure is a Nighthawk. Mine has a permanently mounted pedestal. I also have a brand new/never used example of one of the removable pedestals. If you would like to see several photos of a Nighthawk, to compare to your canoe; check out my photo journal. BOB
Dan Cooke	01/08/2012 06:46PM   TheBoB is spot on about the seating differences of the Nighthawk (Pedestal) and the Fishhawk (Cane Seat). Bob Brown designed this hull for Phil Sigelkow. I have the original forms that Bob made the plug from. I owned a Fishhawk and a Kittyhawk and considered selling them when Phil was still in business. The Kittyhawk I owned was a 12 footer that had a long fixed pedestal seat. My kids enjoyed the freedom they had in the Kittyhawk. They als o tandem paddled the Fishhawk in the BWCA when they were young. Dan Cooke