A summertime trip up the Mendocino County coast isn’t complete without a paddle excursion along the beautiful Big River estuary. And now there’s a novel new way for you and your four-legged companions to share the adventure.
Catch A Canoe & Bicycles Too, which has been outfitting paddlers on the 8.3-mile estuary since 1972, has added a new, dog-friendly craft to its fleet of handmade redwood outrigger canoes. The Canine Cruiser features a raised, padded deck centered in the middle of the craft between paddler positions in bow and stern.
The roomy and stable platform can accommodate up to four canine passengers, allowing them to sit, stand or lie down as the scenery slides by. On the people side, a foot-controlled rudder system assists with steering, while twin sails can be raised when traveling downwind.
The cruiser, constructed of 100-year-old, repurposed virgin redwood, is the 19th handmade redwood outrigger in Catch-A-Canoe’s eclectic fleet of kayaks and canoes, many of which can accommodate one or two canine passengers.
Designed in-house by longtime manager Rick Hemmings, the one-of-a-kind craft was built by Bob Cummings of Canoe-Tri in Potter Valley.
