Canoe shopping?

I am going to start looking for a canoe. I thought about trying to get one from the local outfitter at the end of the floating season here? But then again are there problems with doing that? I noticed a new one for about $500 this weekend from Old Town.

What should I look for in a canoe? I dont want a real expensive one. I would like it to handle two adults and a couple of coolers or a reasonable amount of gear for a overnight camping trip or all day fishing trip down a river or on a small lake.

I have an Old Town Guide Series 147 that will handle two good sized men and some equipment. I think it's 36" at the widest. This is a two man canoe. I paid just under $500 for it a few years ago. Tell them to throw in a couple of paddles or ask for an accessories discount should they balk at the paddles. They might just accomodate you.

I think my canoe is right at 72 pounds. I handle it pretty well. It handled me once ... glad I didn't have an audience for that one! I got off balance with it, tried to recover and it threw me like a professional wrestler. HA!!

The Old Towns are nice canoes. Here are some trade offs to consider when looking for a new boat.

Plastic is more durable and wil take knocking around.
Fiberglass is able to be shaped more sharply giving you a better ride with more glide and less effort.
Aluminum lasts for ever but is noisey (scares fish).

Cane seats and wooden gunnels are beautiful but take more upkeep. The Cane seats are also more comfortable.

Wider canoes are more stable but take more effort to move forward. Shorter canoes turn easier but don't travel as straight. It takes more effort to keep them on a straight line.

The lighter a canoe the easier it is to carry and the more seceptible it is to being blown about by the wind.

Hope this helps.

jed

Just for the heck of it, look at the EASY RIDER TSL serices on line. I realize they are not cheap, read, decipher and make an intellegant decision. I have own one and for what you want tod do, they are fantastic. Balsa core bottom, figerglass, the covered deck is a great asset to keep gear safe and dry and it will last for decades. If you ever want to take a third person aboard, they can sit amidship and not compromise the craft. Good luck, Jonezee

Waynep -

"What to look for in a canoe" really depends on how and where you will use it. If you are looking for a canoe to serve as a fishing platform more that 2 or 3 times a season, then you really should give it some consideration. Approximately 90% of my flyfishing is done out of a canoe. Before I settled on a style I asked myself the following five questions:

1) Where will I be using the canoe?

2) How will I be transporting the canoe?

3) How often will I be using

4) Am I most likely to be using it alone or with someone?

5) How far will I be paddeling?

Those questions really lead up to the ideal construction material and size for your canoe. It is hard to find a one-size-fits-all canoe. So you have to find the canoe that fits your most common need and adapt in other situations. A wide stable canoe will allow you to stand up and cast. But it isn't something you'd want to take touring.

Also, you get what you pay for. If you expect to use your canoe often, don't consider spending any less than $500 on a good canoe (new).

Answer those five questions and i might be able to point you in the right direction.

PG

1) Where will I be using the canoe?

Local small rivers and some small lakes in the area I live in.

2) How will I be transporting the canoe?

Car top.

3) How often will I be using

Not sure, If I had one, likely 15-30 per year. Maybe more. I like within walking distance of a small lake that would be fun to fish but requires a boat. Travel time to the boat ramp via car is 2 minutes from my drive way.

4) Am I most likely to be using it alone or with someone?

Both. I understand if I am alone, running it backwards and sitting on what is normally the front seat works well for being alone???

5) How far will I be paddeling?

Riding the current down stream, the local lakes at in the The closest lake is 47 acres, the largest is 477 acres. The stream are local small rivers and streams. Most esily floated in a canoe.

Based on your responses, I would recommend a canoe made out of royalex. Fiberglass and alumunium canoes are heavy and Kevlar is too expensive. A wood strap canoe is heavy and requires alot of maintenance and care.

Royalex is not to be confused with polyethylene or other thermoplastics. Poly canoes are generally cheap. You might get a few years out of it before it succumbs to the weather. In hot weather the poly canoes are easy to warp when you put them on a car top.

Royalex canoes are relatively light-weight and can withstand the occational run-in with a rock or tree stump. The material will stand up to the weather better than thermoplastic canoes.

A canoe with a wide beam will give you more stability and will track easier, but it comes at a price. You loose speed and maneaverability. If you are going to be in flat water most of the time, you could get away with a narrow beam and still have good stability. The beam of my canoe is 40-inches. Two adults can stand up in my canoe and fly-cast. If you go with a wide canoe, which will work in your situation, it will just take you a little longer to get where you are going.

I would avoid canoes with a transom unless you plan to use a trolling motor. Square end canoes are a pain to paddle. If you are considering useing a trolling motor I would recommend using amounting bracket with a double ender canoe.

A 13 to 14 foot canoe is about as long as you will want to go if you are paddling by yourself. It is long enough for 2 people if needed. Anything over 14 feet is difficult to carry and paddle by yourself.

When you look at canoes look at the over all construction. You can easily tell which canoes are built well. I learned the hard way. One of my first canoes was not built very well. The mounting brackets for the seats kept breaking and the bow and stern plates were made out of cheap plastic and broke as well.

Those are my 2 cents. There is a lot more we could talk about like rocker styles. If you can, I recommend testing the canoe in the water before you buy it.

Hope this helps. Give a yell if you have more questions.

PG