Looking for canoe with shallow draft -

Can anybody offer info on a canoe with a shallow draft, either small tandem or solo.



Intended use is to paddle standing with a SUP paddle.

Would like less wind surface, though.



Thanks in advance.

Small tandem wit shallow draft…
= Wenonah Fisherman.



Not so small, but a little lower profile = Wenonah Heron.



The Old Town Camper also draws very little water, but it’s 16’ and flat bottomed. Doesn’t handle chop as well as either of the two mentioned above.



Or, you could take a step up to kevlar and call Kaz for a Millbrook Coho.

A 20’ Old Town Tripper XL
or maybe a 20’ E.M. White or Old Town Guide model. Big long and wide with fairly flat bottom = shallow draft. Maybe not the best solo boats. :slight_smile:

less draft or a lower sheer?
“Draft” refers to the part of the boat that sticks down in the water. Wind catches the part of the boat above the water. Boats with little draft might be more severely affected by wind than those with greater draft.



My guess is you are looking for a shallower boat that has a lower sheer line and less rise at the stems so as to have less windage.



Paddling a canoe with a shallow arch bottom standing up is not quite the same as paddling a flat-bottomed stand up board. I would take a look at the models that canoe polers favor. They often pole their boats upstream through rapids and might require a deeper boat than you do if you are just planing to paddle in calm waters.

Right, I am looking for a shallower
canoe with less sheer. The overall goal is to have less wind surface to deal with. Actually, that is what paddleboards excel at.



I happen to have a 12’ lake paddleboard, and I do well with it for a beginner on lake water. I think my issue is that I have been a “canoe person” for such a long, long time, I prefer being in a canoe to anything else. When I use a carbon layup SUP paddle while standing in a canoe I can paddle the canoe faster than I ever could with a canoe paddle or kayak paddle. The longer arc and pull with the SUP paddle has a definite advantage in performance, at least for me. The workout of the total body core is much more rewarding physically, and the standing position presents a new perspective to paddling.



So, right, my quest is to see what I can find in the way of a shallow canoe that will have a minimum wind surface.

some thinking out of the box
basically because I am scratching my head at remembering what canoes are tandems and about 11 inches deep. I am sure there are some.



What comes to mind is what a canoe builder friend of mine did. His wife wanted a lower sheer solo boat. He built the wooden canoe ( plank-rib) and then cut it down with a sawzall.



You might get away with that on a composite canoe too if you are handy.

Maybe a Jensen
Wenonah Jensens come up for sale used now and again. The 17’ Jensen has a center depth of 12.5" with a bow height of 17" and a stern height of 16", pretty shallow for a tandem canoe. But I have no idea what it is like to stand up in.



You could look around for a suitable used tandem boat and cut it down.

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– Last Updated: Sep-13-15 11:15 PM EST –

http://millbrookboats.com/tandem.htm

I don't know if Kaz can or will make yours with less depth, but you can always ask.

Other than that....how small is "small"?

http://merrimackcanoes.com/our-canoes/osprey

Thanks for the feedback -
I decided to go with an Indian River Arrowhead -



http://www.indianrivercanoemfg.com/arrowhead.htm



The Arrowhead is similar to the older OT Stillwater canoes, of which I have a 14’ and 16’. They are great for inland lakes,but a bit on the heavy side for portaging by maturing folk.