Advice on new fishing canoe

I use an Old Towne Discovery 17 and I’m getting too old to get it on and off the car. I fish with my grandson so stability is important and I sometimes use an electric motor. I’m looking at a Keewaydin 16 Kevlar

I don’t have any experience with the Kee 16, but it comes from a first-rate builder and has a great reputation. I can recommend the Millbrook Coho though. Designed for standing with a pole, it is also a great recreational canoe with very good primary and secondary stability. Very light and strong without the cost of the Swift boat - although not nearly as pretty. I’ve had mine for several years and use it mostly for poling. It gets some rough treatment, and only has surface scratches to show for it. One downside…Millbrook canoes have no built-in flotation, so you have to provide that yourself. I use small float bags in the ends, since I am poling solo, but there are other options that might be more suitable for your use.

Another very good option for fishing tandem is the Wenonah Kingfisher. You might be able to find one used. They were made in royalex, weighing about 65 lbs, IIRC. But they also have been and are made in a lightweight composite. Extremely stable canoe. The Kingfisher is a 16’ canoe, but they also make a similar 14’ called the Fisherman. If you and your grandson are on the small side, you might also consider that. I had one in the royalite lay-up (58 lbs) that I also used for poling and tandem paddling, but it was a bit cramped for me when fishing while tandem. In between the two, Wenonah also makes the 15’ Heron (now only in composites), which I think is a really great tandem canoe for flat water and fishing, for someone looking to save weight.

Put your canoe on a trailer and back it in the water. Then loading and unloading is easy even for old guys.