14 ft OT Sport Canoe
Any opinions on this brand of canoe for a not so strong woman that wants to take the boat out solo. Thanks.
You will paddle on area lakes…
I can’t tell which OT canoe you are considering, but my concern is that what they offer in the 14 foot range are heavy and slow.
You’ve considered sea/touring kayaks and decided you prefer a canoe on those waters?
If you want a canoe, you want something reasonably light, 60 pounds or under, and reasonably fast. Such a canoe will not have that aircraft carrier stability offered by the OT 14, but it will make it much easier for you to get from one point to another on the water, to get on and off the water, and to get the boat on and off the car.
not a good choice at all
This model is made by Old Town strictly for Sam’s Club and it is not a boat I would care to own or use. First off, the darn thing is 42" wide and weighs 79 lbs! And at 14" deep it is more of a barge than a canoe. Really a poor choice for a solo paddler, especially someone who is “not so strong.” You would not be able to load it alone and it would be horrid to paddle. They don’t track well at all and despite the weight, the polyethylene hull is known to crack and even develop holes if it hits a rock. In fact the only use I can imagine for this monstrous thing would be for an extremely fat guy to sit and fish in. It is also too wide to carry on some smaller cars.
Give us some information on the kind of paddling you would intend to do and your budget and transport options and we can suggest some better alternatives.
Couldn’t find it on their website BUT…
– Last Updated: Jul-09-12 12:52 AM EST –
... a quick glance at the reviews of that model on this site indicate that it has molded-in plastic seats and a molded-in storage compartment. Therefore, it's a cinch that this boat will be heavy with a capital 'H'. In fact, all of Old Town's cheaper boats (and any model with molded seats and a molded storage compartment will be cheap - their better boats don't have such features) are just plain excruciatingly heavy. A small person wanting a truly portable canoe for solo use would do best to stay away from Old Town altogether, especially the cheap models which are made from polyethylene. There are plenty of light solo canoes in the 14-foot range from other brands, but they will cost more, but by searching you can often get a good price on a used boat. However, if you can handle something in the range of 40 to 45 pounds, that will open up quite a few options among solo canoes in the "mid-price" range, made from Royalex. Royalex is heavy, but not as heavy as polyethylene. Re-phrase your question and you might get plenty of advice on models to consider. Off the top of my head, I know that Mohawk and Wenonah offer mid-price, mid-weight boats around 14 feet in length (Mohawk Solo 13, Mohawk Solo 14, Wenonah Vagabond are all under 45 pounds, if my memory is working right). I used to have a Royalex Vagabond, and it weighed 42 pounds. Actually, the Mohawk models are quite cheap in price, considering what you get.
http://www.mohawkcanoes.com/solo.html
http://www.wenonah.com/products/template/product_detail.php?IID=34
ultralite solo canoe
Don’t know if you are still reading responses on this topic, but I would think this ultra-light canoe would be ideal for you for being able to manage it yourself. Imagine a 14 lb canoe! I have a cat that weighs more than that…
http://www.tidewatersmallcraft.com/nimrod-12-skin-on-frame-canoe/