Attention: Loon 111 owners and other

Old Town boats with sliding seats.

If you have a problem with the seat sliding when you don’t want it to, there is a solution. I found out after we’d had our a couple of months.

If you tip the seat forward, reach behind it and near the rail on each side are knobs that, when turned, will tighten and your seat will stay in place.

I don’t recall mention of this in my manual.

They may only be 11’1" but they’re durable, great for twisty, turning rivers, fun to fish out of, and track fairly decent for a rec boat.

It’s a shame

– Last Updated: Sep-19-11 11:49 AM EST –

that when Johnson Outdoors bought Old Town they discontinued the Loon series. I have a 138, also with similar stops behind the seat. The boat is just great for fishing and is quite stable even when the water gets rough. It's built like a tank and is way heavy, but once on the water handles pretty nice. No, it's not for white water or surf, but I don't need it for that.

(Yes, they still make the 111. There were some great sisters in the fleet.)

They do still make a Loon 111, but they
no longer have the adjustable slider bars. Too bad, as this made it great for a large number of paddlers. The sliders allow for very tall folks to fit their legs into the boat and as with ours, we purchased a child seat with a bar that fits under the adult one. Many a little one have gone for rides in our Loons, but alas, they don’t seem to last very long. The motion of the water puts them to sleep. :slight_smile: Or by having the seat far back, Fido can also go along for the ride Now that the grandkids are too big for the seat, perhaps one of these days we’ll sell it.

Love the “Polylink” material. It takes a beating and still floats right along.

First Boat
My first kayak was a Loon and I still use it for river travel. The seat doesn’t adjust on mine and my feet were a bit cramped so I moved the seat back and have been pleased with the result. The Loon series tracks well and makes a great kayak if used for it’s intended purpose.

First Kayak
We got a 138T, the tandem model, thinking that this would be great for our young family. It had the front sliding seat and a second seat fixed in place in the back of the very large cockpit. The front seat could slide up for tandem use, or slide back for single use. We liked it. Trouble was, I rarely got to use it because my 7 year old son was in it so much.

Also, we found that the Loon does not track well if it is trimmed bow-heavy. No biggie, just load it stern-heavy.

Later, as we added more boats to the fleet, I took out the rear seat and made a nice single weekend camping boat out of it. Great for fishing, too. Also excellent for day trips on a creek or river where you have to get in and out frequently. Like I said, the cockpit is large.

I would recommend buying one of these (138T) if you are looking for a first kayak and see one for sale.

It doesn’t do a lot of kayak “tricks” like rolling, but it is a great rec boat.