ok here it goes.
i am a 6 foot man around 280 pound.
i will do a bit off rapids.
a bit off tendem flat water tour…
no dog
no camping
2 people max will go in it
i want to pole it
i want to stand up and paddle it
i want to stand up and fly fishing in it.
so whats the best canoe for me to do those stuff.??
thanks a bunch
joco
16 footer
I would think a 16 to 17 footer would be good. A friend of mine poles an Old town penobscot. He is a little guy, so I do not know how it would act with someone larger.
You may look into a Prospector style. They do a bit of everything like you are describing. I think Poling will be my next thing, so i will be watching this one.
Flatter bottom for fishing
Industry standard for poling is a 16’, tandem canoe. This is also what you want for your 2-peep trips.
Many polers like the Mad River Explorer, in part because the shallow vee bottom is comfortable for standing. Keep in mind the polers stand squarely facing the bow, with one foot in each chine. I’m thinking that for fly fishing, you want to be able to face other directions, and a flat bottomed boat will be more comfortable.
Personally, I like the OT Appalachan’s shallow-arch hull for poling. But again, the rounded bottom is a little less stable when you start moving around for fishing. Prospector model canoes are also popular, and are somewhat similar to the Appy. The Penobscot will work, but is a bit narrower (tippy).
I suggest a flat bottom hull like the OT Camper. It will be fine for routine poling and paddling, and have more stability than arched or vee bottoms preferred by many polers.
~~Chip
Size matters
Joco - because you are a full 100lbs heavier and a little taller than me, I think you should go with a longer boat. The 16’ NC prospector works well for me and is the most forgiving canoe I have had. It is the easiest canoe I have had to stand in for all conditions - including the OT Camper. Unless you are confined to small narrow and twisting streams, I think you should look to the 17 or 18 foot versions. Whenever I am poling with 100lbs or more of extra weight on board, I find myself wishing for another foot or two of canoe. If I ever get a chance at a used 17’ or 18’ Prospector for “freighter” use, I am on it. A big guy like you would probably do well to start with 17 feet.
You could certainly pole and fish while standing in a lot of 16’ canoes, but a NC Prospector - particularly a longer one for you - will be about as easy as it gets.
Chip, a Camper or even a Grumman
will not be more “stable” for poling than a canoe with a flattish shallow arch like a Tripper. You’re getting into the flat-bottomed stability myth. It’s what happens at the chines and sides that determines stability. Flatness of the canoe’s bottom does NOT predict stability.
“right boat”??
People have been poling all sorts of canoes forever.
But the last thing you want on a New Brunswick salmon stream is a Prospector…I don’t know where you want to pole but if there is reasonable depth such as on the Bonaventure River in Quebec, the Old Town Tripper is still the overwhelming favorite.
Sure there are other faster more manueverable boats but the Tripper delivers a good bang for the buck. You might need more than a 16 foot boat though Harry Rock uses one and he is quite a bit taller than you. I think height would matter more than weight particularly when you think tripping gear.
I pushed the center of my Tripper’s
hull down just a bit with a foam pillar, and it made a tremendous improvement in poling and paddling maneuverability, without losing speed. I think the standard Tripper hull is so wide that it pooches upward a little bit when in the water. It needs some support in the center.
OK I’ll bite
Why would on NOT want a Prospector in a New Brunswick salmon stream?
What boat would be preferable there?
Why?
Inquiring minds want to know 
well, duh
– Last Updated: Apr-02-12 5:45 PM EST –
Prospectors were after GOLD, while fishermen were after salmon. You need your OSPREY on a salmon stream, Mr. C1T1.
Personally, the last thing I'd want in New Brunswick is an empty bottle of DEET.
Prospectors, true prospectors, are
kind of round-bottomed and may be less inclined to spin or ferry than a flattish boat like a Tripper. But if a prospector has some rocker, and isn’t overloaded, it should pole and handle class 2 whitewater quite well.
I’d like to see Kaz do an S-glass/Kevlar Tripper, though. It’d still weigh at least 55 pounds. Lotta Spheretex needed to stiffen the bottom.
The OT tripper waist is 34 inches
wide.
Put a Swift Dumoine next to it and point to the fatty!
Salmon streams are something like
two inches deep. I only have experience on the Miriamichi and that is one shallow stream. Prospector=walk
In that case,…
…the Camper might be preferable to the Prospector. When the depth gets down below 3" for long, I miss my Camper. I can’t comment on the Tripper.
Wouldn’t a longer Prospector have a shallower draft, all else being equal?
thanks…
wow so many great response thanks a bunch guys.
have to think about tracking a bit to…all my fly fishing and small trip will be on flat water.
so rapids for trying the poling but most off the paddling like 80% would be flat water.
thanks again and keep those comment coming i simply love it…very informative.
joco
20 foot
tripper xl. Perfection.
There are salmon streams and there
are salmon streams. Salmon streams in Oregon and Washington are not two inches deep. But if a stream really averages two inches deep, then a flat bottomed canoe like the camper is not going to be significantly better than one of the flattish prospectors on the market.
Paddling a quasi round-bottomed, high rocker ww canoe, I find I get through shallows better than paddlers in flatboats. Seems to be a matter of acquired skill. But I know you have acquired skill.
It was 37 inches wide at the gunwales
when I bought it used. I believe he pushed the gunwales out a fleck, but not three inches.