Reply to what is wrong with Pelican…
Please take this reply in the nicest way possible.
“Exactly what is so wrong with a Pelican…or a coleman for that matter?? They float and get people on the water dont they?”
Yes, they do get people on the water. However, as the OP reports, the boat is the equivalent of waterlogged, and therefore difficult if not impossible to paddle.
I have seen the boats at Dick’s and Sam’s Club. They are equivalent of a Yugo or Chevette- An entry level product which 1)does not hold its value and 2)may lead the unknowing into believing that all automobiles(canoes) have serious flaws (are not easy to paddle) and therefore discourage continued use of the vehicle. Better construction boats are available for not much more than the $300-350 the low end models cost.
The ants are merely a normal nuisance, as long as they are not INSIDE the floataion air space that is now filled with water. If they are inside, they can crawl out and annoy or worse, esp if they are fire ants.
“This board is filled with “name brand yuppies”. The canoe and kayak snobs are such a turn off to the entire sport.”
The objection is not to the name brand, but the quality of the item. Those who point out this model’s flaws with a factual explanation are attempting to guide potential purchasers to a good decision.
Yes, there will be witticisms at the expense of the boat manuifacturer. You may be aware that the “planting of the boat”, though extreme, is a rather sophisticated reference to a modern art classic.
see
http://www.libertysoftware.be/cml/cadillacranch/ranch/crabtr.htm
If the snobiness is directed at the individual, then you have a legitimate point. I suspect the people in question know each other well enough to take a joke.
“Fill the boat with water and dawn dish soap. Squirt a little dawn down along the gunwhales so it gets up and under and follow it with a hose. Soap kills ants. Rinse it out and your done. Pretty easy.”
This solves the ant problem for the moment, but not the water worthiness issue of a flotation space filling up with water. Will this happen while the boat is in use by a novice? I hope not…
What ever boat you have and whatever floats your boat, Have fun!
Kaps
Brands
I’ve paddled many Coleman canoes, and one Pelican. 100% of the people who will, will enjoy it while they’re out there. There are much better canoes on the market for just $200 more, but that’s double the price of a Pelican. DOUBLE! I think most people who start off in this sport, and begin with a Pelican or Coleman model will eventualy upgrade, but if they dont…so what! That must mean they like their boat.
The “OP” says a Pelican is equivalent to a “water logged” boat, and is impossible to paddle? Really?? I mean REALLY??? We all know that’s completely false. Just because name brand yuppies say a Pelican is “unable to be paddled” doesn’t mean they really are. That’s my whole point. I’ve been an active canoeist for 35 years…I fish, hunt, trap, and explore in my boats, yet over the past 10 years or so there’s been a swamping of brand snobs and yuppies that are ruining the sport with their elitist views and equipment discrimination. For goodness sakes it’s getting to the point where a person is looked down upon for owning a boat made of poly. If it’s not royalex or kevlar, it’s junk right? I wish you’d all go back to golf and get off the water.
Well, my apologies, but in my 35 years
of canoeing (no golf), I’ve always made a point to try to obtain and paddle quality boats.
I could hunt and fish with a Pelican, but I couldn’t do all the things I do with my canoes.
earth to mjflores
You are on an enthusiast website. The people who post here are motivated enough by their love of paddling to seek out and participate in these discussions.
The reason you don’t see a lot of Coleman or Pelican users here is because those aren’t boats targeted to the type of serious users that populate a board like this. The “name brand” boats are, and that’s you see them talked about.
It’s not elitism. It’s demographics.
If you are only interested in puddling
around once a month, a low end boat is fine. If you want to paddle 20+ mile days,good luck.
I know a bunch of the people here and there are few yuppies among us.Baldpaddler a yuppie! that is a hell of a thought.
Young(hah!)Urban(not by choice) Professional(paddler that is).
There ya go
Sort of like being surprised when a professional photographer rejects your claim that the disposable camera you picked up at the drugstore for ten bucks should be good enough for anyone.
I couldn’t even hunt and fish with…
... Pelican. Well, there are SOME places I could fish (as long as I didn't need to travel far and the wind wasn't too bad), but pivot and side-slip my way between fallen trees on a winding little river with so little effort that I would still be able to snatch up the shotgun as the wood ducks rocket away? No chance. There is nothing wrong with having "the right tool for the job", whether paddling is the end itself, or just the means to an end.
Ram-X canoes & us
mjflores,
Both the Baldpaddler and myself have been on multiple Boy Scout trips where the assorted canoes brought along have included the Coleman and Pelican canoes. Those who brought them were proud of their canoes and especially the ‘deal’ they got on them. 2 canoes for what i spent on my “elitist” Wenonah. On the first portage the whole group lost an hour while the two Coleman canoes were drug over the carry. No yoke in either, center seat in the other blocking the best spot to put a temporary yoke. Two young Scouts with a canoe that outweighed either of them. Being good Scouts we all helped, but those two canoes took more effort to portage then even the heavy livery-weight Grummans. Same thing on the water, the boys paddling the Colemans lagged far behind. Best solution here, swap canoes; best 2 paddlers in worst canoe, weakest paddlers in best paddling canoe. This is where it gets personal; I end up for a very long day paddling the bargain Coleman, its owner ends up paddling my Wenonah. I know how they paddle, i have ended up in Pelicans, Colemans, Rogue Rivers, etc. I do not knock a canoe that i have not paddled, Baldpaddler either. If we joke that a canoe is a barge; it is from fact.
Going from $200 to $4oo is doubling the cost, but the $4oo is less than some people will spend for one golf club or aluminum bat. The $200 is less than 2 trips to the chiropractor. Yes there are canoe snobs, but you come look at the boats in my back yard, and then decide for yourself if I fit the description.
Bill
I cannot understand …
... why anyone would squander 200 clams on one of those fancy Colemans. For HALF that price, I get around in great style and comfort in one of the finest craft ever to grace the water:
http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/02Bn3ZG2Zx4wD/610x.jpg
And when I was a wee sprout, before my ample derriere required the above boat, I sailed the seven seas in this grand vessel:
http://canoeme.org/Gipping%20Navigation/images/1970-bathtub-race.jpg
(Note my clever use of a double-ended pizza paddle and my utter disregard for proper immersion gear. PFD? Pshaw, I'm sitting on it, to avoid the dreaded Galvanized Gluteals.)
Such simple watercraft are all that are required for most paddling, and may also be utilized for personal hygiene or churning butter.
Anything else is mere snobbery and snootery ...
Ant spray you dummy !
then when you finally get the ants out, do what most people that live around lakes do with old beat of Colemans, (a couple of years).
Cut it in half and use it to hold their RFD box
cheers,
jackL
heasitated to use bug spray
afraid it might screw up the Ram-X construction.
Kind of interesting how Mark got this canoe.
A bunch of scouts came tohis lake front property to
do their canoeing requirements. One of their parents
brought the Pelican, and paddles for the boys to use.
He left the boat and paddles at Marks house and never bothered to came get it. For eight years it has sat at Marks…
I am always amazed at the number of Colemans and pelicans I see on the shore, covered with debris and years of growth around them. I am equally amazed to do the math on the number of people who bought them
then realized canoeing isn’t fun(because of the coleman) and just lose interest…
The only time they melt is…
when you lick them!
I figure those ants must be from the wrong side of the tracks if they picked that canoe to live in.
I know what you mean though. We ride our bikes along a large river here and I have passed by a junked vehicle on blocks with a coleman on the roof for at least the past ten years.
They must be UV resistant if nothing else! (not the ants, the canoe)
cheers,
jackL
Ha! - protecting the parts truck
finally, a good use for a coleman
A pelican canoe
can really make you appreciate good hull design if and when you buy a “real” boat. But I must say the for the first 10 years of my paddling career my 17 ft 3 seater pelican did me justice. I ran fairly big drops, plenty of class 2 and learned to canoe pole before I upgraded to a Nova Craft Prospector 16 in 07. ( check out youtube yellow breeches spring 07 for proof!!)
Delphinus is NOT a poser!
why not dunk it in the water?
That should take care of the ants and the sloshy water.
Oh No
You should’nt have said you actually sat in a Pelican. All the board Elitists aren’t going to talk to you now.
Question…you mentioned you learned to paddle in a Pelican, but Baldcanoeloser or whatever it calls itself claims they cant be paddled, along with the other yuppie canoe brand nazis. But since you’re a former owner…I guess the do float and paddle. I guess baldy and the other followers dont really know what they’re talking about after all.
Definition of Coleman Infestation
Anytime there’s more than one.
Hey Mjflores
I have paddled colemans so feel qualified to affirm that it is an inefficent and ineffective design. They generally are bought then discourage the owners(not all but many.) I have my home town listed in my profile so if you get to the charlotte area I will gladly go for a paddle with you and let you try any one of boats so that you can understand the differences of design.
Charlie
Denver NC
Some “Board Elistists” —
Just might have started in a crappy canoe, but enjoyed the experience so much they realized, the difference and pleasure that a good canoe could provide for them, and then used their head and moved on.
I for one just happen to know that Bald paddler could probably teach you a few strokes, but then again maybe you are content to stay with your Coleman and not progress to a craft that glides through the water instead of plowing through it.
Cheers,
JackL