Canoe, right and wrong

Need help. Looking to buy a canoe. Will be used for myself and G/F and we want to take dog. Inland lakes and some calm rivers of Mn. Want light and will get kevlar. Need help with length and shape. Seem to be a ton of options. We are kayakers and are advanced in our skill. We will be new to canoe, and the dog is a must. Med size dog. We will not be racing, and want a good all purpose canoe. Stable but not a whale. Thanks in advance for the help.

Steve

Few suggestions.
Hemlock Eagle. Bell Northstar.

Second
on the Eagle and Northstar. I owned an Eagle now own a Northstar. Best tandem ever. Previously owned Wenonah Spirit II, Penobscot 17, Mad River Explorer, Minnesota II, Swift Kipawa and Mattawa. Down to the Northstar for my tandem play.

look at
the boats the outfitters are renting, In Teh land of taxes (New Yawk) many have kevlar canoes, which they sell every few years. A wenonah Minn2, Escape, Sundowner would all fit your needs. Plus they are straight tracking with a load so you will not have to go nuts steering. As your profiency improves you will feel comfortable taking them on moving water where they do quite well with a little bit of practice.

RedcrossRandy and I have taken his Minn2 in to Largo sound in Florida in snotty conditions and on th eEdisto river which is a narrow cypress creek. No problem with an 18 footer.

whatever you can try
No mention of a trip here…that is most important. You will be bummed with a sixteen foot boat if you plan on a month long with dog trip.



If its rec the Wenonah Aurora is a really interesting boat. Its a straight ahead boat that when heeled really spins impressively.

Mad River Malecite. 2 paddlers and
a 45 lb dog and it is very quick.

Another…
Vermont Canoe Encore



16’2" multipurpose kevlar canoe.



Yes, I’m bias.



There are a lot to choose from.

Indeed
I wish people who own more than one kind could give a fair comparison in terms of pros and cons. The reviews on any of these boats are all good. Perhaps that is the fact. They are all good.

It seems that you only get bad
reviews when people bought the wrong kind of canoe for the type of paddling they do. You buy a small canoe so you can paddle solo, but then it sucks when paddling tandem loaded with equipment, etc. I did that when I bought a 15 ft Explorer. Next I bought a 18 ft Kevlar Wenonah, Champlain for tripping. And finally a 14 ft Royalex Mohawk, Odyssey for solo paddling. I’m happy with all three of my canoes and if I was going to purchase another it would be a 17 ft Royalex for tripping on rockier rivers and not a replacement for any of my three canoes. Anyhow, I think that for most of us average paddlers, it becomes a Chevy, Ford argument if you buy the right type of canoe for the paddling you’re going to do.

True, but
I am talking about the same type of canoes for the same type of tripping. For example, Goovymantee had Spirit II and now Northstar, both tandems. There must be something he feels good about Northstar that Spirit II doesn’t have. A Consumer Report type of evaluation is more useful for the beginners who are looking for their fisrt boat.