My wife and i are late 60s and are concerned about tipping so looking at canoe stabilizers for fishing on lakes. Spring Creek has good recommendations, are there others we might consider? Any advice about stabilizers?
Thanks,
Walt
Have you tried the canoe and found it to be a problem? Most canoes are quite stable… In my 16’ old town, I can stand and fish while floating down a river.
What kind of canoe do you have?
What are your concerns? The more nervous you are the more it’s guaranteed you will flip. Tense muscles make you less able to adjust to waves quickly.
I understand for fishing they might be useful but honestly how do you keep from tangling line in them? IF you have to lean over to untangle line they do not have enough buoyancy to keep you from going in. Going in often involves the boat staying upright while you are in the swim. And if you do topple the boat I wonder how you would right it.
That said we have lots of people fishing near our dock in canoes and if they go in they just have painter lines on the canoe so they can tow it to shore and get out. Emptying a canoe is admittedly no fun( we are about ten years older than you) . We do capsize and empty practice every year . Planned! In shallowish water!
To be a canoeist you must learn to keep your weight in the middle of the boat. It helps to loosen up the hips and stay low.
I think anyone that wants to put training wheels on a canoe would be better off with an aluminum fishing boat with plenty of beam and a small outboard.
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Spring Creek makes quality products so if you really want stabilizers it’s a good choice. When the weather gets warmer you might go out and experiment with what it really takes to fall out of a boat. You mostly just need to keep your head in the boat, relax and not stiffen up in waves (like riding a bike…relax). Most canoes have a lot of secondary stability that help force them back into an upright position when they are leaned.
First thanks for the responses and good information. The canoe is a Wenonah Fisherman. Its a wonderful boat and it glides through the water even with a couple inexperienced paddlers like us. The issue is that we don’t swim well so are thinking some extra security is a good idea. Also, I fly fish and sometimes like to stand to cast. I’m used to fishing from a McKenzie River boat (we’re in Oregon) which is a very stable. When we graduated from tent camping to a trailer I could no longer take the boat so the canoe was the best option to ride car top (it weights 36lbs). Now we’ve having lots of fun with it.
Anyway, after reading the posts and researching this I think we’ll get stabilizers, use them when it seems like a good idea, and maybe graduate to not using them as we get more confidence.
Thanks again, Walt
Getting some formal canoe instruction is a good way to gain confidence and skills needed.
Instruction even for a short lesson is worth it. It will help mitigate some anxieties. There are things you can’t learn on You Tube.
Going from a drift boat to a canoe is a big psychological challenge. The head is used to one boat and when you swap to a smaller one , it is unsettling for a time. Continue to get out and get used to the smaller toy. Water time helps. Planning ahead for the dunk is another. If you carry a dry bag with dry clothing and have lines on the boat to grab it by and also always wear your PFD( mostly in this case because you dont have three or four hands to hang onto the boat paddle perhaps the pole etc) that goes along way toward making it less scary.
Sure the stabilizers would help a standing fisherman! And as we age things seem to get less stable.
Canoes and not swimming well are a bad combination.
A Wenonah Fisherman is a very stable boat to begin with. It has a wide beam and fairly flat bottom.
I would suggest an inflatable maybe for traveling with a TT.
I have paddled canoes for 60 years, but I am considering towing a drift boat behind my trailer.