I have your same old town except with skid plates and bow/stern pads its more like 75#s…I’m 65 and had a knee replaced and am in perfect health and can carry my old town but it’s become rather silly to force it…3 yrs ago i bought a Northstar Northwind Solo in IXP layup…when they say “a solo canoe is good for your soul”, this is the canoe they are speaking of! It is by far one of the best changes I’ve ever made in my lifetime!! This canoe is incredible in every way. It is very stable, it is so maneuverable i find myself putting it in just to play, it flows as if by magic when paddled with either single or double blades! It tracks beautifully, is indestructible and only weighs 35#s. Not only does it have all the capacity for several days of camping…but I like to use my mountain bike as a 2nd vehicle when doing downstream floats and it holds my mountain bike comfortably, with the front wheel removed. It is a life changing craft and I’ve paddled most of whats been out there for 55 yrs including having had my own canoe rental on the Bouie River in Sth MS. I’ve paddled from mountain streams in WV to the Everglades and even some time in The Keys and this is the only paddle craft i can imagine ever needing. It even sails with the slightest breeze and a paddle/tarp sail…Processing: 20220316_171600.jpg…
Uploading: 20220630_205743.jpg…
The only downside is after paddling it for a few minutes you will realize your Old Towne is just a fancy log!
When I started working on my OT Log a few years ago it was during the beginning of Covid and I was going stir crazy and looking for something to do outside both with paddling and maybe a project as well. Before I lugged the thing home from the neighbor I bought it from I realized just how heavy 80 pounds had become over the last 30-40 years. I started trying to paddle it and joined the forum and with help from the forum and the internet I discovered I had bought a nice canoe for a very affordable price and there were much better and more beautiful and substantially lighter solo pack boat canoes out there and the one I fell in love with was the Swift brand, but there are many others similar and to be honest I have never paddled one and seen very few. As tempting as it was to order one the 3-4k price tag and the thought of beating a beautiful work of art where we paddle here was more than I felt good about. The positives of the lighter boat off the water are very clear to me with half to third of the weight. A negative off the water would be a boat that nice I wouldn’t feel comfortable storing outside on a rack under a shade tree year round. Plus the idea of theft would be higher IMO. On the water for sure the tumblehome hull would let me paddle a bit easier with a little shorter kayak paddle. Having not experienced a canoe that light or I’m sure a much better designed hull shape than the OT Log I don’t know what I don’t know. Once I got the trim locked down on mine it was nice even in wind and I seem to have no problem keeping up with what most everyone here paddles rec-kayaks. I doubt I could hang with folks paddling sea kayaks but really I don’t care much about speed as I’m just out killing time.
For me the solution was to go step by step and figuring out if there was an easy way to do all the steps from taking it off the rack at home to returning it to the rack after a fun day on the water totally unassisted, without injury. Sure I’m slower than the young people I watch who give none of this any thought. I even considered a trailer but so many of the spots I like to get to might have a ramp but are not actual boat launches.
There is really 3 ways to move a canoe over ground carry it, roll it or drag it. I am amazed at how many people opt for the third method here.
We do a couple charity river floats here every summer the largest helps the fire department and we launch around 500 paddle boats in about an hour. About 12 miles down stream a nice meal is waiting and half way hot dogs and a drink. I see every kind of paddle craft you can think of even folding kayaks. But haven’t seen a pack boat canoe yet. I was really surprised how many younger people have came along side and started asking about the OT conversion and liking the room to haul stuff but it not being like what they think of as a canoe. I tell them you can buy ready made canoes similar that are much nicer and way lighter but cost some serious money based on they are paddling a Wal-Mart Pelican kayak. Or they could hunt around and find a old tandem canoe and convert it to a solo.
Spot on.
The discussion on this thread has been verry interesting and helpful for me. The point that Bud makes about not wanting to beat up a beautiful work of art hit home today. I went paddling at Robison preserve (next to the Manatee River and Tampa Bay). I found a mangrove tunnel that I did not know about and started exploring. The tunnel was narrow but passable. After about a quarter mile I ran into this.
I could not turnaround (too narrow), I could have padded backwards and got out the way I came in but I could see that the shallow / narrow section was only about 20 feet long and that there was clear paddling past that. I walked to the front of the canoe, got out and dragged it over the mangrove roots to get to the open water. Once there I got back in and thought "I sure am glad that I don’t have a $5,000 composite).
I am going to keep my Camper for now. I have been watching videos and working on my lifting technique. So far so good, the 65 pounds seems manageable.
Thanks to everyone for their input.
Happy paddling.
Try loading from the rear. For an 85 pound OT Guide 18 in wood and canvas I use a trailer.