Canoes

Can anyone suggest a canoe for one person and a dog? I have kayaks, but am interested in purchasing a stable canoe.

Canoe
You will need to provide a lot more information, such as your weight, dog’s weight, type of water you plan to paddle, (calm lakes, fast rivers, ect. ). Also your skill level and price range if it makes a difference. If you do this you will get a lot of very good advice.

Hmmm, have carport, but no stable…
I should think the dog could go in the manger.

Mad river 14tt
I like mine. It’s pretty heavy at 69# but easy to carry because of the nice thwart set up. I paddle it by sitting in the front seat facing the stern and I keep the dog forward or the center thwart when I can.

Mad River 14 TT


I agree with FrankNC on the TT. I have just spent the day paddling mine solo on Lake Barrine here in North Queensland. This lake is part of The Crater Lakes National Park so no dogs allowed of course. Today is the first day I have spent canoeing without my Dalmatian. He watched me load up this morning and when I drove away without him he didn’t seem too happy about it. The 14TT is very stable, easy to paddle solo and I don’t think it is too heavy despite the few comments about its weight I have heard from others here on PaddleNet in the past.

I don’t profess to be any sort of canoeing expert and I’m sure there are plenty of other boats worth considering but the 14 TT has to be good value for the money. I think this canoe would carry my wife, the dog, some overnight gear and myself without too much trouble.

Hope this is of some help to you.

All of us doggy paddling people have to stick together

Cairns

North Queensland

Australia


Mohawk Odyssey 14
or their Solo 14. Stable, well made, inexpensive.

Mohawk Odyssey 14
I test paddled a Mohawk Odyssey 14 and think it is a great canoe for one person and a dog. It would be great for everything except trying to burn miles lake cruising. Price is right, build is solid, weight is light. The stability is excellent.

I guess it depends on the load
I’d choose the Odysee 15 but I’m extra large and the mutt is large.

Odyssey 14, Solo Plus
One of the folks in our paddling club recently paddled a few solo canoes to see which one would work best for her and her dog. The Mohawk Odyssey worked really well for her.



One other boat to consider would be the Wenonah Solo Plus. It works well as a solo, particularly for someone with a dog or small children, and also works well as a light tandem.

Bell Majic?
The Majic is not that stable but, it may be worth considering?



I am a kayaker that also paddles canoes. I moved to a canoe in order to paddle with my 70+# Lab. I chose the Majic for it’s light weight and speed characteristics. I paddle mosly flat rivers and bays in South Florida. I would not recommend it for open water paddling, it has a very low free board. Did I mention it is fast!!!

dog boat
My lab is a bit under 70 pounds and she comes with me all the time in my solo canoes. She’s experienced and calm so just about any boat works…we can even fit in our Hemlock Kestrel.



A Swift Shearwater or a Hemlock Peregrine should work really well for you…both have lots of volume and stability for solos.



If you want Royalex then a Wenonah Rendezvous would hold any dog easily…but they are a bit deep for the dog to lay down and look out of.



A Bell Merlin II also works great for us but if you dog is bigger than mine you might lean towards a bigger solo like a Shearwater or Peregrine.



If your dog is smaller then even a Wildfire works really well…I find the Wildfire likes some extra weight in it.



A few tricks that worked for me are always having solid footing for the dog like a small rubber backed rug (my dog gets her own kneeling pad) and I’d keep it on a short leash while you train it, and always reward it for being good…need to avoid scaring the dog. The first time you paddle you may want to make it a really short paddle - like 2 minutes, with lots of rewards.