I just purchased my first canoe since I was a child. The descision was based solely on price. What I wound up with is a 14’ fiberglass canoe that is VERY heavy. It is labeled as a Dolphin canoe from Minisota but I can find no references to the brand any where on the internet. This thing is so heavy that I can;t get it on top of my car and I owuld love to find out what he official weight of it is. My scale said 110 pounds but that can’t be right. Does any one know any thing about these canoes?
Thanks
Yup
You’ve pretty much said it all already: old and very heavy.
For what it’s worth, my family spent many years tripping around northern Wisconsin and Ontario in an 18-foot Dolphin canoe, the Warrior, as I recall (all the Dolphins had Indian names: Chief, Brave, etc.). They were good tripping canoes, made for lakes, but durable enough for bashing through rocky rapids too. Aside from that, I don’t know much about them. If the Internet doesn’t know, no one does.
Every year or so someone posts here wanting to know more about an old Dolphin they just bought; they’re probably all the same canoe …
Dolphin Canoe
We love our Dolphin Indian Princess Canoe. We had a beautiful white one that my husband bought when he was 15. Some jerk stole it and we hunted everywhere for another one. We found one…it’s ugly pea green, but it’s still a great canoe…VERY stable, aluminum keel- don’t have to worry about killing the canoe on rocks. Three of us (2 adults and child) fly fished out of it and it never rocked- try doing that with any other canoe. We faced high winds on a lake and managed to paddle back without incident. Great with kids or animals. Wished they still made them. We used a Pelican at a camp resort, and I thought I was going to be swimming everytime hubby took a stroke on the water. I feared for my life. I’ll stick to my canoe next time.
Weight
I don’t think ours has a weight listed in it- only the maximum weight allowance for occupants. My husband puts in on our canoe rack. He sets the tail end on the ground and the other end on the rack and we just slide it on…my problem. We’ve never tried a car- I don’t have racks for it. I think it’s worth keeping despite it’s weight.
Dolphin Canoe
I wouldn’t say they are all the same in this case. I have an 18 ft Dolphin I got for $75 last year at a garage sale. I couldn’t pass it up. It needed some work but was sea worthy. I replaced some of the thwarts on it. I have been canoeing for many years, but I can’t afford a nice canoe, I was lucky to find this one honestly.
It is heavy, I don’t know the weight, but it’s some work to get it on the car. Luckily I am strong, and my car is a working car that I use in beekeeping, and it’s meant to get scratched up.
It’s a good canoe though, i enjoy it for taking my kids out in the mississippi or one of the local tributaries.
Dolphin canoe?
About 20 years ago, I bought a used one that is 17’ long, called the Dolphin Chief, that came with an old catalogue. Mine weighs 79 pounds. We are going to sell it because of the weight, and have bought two kayaks. But we loved using it on lakes, and it has been very stable wiith two adults and two children.
According to my catalogue, the 14-footer is called the Dolphin Princess, with a 39" beam, 12" depth, and 72 lb weight.
The write-up states: Hand crafted quality – multiple laminate fiberglass, Kevlar side reinforcement, smooth high-gloss finish, foam bulhheads, hardwood thwarts, vinyl seats, and a full-length metal keel.
Dolphin Products, PO Box 230, Wabasha, Minnesota.
If anyone is interested in purchasing ours, which had the struts reinforced and the entire canoe painted, please reply.
Denver_Dave
Dolphin Canoe
The Dolphin Canoe Company made small boats approximately 1973 to 2001 in Wabasha, Minnesota. They are reported to be out of business.
Dophin Canoe
Hi Dave,
My husband worked for the Dolphin Canoe Company back in the early 70’s. He made numerous canoes. After we met in 1973 I was a model for the advertising brochure two years in a row. Then we got married!! Been married 39 years and counting. We used to own a Chief canoe but sold it when times were tight 
I am interested in buying your canoe if you still have it. BTW what color is it? Please get back to me as soon as it is convenient for you. Where are you located?
Linda from Wabasha MN (Home of the Movies: “Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men”).
Dolphin chief for sale
Hello! I saw your post and also saw this posting on Craigslist if you’re still looking for a dolphin chief. We’re looking for a canoe more appropriate for river paddling, so maybe this will work better for you!
http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/boa/4947464748.html