Do any canoes exist simmilar to the mad river adventure( material, seat backs, etc) that may be a little more stable four me my wife and 2 kids???
Ditch the stability issue. Within weeks
you’ll wonder why you worried about it. The main thing wrong with that Mad River is that it does not encourage kneeling. Kneeling gives a big extra margin of control and stability when you are canoeing with kids.
family canoe
thanks! any other opinions??
We enjoy our …
Wenonah Spirit II . Wife, 2 kids , and a black lab all fit nicely in it. Plenty of stability and easy to load by myself…
Wenonah Sundowner 17
Wenonah Sundowner 17 Royalex – two adults, two kids (9 and 15), 70-pound dog and a bunch of picknick/camping gear.
Fast, tracks well, very easy to paddle, plenty of room, and relatively light at 65 pounds – I can car-top it myself.
Very good final stability at all times, somewhat low initial stability when lightly loaded.
Reasonably well trimmed when loaded properly. When I paddle it just with my son (70lbs), I put a sandbag in the front to improve trim, especially in windy weather.
We had this canoe for about 6 years now, use it almost every weekend in the summer, and had nothing but fun with it.
Wenonah Adirondack
Not sure how old/big your kids are, but my wife and I paddle a 16’ Adirondack in Royalex from Wenonah. We can easily fit two small children in the boat with us, as well as some day-tripping gear. She’s also very stable and good in windy/choppy water - provided you’re a skilled paddler.
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– Last Updated: Jul-18-06 12:24 PM EST –
the 16' Adventure is listed at 81 lbs...a heavy boat...and imo 16' is really short.
If you can, find either of these to demo, ALL are ~50% the Adventure's weight, possess much more secondary stability, paddle much easier with much much more efficiency/speed, and can really take just as much a "hit". I know the pricetags are large, but for the performance, so isn't the Adventure..:
Wenonah Jensen 18 (kevlar flexcore)
Bell Northwoods (BlackGold kevlar comp)
Clipper Canoe's "Tripper" (durable kevlar)
...any of the kevlar "bombproof" layups will be 50% lighter...
$.01...
steve
Wenonah Prospector 17’
Picked up a used one on p’net over the fall/winter and have been out a half-dozen times in it so far… The canoe is enormous but can be lifted with one hand (kevlar layup)… holds my 6yo, 7yo, wife (no age given), full size cooler… and room to spare for bags, fishing rods, tackle, etc.
Only thing I would say about this design is that it is hard to solo when there is any wind…there are ways to handle that, but just fyi. But if that’s not a problem for you, I would have no problmes recommending this boat.
YMMV,
B
family canoe
thanks guys. I’m trying to keep my cost relitive low less than $700. We will probably on use 5-6 times a year
Try a mad river explorer 16 tt
If you can still find one. It is still heavy but it is a standard canoe with seats that let you kneel if the water gets rough. This can really help stability. Also the shape of this boat makes it a great paddler and the weight is the only down side of the boat. 6 times a year time 20 years means this boat will still cost you less than $10 a trip. Not a bad deal for a whole lot of fun.