There is a facebook group North American Canoe Traders. I found a canoe in Pennsylvania from the group. It is a good resource for anyone looking for a used canoe.
If you do opt for the heavy boat you’re considering, pick up a folding roller boat dolly you can strap under the stern for portaging it.
I appreciate the advice everyone. I think I am going to pass on this boat and keep my eye out for some of the models mentioned above for a good price. Thanks again!
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I have a 16 foot Old Town Camper. It has a flat bottom and is very stable. The material is Royalex and it is listed as weighing 58 pounds. Royalex is not available anymore but I got mine used for $200. I replaced the seats, thwarts, and yoke. I paddle sitting on the bow seat facing backwards and us an extra dry bag filled with water as ballast far forward.
Good luck with your search.
Hands Down, look for a Wenonah Fisherman. Stable enough for your waterfowel hunting and light enough to carry. I have 5 canoes and the fisherman is my go to canoe. I have the older models made of royalex at about 68 lbs. The newer ones are much lighter and I ‘m sure just as stable. 14’ tandem but well balanced for solo paddling from the front seat in reverse. Also well balanced for portaging on your shoulders. A 17’ would ride too high on the water and you would get blown all over in the slightest breeze.
Be careful Wenonah has made two canoes with the name Fisherman. The early version is now called the Adirondack. I had one. It was a good canoe, but with its asymmetrical design and tractor seats, it was less than ideal to paddle backwards from the bow seat as a solo. The newer version is a stable fishing platform.
A two-person canoe isn’t great for one. The seats are in the wrong places and the beam will be too wide for comfortable paddling.
Hi, I’m about the same size as you weight wise. I think 85 pounds is too heavy. Although the price seems good, you are not going to be happy lugging 85 pounds around. Plus, 17ft is very long for solo. It is not really manoeuvrable for duck hunting or photography. You need to go down…mine is a 1974 15 foot fibre canoe that weighs only 50 pounds. For one person (or two) this is easy to manoeuvre and pleasant to portage. You can find something!
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Yes if the portage that you’re talking about is from the vehicle to the body of water and it’s less than a 1/4 mile, no big deal but if you’re looking to go a great distance, 85 lbs is a lot more that an average backpack. Add you gear and several there and backs and you’d be wiped out.
I’ve got a 16’ Penobscot and I consider that too heavy for lots of carrying. Having more than one canoe is NOT a bad thing. : )
I have become a big fan of more than one canoe. 5 I own right now. For different reasons. One is at the house in Newfoundland a 45 hour trip with a boat on the roof. One in Arizona, again so I dont have to push it through 2300 miles of wind. (cost of extra fuel, the boats in those two extremes were the same price as the extra fuel.)
Weight. Yeah, they can get very heavy. My two 20’ expedition canoes are 100 and 110 pounds each.
Again, you said it, 1/4 mile, you can carry just about anything 1/4 mile, on the flat. Up or down, gets real tricky.
Portaging a canoe is almost always from the parking lot to the water, 99% of the time. Where you NEED a light weight canoe are places like Boundary Waters, Algonquin PP, French River PP, Alagash, Strictly specialized canoes required there. And when you do one of those, you are wearing the backpack or food barrel , as well as, the canoe. The best part of those wilderness portages, bears get the heck gone. Granted they are grumbling at the time, "Damn, There goes the neighborhood. " Don’t be afraid of a heavy boat, especially at 200 bucks. Great first boat.
This 2018 Old Town Saranac 146 just popped up on Facebook Marketplace north of Pittsburgh (just off I-79, so a little over an hour if you are near Meadville) for $425. Model is 79 pounds. It seems to be very popular for fishing per the reviews on here. The newer Old Towns (since they no longer use Royalex) do have a tendency to oilcan if not carefully stored. Not enough photos in the ad to judge overall condition.
