General purpose canoe for wife and I

Another Tulsan here
Mostly Bogeys,



Due to OK’s pain in the backside tagging system you need to be careful buying out of state. I did and it can be done but it is not ideal. When you buy out of state you have to pay OK’s sales tax when you register your canoe then solicit the state of purchase for a refund on the tax you paid there. Also, to register your new canoe you need a certificate of origin. My dealer in MO had problems coming up with one and it was a major hassle. Just a heads-up on the logistics of OK boat tagging.



I won’t speak to how good or bad most of the models discussed here are, I’ve only paddled a few of them. I do paddle exactly where you’re planning to paddle. Illinois, Buffalo, Kings, Mulberry rivers and yeah, I’ll put my canoe in the Arkansas River downtown if I can’t get anywhere else (it’s really pretty nice). The boat I chose is a Mad River Explorer in Royalex. It’s a very fine canoe but think of it as a SUV instead of a 'vette. It gets blown around by wind more than I’d like, the keel will grab in the rocky rivers but I think it’s overstated here, it’s not very fast but I’ve had great fun in it and it serves my purpose perfectly. I’ve floated it on almost all the small lakes and more than a few of the big ones (none Okie’s, ‘they’ say we have more miles of shoreline than any other state…, yep, we’ve actually got water here).



Do seriously consider camping on the rivers around here. The canoe is your backpack so you can carry more weight than real backpacking. You’ll be far more isolated than carcamping…which really is a good thing. Don’t ignore the rivers of Southeast OK…most folks do but they’re really nice. They have no support so you’ll have to figure your own shuttling schemes.



You’re opening a great door to a lot of fun! Whatever your choice, enjoy!



Brian

P16 sounds good
Let’s see:

Paddlers are you and your wife

Beginners

occasionally camping

Ozark rivers

fishing small lakes

solo sometimes

fairly light for easy loading

Only have Mad River, Old Town and Pelican dealers in area

leaning toward Old Town Penobscot 16’



The Penobscot 16 sounds good to me. The only down side is that it may be a bit tippy until you get used to it, but a lot of beginners have used Penobscot 16s.



If that is a concern, you could go to a more “General Recreation” type canoe. The Old Town Camper perhaps, though it will not solo well and is marginal on moving water. A better choice may be the Old Town Charles River RX (royalex). It doesn’t have the performance of the Penobscot but is better than the Camper.

Hey Tulsa!
Thanks for info BO36.



I am already aware of the boat (including canoe) registration requirements here. Shouldn’t include canoes.



We do have lots of good water here in NE OK.



Years ago, I floated and camped the Glover in SE OK. It is nice.

Canoe
The Adirondack is a very good choice. The Aurora may be good also. Both by the same company. The Aurora will have more rocker so it will turn easier, but will not track as well.



I do own a Royalex Mad River and it is very heavy. It is one very tough canoe. I think it is the best selling canoe in Montana because it is so tough and we have a lot of rocky streams. I can not unload it by myself, but with my wife along we can do it OK. WE carry it on the top of a van. Both my wife and I are tall. Best in making your decision.

If you get the Penobscot
invest the extra bucks and have the Kevlar skid plates put on. Two of my compadres with newer Penobscots have already worn holes in the bows to the point where the center material is showing. The Illinois can be tough on a boat, you will do well to protect it.

You may also want to look into the Mohawk tandems. They are a priced a little less than a Penobscot and may be built a little better. Get the skid plates regardless of which one you decide on.