… paddled that Old Town Guide yet ??
Just wondering how it’s going ??
I have a Guide 147
and absolutely love the boat for fishing. Wind, waves, wakeboard boat wakes, rain. Great fishing platform. You will need to sit backwards on the front seat with ballast (water jugs) at the other end to solo in the wind though.
I plan to add a small electric trolling motor and this will the perfect fishing canoe for me.
Just dont expect to suddenly stand up when setting the hook and reeling in. Almost swam on that one. Wont tip by anymeans but obviously will feel tippy when doing so. I can stand very easily, just not stand up suddenly.
I picked it up last week…
FINALLY! I haven’t had time yet to get it on the water. I’m hoping too over the upcoming long weekend. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
If anyone is interested, I just bought one of those loaders that fits in the socket of my tow bar. It has a cross piece that rotates, so you put the end of the boat on that, then pick up the front and just spin it onto the truck. They list for $84.99 at Cabela’s, but I got it for $75 including shipping on E-bay. He had two more of them as of yesterday. I realized after loading the thing at the store that I was going to need something like that!
gonefishing , that’s great !!
– Last Updated: Aug-27-08 9:25 AM EST –
........ I also discovered the T stand that fits into the hitch . Got mine at Bass Pro , paid 5 or 10 bucks more than you did though . Good deal !!
They really cut the work in half , or maybe even 75% easier to load . I carry on a pick-up truck too . Be extra focused about your tie down methods for securing the canoe until you become real comfortable with the process . Don't want it getting lose up there on the highway ...
It's a good idea to stop on the road occassionally when first testing out your tie down methods , to check the tie downs and make sure they are still tight and the canoe is not becoming loose .
This will help you discover the dynamics of carrying a tied down canoe on top , and offer you a chance to make future adjustments in your methods .
The end result is confidence that your tie down methods are strong and will stay were you put them , and a tight canoe up there !!
The T stand itself because of it's upright single tube nature , will have a tendency to move around at the top .
The side to side movement is eliminated by roping it off (with the canoe on it) , to each side of the trucks bumper (essentially creating a large upside down V with the ropes) .
The foreward and backward movement is eliminated by making absolutely certain the canoes front tie down (however you are going to do it) keeps the canoe from shifting foreward or backwards .
I have and use exclusively , a rope "trick" method that is "unbeatable" for tightness and staying that way . It's use a is breeze and quick also . If you are interested about it , send an email and I'll show you the method .
So , what type of paddles did you get ??
my bad
thought you were asking in general…though I seen that name gonefishing around here a few times.
Zapblam , your initial response post …
… was real good , although you considered my “new post” to be a general inquiry about the Guide 147 … instead of catching that it was directed to - “gonefishing” - himself .
I’m sure we all appreciate your response . After all , the Guide 147 is the topic . It just so happens that gonefishing was in the process of buying one , and we all had some previous discussion with him about that .
Your first hand knowledge / info. about the Guide 147 is always appreciated . Probably even more so by gonefishing who has just purchased one !!
This is a “fishing” board , and we treat each other that way here . We love fish stories and fish stuff .
Anything “fish” related , or even “fishy” , lol , is always welcome . This is a slow board and can always use a little perkin up .
By the way , got any good fish stories ???
Ditto from me Zap!
I appreciate the affirmation that I bought a good boat! This board has been a excellent resource and I hope everyone realizes how much I appreciate the info!
As for my paddles, I went against your recommendation Wingz and bought some cheap Featherlites for now. I guess I was feeling a little guilty about spending all that money at once and had to cut back somewhere! I think these will do until I figure out what I’m doing anyway. I’ll get some better ones later.
I’m glad to hear that the t-bar thing works as well as I thought it would. It seemed like a brilliant idea to me!
I am anxious to get it on the water. I’ve done most of my fishing in waders in recent years on the Hiwassee and Clinch Rivers in Tennessee. I’m lucky enough to live within a few miles of several different reservoirs and rivers, so I should have no shortage of places to go. I’m thinking about going to a small lake in the Cherokee National Forest this weekend where they stock trout for youth only fishing. It would be fun for the little one.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Have you tried paddling solo?
I’m considering getting the Guide 147 next spring. The only things I’m wondering, after having read posts here and reviews elsewhere, are whether or not I will be able to paddle it alright solo (sitting in the front facing backward) and whether I will be able to fish solo.
Occasionally my wife will be along with me, but I have a feeling most of the time I’ll be alone. I’m about 6’ tall, but I only weigh 140 and am not very strong (though I consider myself reasonably in shape). I also don’t have a lot of experience paddling a canoe (though I’m willing to work at that aspect of it as much as it takes, and would simply like to know if the efforts have an attainable goal at the end).
Strength isn’t a major criteria
for paddling. You’ll quickly build whatever muscle power you need. The boat is a bit wide for solo paddling…my opinion…and the seats don’t look comfortable for paddling by reversing the bow/stern, making the bow the stern, the usual method of soloing a tandem canoe. Its probably doable as a solo, just not the canoe I would select if that was my primary use for the boat.
The wrong seats
Mine has the molded plastic seats with the fold-down back rest. I don’t think paddling backwards is an option in mine. I figure I’ll add a center seat or just row from my knees if I need too when by myself.
This weekend is looking a little shakey for paddling. Car trouble! Yikes!
I’m sure you know this , but …
… the adjustable back rest that Old Town has put on some of their canoes in the last year , is easily removable .
I have a 169 Expedition that came with them , and I took them off . Haven’t ever used it with them “yet”.
I’m not sure how comfortable it would be to paddle sitting in reverse in the rotomould seat , but with the backrest off , it is doable I would guess .
No back rest has always been my preference , but I do like the way I fit in the rotomould seat .
Sometimes my laddy in the bow turns around and faces me while I just do the paddlin , she has never said anything about being uncomfortable that way in those seats . I’ll have to try sitting backwards myself sometime to see how it feels in them …
I have seen some funny looking events taking place with solo paddlers in rented Guide 147’s .
They must not have known they could sit in the bow seat facing the stern , or counter ballance some with ballast weight in the bow when paddling from the stern .
This one fella really impressed me though . He was paddling solo from the stern with apparently no bow ballst . Yes , the bow was sky high as expected , but this fella “somehow” seemed to have fantastic control that way , and was dancing that Guide like a champ in flowing waters . I’m not sure how he could see where he was going though ?? Also the wind was pretty calm that day .
I once saw this other guy trying the same thing , but the outcome was much different . The poor guy had almost “0” control on a flat pond and kept burying himself in the weeds . It was windy that day , and he did many 360* pivots every time he got out of the weeds .
Thinking back on it now , I feel kinda guilty because I could have paddled over to him and maybe helped with some suggestions . He was an older fella just trying to get some fishin in . Guess he got an idea to go rent a canoe to do it .
Yeah , I’m sure of it now , I feel guilty about that alright . Hope he got it figured out instead of going away “wishing” he could fish out of a canoe solo , but just couldn’t do it because of the control problems he had .
That makes sense…
I understand what you’re saying about maybe it’s possible but not the best if that’s the primary use.
The problem is my wife and I are trying to have kids and I’d like to be able to have this Canoe for many years. So I’m hoping that soloing won’t permanently be my primary use.
So, I guess my question then would be: do you know of another canoe in the general price range of the guide that would be better for solo fishing but would still be usable with the wife every now and then and with the kids down the road?
OT Guide 147
I fish out of mine all the time. The only problem is its kind of heavy, I have to carry it about 300 yards across a pasture and a creek. But its worth it. I replaced one of the plastic seats with a webbed seat with back rest for my tired old back. Check out this bass I caught on Labor Day.
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/roadtrip_03/labordaybass.jpg
I’d say the 300 yd. carry …
… was worth it .
How do you say “Cowabunga” ?? Man that’s a nice Bass !!
I got to know , did you let out a war hoop when you realized what was happening ?? I probably would have …
ps., you got to get a wheel thing to help get to that place … I’m making up plans in my head for one with something like small bike tires .
Hey , is that a southern Bass ??
Thanks
I let out a pretty good rebel yeah when I got her in the boat. It is a southern bass, I’m in East Texas. I’ve been fiddling around with a canoe dolly I’m trying to build. Using big spoke tires that come off the back of a push mower. I keep having to go back to the drawing board. I love fishing out of my canoe. Pretty soon I’ll have ducks and geese flying overhead. Life is good.
Just down the road in Kingwood
Used to hang around Lufkin a bit, my wife’s hometown. She graduated from SFA back in 74.
Ike
– Last Updated: Sep-21-08 8:44 PM EST –
Hey Yak, did you come through Ike ok?
Edit: I saw from another post that you survived.
my guide 147
I’ve been fishing out of my 147 for approx. 5 years now and I love the old girl. She fits easily in the back of my '03 Ram 1500 just fine. Tie down is simple and she flies on down the road at whatever the law allows. Easy up and out and back in again; luckily she’s not any longer or she might be harder to tie down. It’s a good rig for fishing if the wind’s not up. Tight lines, all.
Yep, we survived. No damage
Just a bit of cleanup. No power for over a week, but at least a little cool front came through. All my boats made it through without damage. The ones stored outside we filled partly with water. Of course, the rain from Ike filled them to the brim. But, they did fine.
I made pvc cart
Its basically a copy of someone elses PVC kayak cart. I took white pvd pipe and T’s and made a light but very sturdy canoe cart that fits 3 feet in from the end of the canoe and gets lashed around the top of the canoe. I used some wheel barrow wheels I had kickin around. I can heel the OT Guid for a long time before getting tired now. And load all my gear at the car then dolly to the water. Went 4x4in a few times to get to a fishing hole.