Help with picking a canoe

Sliding Seats
With a big weight differenctial between paddlers, you can make both seats sliders. Cane seats can be made sliders with homemade notched wooden rails. Old Town offered wooden sliders when they were actually interested in composite canoes that paddled well.

The Wenonah Aurora should handle your load fine, and can be had with a sliding front seat from the factory and possibly a rear slider,depending on how co-operative your dealer is with your order. Even if the factory won’t install the rear slider, you can order the canoe less rear seat and dealer install it. No use making two sets of holes in a new hull.

My paddling buddy has a 17’Jensen set up for a weight differential of over 100# between him and his go-fast bow partner. the heavy guy is in front in his boat. And the 17Jensen is much narrower and sensitive to weight than the Aurora.

Some boats are hard to trim empty for a heavy stern paddler and light bow paddler. All the Daggers and many Old Towns have the front seat mounted very far back from the bow, in whitewater it may be a blessing to keep weight off the bow, but for your paddling it will make control difficult and the bow much less stable.

The full ice chest behind the bow seat is a great equalizer.

Bill

thanks everybody
You’ve all given me a lot to think about and some good suggestions on brands and models to look at, which is exactly what I was looking for.



Thanks for the further notes on weight distribution, that was a big concern of mine but it sounds like I may have overrated it.



As far as initial stability, I agree… I know my previous kayak had horrible initial stability, but excellent secondary, and I kinda liked that… it’s all in the hips I figure, hopefully that translates well to canoes…

Another approach
OK, Here’s what we know:


  1. You’re planning to paddle flat water and easy streams. Your’re from Ohio; it’s a good guess that you are not going to paddle any big water like Lake Erie or the Ohio River.
  2. You kayaked on the west coast; and you didn’t become an obscessed paddler.
  3. You want to store your canoe outdoors.
  4. You weigh 225ish and your SO weighs 125ish.
  5. You think 75# is pretty handleable; thus an aluminum canoe will work for you.



    IMHO:

    You should go to a canoe rental place and tell them you would like to practice putting an aluminum canoe on top of your car. That will involve 1. taking it out of the water 2. carrying it to your car 3. turning it over and getting both ends on top of your car. At some point in this process, you will be tempted to ask your SO to take some of the weight. Now take it off the car and put it back in the water. Do the whole process one more time! It will be your objective to do this without denting your roof or removing any paint; you’re also not allowed to use profanity or to yell at your SO.



    After doing this twice, you will have simulated the effort involved for a Sunday paddle on a lake. After the first time I asked my girlfriend (now my wife) to help carry an aluminum canoe, she made it clear there wouldn’t be a second oportunity!



    I suggest you buy a used, relatively flat bottomed fibreglass canoe. It will weigh between 55 and 60 pounds and should cost less than $350. Use the money you save for good paddles and comfortable PFD’s. At the end of the season, you should be able to sell the canoe for close to what you paid for it.



    During your paddling season, you can find out whether you’re more comitted to canoeing than you were to kayaking. You may decide that canoe camping is fun. You may decide you like faster water. You may want something even more stable for your dog and your camera. You might find that by choice or by necessity paddling alone is your thing . You might find that you can’t canoe without the convenience of cup holders and a built-in cooler. Each of these activities has its niche canoe.



    Or, you might find you really miss the speed and control of a solo kayak.



    Use this summer to find out what you like to do. Given your current interests and the nature of Ohio waters, I think the fibreglas can meet your immediate needs at a good price.



    p.s. To all the paddlers of aluminum and cast iron canoes, who believe that I have impugned their noble watercraft: I learned to paddle in Grummans and for many years I didn’t know there was anything but Grummans and Old Towns. I have portaged Grummans; and I don’t blame them for either of my hernias. I accept that people who have always paddled them easily flip them around and effortlessly get them over their heads to portage. I also accept that sportsmen and white water enthusiasts who are in good physical shape also have no issue with them. It is a great canoe for a lakeside cottage. Additionally, they are virtually indestructable. However, in general I believe that the aggravation of getting them to the water will inhibit their use by the casual paddler. Alluminum canoes do make nice planters.

thanks for more thoughs…

– Last Updated: May-30-06 12:03 PM EST –

Considering my kayak weighed in at 70# and I went kayaking 2-3 times a month for several years without ever having any trouble getting it on/off my truck.. I'm pretty sure there's no problem there.

Your thoughts are appreciated of course. We got out last week to a local rental, took an Old Town 169 for a ~5 mile trip down the river.. seemed to handle fine with me/wife/mother in law, oil-canned like crazy (I've heard that's a prob with this model).

We're planning on going to every rental place we can find, and keeping an eye out for demo days (missed one I believe last month..ack).