I have been casually looking for a canoe for solo trips with my dog. My wife and I enjoy kayaking on 3-4 day trips in the Adirondacks, and we have been thinking that taking our dog along would be fun. She would like to stay in her kayak, and I would like to get a canoe that would be able to keep up with her, and still support my dog (around 45-50 pounds), and half our gear. She is a good paddler, but we don't try to win any races or anything. Id like to get a canoe that isn't incredibly heavy, is reasonably efficient/quick, and handles somewhat large bodies of water (like Adirondack lakes). Budget concerns force me to look in the used canoe market. I have found a few I am interested in, but one intrigues me. It is a Jensen Canoe, 16 foot, and fiberglass. Does anybody have any information on this boat? Here is the link to the craigslist ad: http://fingerlakes.craigslist.org/boa/5761923100.html
pack canoes
Designer Gene Jensen was one of the most highly respected canoe makers and his canoes are well regarded. There are more experienced canoeists than me here who would be better able to assess that particular model for your planned usage. But 16’ is a long kayak to solo. It looks like it could be a We-no-nah Jensen 17. These are supposed to be very nice canoes and very light for their size. List price (depending on material) is $2500 to $4000. That does seem quite a deal if that’s what it is. See specs halfway down on this linked page:
http://www.oakorchardcanoe.com/wenonah.php
You might be consider looking for a pack canoe – these are short (12’ to 14’) solo canoes that can be paddled from a center seat with a double blade kayak paddle or a conventional canoe paddle. My friend in Ontario, a life long kayaker (former Canadian National Champion, in fact) recently switched to a pack canoe so that his ageing 50 pound Aussie shepherd could more easily join him on the water.
That is not a Wenonah Jensen
The Jensen only comes in 17 and 18 foot models, and looks nothing like that.
We have two Jensens and I just finished the first 34 mile leg of the Adirondack 90 miler this afternoon in one of ours
They are a sweet boat.
Jack L
not sure what Gene was building
in the 80’s. Likely fiberglass and nothing to race in
Thats a lot of moola for a thirty year old boat that probably comes in at 65 lbs.
don’t trust measurements
I’ve learned over the years that people who post boats for sale on CL are often wrong in their estimates of the length, especially if they are selling something from an estate or that they did not buy themselves in the first place. They just “eyeball” it and make a wild guess.
If it isn’t clear what model a boat is I contact the seller and ask them to get a tape measure and get me the exact length and width so I can better determine what they have. Also ask them to look for a serial number.
Jensen = model name, not brand name
Think what you've found is an el' cheapo canoe company named Jensen. Wished, by the designers, to be totally confused with Wenonah's tandem canoes designed by Gene Jensen....y/n? ...But as JackL mentioned, one comparative look at both and there will be no confusion...**HOWEVER**..as kayamedic *might have* eluded to...it might've been a really old design in Gene's binge-drinking days....although I really doubt he ever became intoxicated while thinking bout' putting a canoe together.
Did you look at the photos?
BigSpencer: if you look at the photos in the Craigslist ad the boat for sale clearly has Gene Jensen’s original logo decal on it with the flying blue heron.
It looks a lot to me like the 17’ Jensen recreational canoe, made by Clipper Canoes in British Columbia.
http://www.clippercanoes.com/17-foot-jensen/
I sent an email
to the gentleman selling the boat, and asked him for dimensions and a HIN, but havent heard anything back from him. If it is indeed a Clipper Jensen, what is the consensus on using it as a large solo platform for trips? Would the low bow height be an issue?
Its got tractor seats
I take it you have never soloed a canoe. You cannot sit in the stern. The bow will wave in the air unless you carry a dead moose. I am serious.
With tractor seats it is impossible to sit on the bow seat facing backward which makes for better trim
Don’t get excited. The last two numbers of the HIN indicate the boat was made in 1984. 32 year old boat worth maybe $150 and totally unsuited to solo.
Where did you get the idea Clipper made that in 1984? Clipper makes it now. I have no idea who did it in 1984.
How did you see
the HIN? You have a better computer screen than I do. If so, then can you tell me the rest of the HIN? I can look it up and solve the whole mystery of what kind of boat this is! And on the solo question, I have soloed extensively in an old Grumman sitting backwards in the bow seat. I understand that a Jensen designed hull is asymmetrical, and I cannot do that. But my idea would be to add a seat ahead of the stern seat, maybe in the middle, whatever… I am moderately industrious and love a good project… usually my “projects” leave people scratching their heads, I suppose… At this point I just want to know what boat this is! It may not suit my needs but my curiosity is really getting the better of me… haha…
There are references
to your boat from the 1980's. the 1984 was crossed in my mind re the query in another thread with the Sundowner. But yours seems from that era Fiberglass with a gel coat and cross ribs at 60-62 lbs. Back then it was not made by Wenonah I believe nor by Clipper. If it were there would be labels on it if its not been resurfaced.
Look at the reviews here for Jensens; I am betting on a 17 footer. Often referred to in early 2000's reviews as an 18-20 year old boat.
Paddle it from the stern seat and you will get wet. It is a stock racer..
Interesting backstory here
http://alcambronne.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Gene-Jensen-Remembered.pdf
made by We-non-nah
If you read that story that he links, it describes Jensen’s first production canoe design was manufactured by Mike Cichanowski, founder of We-no-nah – in fact the article claims that it was the only the second model that We-no-nah produced when he started out and they continue to make a version to this day.
It might be worth contacting We-no-nah to see if they recognize it as one of the early versions that Mike was making in partnership with Jensen.
possibly Sawyer
Sawyer made some Jensen-designed tandem canoes. They were rather low-end, chopper-glass boats. I paddled one at Raystown years ago.
Gene Jensen designed a ton of canoes, both solo and tandem apart from the 17 and 18 foot models which have long been made by Wenonah.
Early Wenonah
I have seen several early Wenonah Jensen models and all have this decal. The construction just screams Wenonah, the cross ribs, the sliding seat mechanism, the end caps and the robin egg blue gelcoat. Its listed in an upstate NY cragslist and early Wenonahs were sold and loved here.
When the HIN number comes back from the seller, don’t be surprised if it starts with MFP and the name Minnesota Fiberglass Products is on the plate. Later Wenonahs have MFP printed on the plate with the letters and numbers of the hull stamped in the blank area following the printed MFP which gets rubbed off, but the model letters and serial number remain.
thanks willowleaf…indeed his emblem
and his earlier work…