Looking for recomendation for a Old Town canoe.
We are headed up to Maine in a few days and stop by the OT factory outlet and look at what’s availible as seconds and thirds.
Anyway I am interested a a canoe that will be used by one person and a dog (50lbs) 75% of the time and the times 2 people and the dog.
I am thing a 14 foot max. Something light as I will be carrying the canoe and my kayak also.
Any comments on models?
Factory a good start but
you may find much better deals by calling the stores on the dealers list on their website. Way back when, I was able to find a new canoe at a local shop, hundreds of miles from the factory, for much less than the factory wanted for its seconds.
This time of year is a good time to search for deals.
True that…
…if you have the time to shop and look around, sometimes you can find some really good deals
from canoe liveries selling their used boats.
True, some of them are beat to hell and gone,
but if you take the time, I have seen some that
still had a lot of life in them and weren’t too much.
used boats good too
but I was talking about new. Buying a factory second Old Town from the factory aint no bargain compared to what a starving dealer might do.
Penobscot 16
is a good solo with a dog, and as a tandem, 16’ and 58 lbs. It solos well, but I found it a bit tender as a tandem, but not alarmingly tippy. Reasonably good on flat water and handles moving water well. It is good for up to class II WW, but if you are good at WW, (I am not) then maybe Class III. I am not sure at canoes at 14’ in length other than some low volume solos. Good luck at what ever you choose.
Don’t limit yourself to 14 footers.
No 14 foot boat can be good for lake use with two people and a dog. The Penobscot 16 is one to consider.
Right now I am lusting for…
…a Penobscot 16.
My Old Town Disco is just too much barge to paddle in the WW races.
Cheers,
JackL
Old Town
I was just in the factory outlet store a couple of weeks ago. They had a bunch of canoes at good prices as fall quickly approaches. I saw an Osprey, a Disco 133 and a couple of other boats in that size. However, for what you want out of the canoe I’d recommend a Penobscot 16. I use mine primarily solo, but have a dog with me sometimes and a paddling partner at others. Sometimes both. It is an awsome solo boat and makes a decent tandem. I’m not a fan of tandem paddling, but when you want to take another person with you the Penobscot can do it and cover water pretty quickly.
old town
i was in the OT store the other day, and I really wasn’t all that impressed. They also had a massive sell off of seconds a couple of weekends ago - so I don’t know how much they would have to pick through in so far as seconds.
i would check out used boats.
Penobscot 16
I think you’ll find the Penobscot 16 a good boat for both tandem and solo. Especially if you’ll be paddling solo with your dog.
I have plenty of friends with Penobscot 16s. They bought them for tandem canoeing, but as they migrated to solo canoeing they found them just as useful.
In fact one friend, an excellent canoeist, bought a Penobscot 16 for solo paddling. It allows him to take plenty of gear on down river camping trips. It also hold plenty of tires, he hauled more than a dozen at a time off the Turkey River in NW Iowa on Labor Day (we hauled a total of about 30 tires off the river on that day).
On the Dan River race…
…yesterday the first place male solo was in a Penobscot 17.
Cheers,
JackL
16 Penobscot
One more enthusiastic vote for 16 Penobscot !
Pathfinder
I have had a Pathfinder, (a factory 2nd - although I didn’t notice the small ‘2nd’ stamped on the hull until many years later) which I purchased in 1986. The model has recently been discontinued by Old Town. As stated earlier it is a 14’10", 36" wide hull made of Royalex. It’s a tandem canoe with a maximum capacity of 820 lbs. It also makes an excellent solo canoe which is the primary way that I use it. I have used it for around 20 years now and it has proven to be very stable, (initial stablilty) and durable, and it makes an excellent fishing canoe. It has a flat bottom and certainly not the fastest canoe, but it is enjoyable to paddle. It’s 13 1/2 inch center depth makes it quite dry in bigger waves. It weighs 57 pounds. I’m a big fan of the Pathfinder.
Todd
Appalachian
– Last Updated: Sep-19-05 11:16 AM EST –
I have a pair of OT Apps that I use as as solo's, tandems, and kennel scows (with one or more dogs).
This hull also makes a good poling platform.
They get pushed around a bit on windy flatwater but they're awesome on small rocky streams.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/345564467/345571472jjEpGR
http://community.webshots.com/photo/256941350/284140528fFcXgk
http://community.webshots.com/photo/336213971/336236090pTxjTR
http://community.webshots.com/photo/336213971/336232321BuTmjT
http://community.webshots.com/photo/305719660/305739460sIiPwD
Hey! Don’t forget one of my…
… favorite pics, when it comes to doggin’ it in an Appalachian, that is. With wrinkled noses, and twinkle toeses, the whole pack stands and comes up roses:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/342435263/342606078zLvKPL
Good boat, that OT App. Kept me and about 40 gallons of water upright, God knows how, when I took to go’n over flood level Yellow Breeches wavelines sideways.
I like the Pathfinder, too. Thanks for the idea, Bob. I just might have Mike loan me that one for poling on the Juniata Branch at Raystown.
Tom
Picked an OT up
Just to let all know, we picked up a Penobscot 16 at the OT factory store.
The going price was around $749, fall special down to $549, they let me have it for $499.
It’s got some small dings and long scraches but not bad.
Wow what a deal!
Man did you ever luck out.
I am driving from Charlotte to Atlanta,(700 miles) round trip and back tomorrow to hopefully pick up a 5 year old used one for 500.
Cheers,
JackL
You got a great deal!
I rarely see used ones for under $700 and they usually sell in the first couple days.
Old Town
I’m also happy with my Penobscot 16, and even happier with Old Town. The first one I had was way off balance when portaging. I had to hang two canteens off the front end to get it to sit evenly. I complained to O.T., they suggested just moving the center thwart, which would have had to go about 6". When I didn’t want to do that, they said OK, we’ll ship you a new one! The dealer was ticked, because he was stuck with my old one, but I sure was happy.
Now they just gotta make it in kevlar…
cYa Jim
Stood by me
I had a Disco 169 I bought used and it developed some serious cracks. They gave me a new one all I had to do was pick it up. They’ve been great