I am selling my 17’ Old Town Penobscot because it has become too heavy for me. I am going to miss it as I have grown to appreciate the way it handles and also its speed. I am looking to replace it with a similar but lighter boat. So far I have considered Wenonah’s Spirit II, Escape and even the Minnesota II. What would you buy?
Peter
I have a Spirit II in Kevlar with with bucket seats, footbrace in stern, and a sliding bow seat. Great boat if you like to sit and switch. Where do you paddle - I think of the Penobscot as more of a river boat…
@eckilson said:
I have a Spirit II in Kevlar with with bucket seats, footbrace in stern, and a sliding bow seat. Great boat if you like to sit and switch. Where do you paddle - I think of the Penobscot as more of a river boat…
I am usually (increasingly as I age) on slow moving water that is relatively open (estuaries and the CT River). I guess all of this this depends on where you’ve started. I Began with boats that were easy to turn (Prospector, Appalachian) and in small twisty rivers where they worked well. As i moved to bigger, more open water, I found those boats moved around a bit too much and the Penobscot, by contrast, tracked well and required less attention. I appreciate that the Penobscot is not at the far end of the spectrum when it comes to hard tracking, but for me it was and I’d like to replace it with one that feels about the same - only lighter. It sounds as though the Spirit II is probably not a close cousin to the Penobscot.
I had a chance to paddle a Minnesota II a few years back and I recall that it was similar, albeit larger. I hesitate to buy one because it is so big and I worry that it will blow around too much with just two people and lunch in it. Perhaps the Wenonah Escape is the one.
Thanks for your input.
Peter
Peter,
the most similar to the Penobscot of the three choices is the Spirit II. It is the slowest of the three, but still faster than anything made today with an Old Town decal. It has the most rocker of the three, and by far turns the best. The Escape I compare most closely to the 17’ Jensen. The Escape is deeper than the Jensen and more seaworthly, and about even on speed due to being 6" longer. The Minnesota II is really a different canoe from the Penobscot. The MNII is much faster and hard tracking. It has a very straight keel line. It will do tripping duty on open lakes and larger streams more efficiently than the Penobscot, but it is a handful on tight streams . My choice for your duty would be a Spirit II in Ultralight Kevlar. The Spirit is so balanced and so forgiving. I still have a Spirit from 1983 in Kevlar and it is my go to canoe for unknown water conditions and with new paddlers. And its won more races for me than any of my other canoes. It turns better than anything that is as fast. And it is faster than anything that turns as well. Hope this helps, Bill
If you don’t need the depth (and it sounds like you don’t) and want a fast boat, I would look around for a used Kevlar Jensen 17.
While thinking about new boats, I have also been keeping an eye on the used market and I may soon come home with a Dagger Reflection 16 in Royalex lite. I already own the smaller Reflection 15, which I use for a solo, and it tracks about as well as the Penobscot and does not blow around too badly in a wind. I assume the 16 will be similar. The weight, at 60 lbs, is not quite what I would like, but I think I can manage it for a few more years - by then I may not be in the canoeing business at all. Or, if I am, I’ll buy a really light one. The Penobscot weighs in at 73 lbs.
Thanks for the recommendations. I had pretty much come around to the same view of the Spirit II/Escape choice because the Escape looks like a hard-tracking rocket with zero rocker. I had not thought about the Jensen, it, too, could be in the running if the current deal falls through. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks,
Peter
The deal on the Dagger Reflection 16 came to pass and it is now in the rack where the Penobscot used to be. It is a substantially different boat. The hull is an asymmetric Swede form with a slight skeg. I’ve given it a test paddle and, so far, it is akin to the Penobscot in that it does track pretty well, but that is where the similarity ends. It is going to be an interesting transition.
I there anybody out there with experience in this boat that could offer pointers?
Thanks,
Peter