I have been doing some research on a new canoe- I really like the sleek look and added perks on the Mad River Adventure 14’ or 16’. I will mostly be using the canoe for class I & II and will be doing quite a bit of solo paddling and fishing. Does anyone have a suggestion on what length might be better and how is the stability on these?
How will you do your solo paddling?
The 16s I’ve seen have plastic obstructions right where us solo paddlers need to be to do our work.
Actually, GloryDaze, it is hard to see
how a company with such a past record of fine canoe designs (I’ve owned three) could possibly come up with something as ill-designed and miss-equipped as the Adventure boats. Heavy, slow, not stable enough for the people who will use them, hard to modify regarding seats, thwarts, etc.
So, if you’re trolling, don’t do it from those canoes.
You have to be kidding
a real advanced paddler!
Who can take this cottage touring boat for people who want to dabble on the lake and take it on whitewater with no floatation…And rescue it when it gets pinned with those molded decks and no drainage.
And can solo standing up on the cup holders.
You cannot sit on the bow seat facing backwards on this boat. And sitting on the stern seat with the bow waving in the air disqualifies you as advanced.
See that little skeg in the rear of the 14? You arent going to be able to solo these at all…the stern will be pinned
Neither one of thse are whitewater boats. Go back and do more homework. It will save your life.
Wow-
– Last Updated: Dec-13-07 12:35 PM EST –
I guess I learned my lesson on stating I was advanced on SLOW RIVERS- I am just asking for advice on the canoe and not my skill level. Will the canoe be OK to use on SLOW RIVERS...Class I and the occasional class II. I just don't want to spend $500 on something that once on the water, I will regret.
Better yet- for those of you who have been so sarcastic, maybe you could suggest a good canoe that would fit what I'm looking for?
Hang on, we’re thinking. Probably you
were attracted by the low cost of the Adventures, and getting close to that low cost while providing a good boat isn’t that easy.
moi?
Sure. But the first thing is do you stand while you fish?
And second what dealers are around you for you to do a test drive?
Forget the snobs on here . . .
Except that they’re right.
I bought an Adventure 16, just to play with on slow rivers w/ my kids. Trouble is, I could rarely get them out, and when I did, it was too freakin’ heavy to deal with. Forget about soloing it, unless you bring 75% of your weight along to place in the bow. Class 1 or 2? Not advisable. As far as the stability goes, they ARE wrong about that. I had me, my wife, both kids and the 70# lab in it, the lab decided to get a drink out of the river over the side, and although tippy, we didn’t go over. He got a good drink too. It is WAY comfortable, there’s no getting around that. And you need that nice reclining action after exerting yourself to death car-topping it, carrying it to the water, and paddling a barge of a canoe.
It’s all good though. I sold it for about $30 more than I paid for it, and I bought it new. Just got a really good deal. If you want to solo, get a kayak. Want to take the kids out, get a better canoe.
No, if you want to solo alone, get
a solo canoe. If you want a canoe that will paddle well both solo and tandem paddling, be relatively easy to load/unload, and a joy to own, keep looking. If you want it at lower cost, buy used.
The closest Dealer
is REI- I have looked online but obviously am trying to learn as much as possible before I go there.
Well if I learned one thing- the Mad River Adventure would have been a waste of $$$
Now if I could just figre out which one I want to buy-
Thanks
This site…
has tons of good info. It’ll just take some time to get through it all. Also, be willing to take a ribbing (as already noted). Also, the Wenonah catalog has a lot of great info in it and you can email them to send one to you.
better choices
I’d opt for the Mad river explorer 14 tt or the old town guide 14 or 16. Both are better suited for what you want.
The explorer 14tt is pretty good as a solo boat and OK as a tandem if the load is not too much over 500 pounds.
The old town is great if you set it up to row it with oars or paddle it tandem. It is pretty slow as a solo boat.
Paddling.net Classified Ads
Right now in South Carolina there is an Old Town Camper, 16’ Royalex canoe for sale for $500. And in North Carolina is a 17’ Grumman aluminum for $375.
Either one in good condition is a better canoe than the Mud River Adventurer for your usage. The Aluminum Grumman in its heaviest construction will weigh less than the Mad River. And if in the more recent light gauge high tensile aluminum will weigh over 20# less. Aluminum does have its drawbacks; noise, heat reflectivity and conductivity, and an annoying trait of denting on impact and wanting to stick to rocks instead of slithering over them like plastic boats. But it will handle the water you propose to paddle, will last your lifetime with minimal care, and its other drawbacks can be cured with some outdoor carpeting and paint. Of all the aluminum canoes, the Grumman is the most durable, and will hold that $375 price forever. The aluminum in the livery weight 0.080" hulls is worth half the asking price as scrap right now.
The Old Town Camper is a stable middle of the road family canoe. Not as easy paddling as the Penobscot, but more stable. Not as stable as the Guide 160, but 23# lighter and easier to paddle. It will be quieter and more comfortable than the Grumman, will slither over rocks, and be about the same weight to carry. It also will hold its $500 price for years.
Neither is my first choice for your usage, but at your price limit its whats available right on this website and not too far away. People have been known to drive over a 1000miles on a weekend to pick up their dream boat from an out of state dealer. And some of us will drive 1000 miles on a weekend just to paddle.
Posting as an advanced paddler and then asking questions about a bargain basement canoe did ieave you open for some deserved ribbing. And some advice.
Bill
Wait and Watch Awhile…
…for a good used deal - with a $500 budget, you can get a lot more bang for your buck that way. You also get to test-paddle different designs, which will help you decide what attributes you want in your final choice. We bought our Oneida 18 from a paddling friend for $350; our Bluewater Prospector was an insurance salvage job, for $800, about 1/3 of the retail price (got badly scratched in shipping). There are good deals out there, if you just have the patience to wait and watch.
Don’t know how close this is, how
handy you may be, or if the thing is worth owning, but is inexpensive and my be a better deal than it shows:
http://nashville.craigslist.org/spo/467737989.html
can you say
"itchy"???
I’ve seen of them, thar well used canoes that made you itch standing close to 'em.
that looks like a bit of a ww model, prolly not very good tracker. the Advents track pretty good, never will make you itch and are a pretty fair bang4buck.
steve
Yea, it looked not the best of shape.
The pictures weren’t great and couldn’t tell much about the canoe. The foam thing in the middle of the boat sounded like a big block of the stuff, a substitute for bags.
adventure 14
Got an adventure 14 as our first canoe and liked it. Nice & comfy seats, a bit tippy but we never went for a swim, not a lot of room for a day out on the water that includes fishing. Tried to use it to go upstream in shallow water w/moderate current but gave up the thought of attempting that again. Really a flatwater day tripper as we expected. We decided that we liked canoeing enough that we went ahead and bought a Wenonah Spirit II in kevlar flex-core around mid summer this year. We are really lovin our Wenonah!