Mad River Lamoille vs Old Town White

Advice
#1
-- Last Updated: Jul-15-11 5:43 PM EST --

Looking for some advice, please:

I need to upsize to make room for my family of five. We currently have a Kevlar Langford Nahanni -- beautiful but a bit tippy we find.

I'm trying to decide between a Mad River Lamoille (Kevlar) and an Old Town White (FG). The Lamoille is definitely pushing my budget and will require some skillful persuasion to get my wife "on board".

Any advice? I'm particularly concerned about stability -- none of my three kids is over the age of 7.

Thank you!

#2

tippy cuz of 5 in a less than 20’ boat

– Last Updated: Jul-16-11 9:23 AM EST –

Of the under-20' boats I'd look at the OT Tripper and BlackGold Bell Northwoods...then I'd go 20'+...Wenonahs or whatever. 20'+ will give you the stability without the barge-feeling... Lamoille with five would need an "experienced five" and might be pushing max weight for that boat..y/n?...

$.01

#3

it depends
on what you are going to use it for. Canoe camping with 5 in an 18’ boat seems like a stretch. Day paddling would be ok. I’d look for a 20’ boat also if I were doing long camping trips with 5. We did lots of long camping trips with 3 people in our 18’ Mohawk Jensen WWIII but I can’t imagine fitting 5.

#4

Canoe for 5
Our experience raising 3 sons was possibly a bit similar to yours. As soon as my oldest was able to help paddle with his mom we started using 2 canoes. In our case a Mad River Malecite for them and I paddled the other boys and the gear in an Explorer. That way she could keep up, the kids were entertained, and the boats didnt paddle like a log. We did have to pick easy conditions tho untill the horsepower increased.

P.S. Some of the wider solo canoes make nice tandems for small people.

#5

What about pre tandem days?
Peter, what were you using before you split into the two canoes?

#6

we went on a flat lake overnight once
in a pat moore voyager. That was an 18.5 ft tripper with about a 34" waterline. We had about 650 pounds in the canoe with a 2 year old in the nose and the 7 and 8 year olds side by side on 4" high seats in the middle and gear. The boat paddled like a log, did not feel particularly stable (even though the load was low and my wife and I were only about 110 and 160 pounds) and we didnt trip with everyone in one canoe again.

As you may know your physical size makes a difference too. Bigger people are generally better served by bigger boats.