Good point by Daggermat…
I find the most difficult thing to loading a canoe is getting it up on my shoulders in the first place. I’m 5’8" and 160 pounds, and I used to be able to throw 80 pound canoes onto my shoulders in one smooth motion, starting with canoe right side up and lifting it from the side. But at a few years on the down side of 50, it ain’t as easy anymore. Once it’s on my shoulders, loading it on the pick-up starting from the tailgate is a breeze, but I wouldn’t want to do with anything much heavier than the Penobscot I have now (60 pounds or so).
My advice…get a canoe that’s no more than 65 pounds or so, and also get a good set of racks. A lot of people don’t canoe as much as they otherwise would simply because it’s inconvenient to load and carry them on their vehicle.
Spirit II vs. Champlain
I’ve had a canoe dealer near Cincinnati suggest that the Champlain, instead of the Spirit II, might be “better” for my purposes because it is more efficient, has a greater load capacity, and has greater stability. Anyone have any thoughts?
depends on your strength and which boat
I can load a 16’ Dagger Legend (probably weighs 70 lbs) by myself onto the top of a pickup truck, but my wife and I have pretty much sworn off of trying to load the 13 foot Old Town Discovery 133 that we’re ‘storing’ for a friend. Of course, the 133 is an awkward boat to start with - very wide, very heavy, and a big flat center seat instead of a center thwart. Too bad, because the one thing that canoe does well is stay upright when my 2 and 5 year olds lean way out over the gunnels to touch the water.
Having dealt with really heavy canoes in the past, I’d say it’s worth the extra money to get something that will be easier to handle by yourself. Handling the kids is usually handful enough! 
how hard to load an SUV?
We have a GMC Envoy SUV…
How difficult is a canoe, say 65 lbs, to load up
on top of an SUV?
It does already have these racks/rails stock from
the factory - do I need to buy a ‘special’ rack
to carry the canoe around on?
And will my dear hubby break his back trying to get
that thing up there-afterall, we have NO truck bed
to walk up in to help us out!
Thanks, JO
There’re are modifications…
…you can make to your rack which will make boat-loading a breeze. There’s a side extension you can buy to attach to one cross bar, and with that setup, you pull out the extension (makes the bar stick way off the side of the truck), put one end of the boat on that. Then you pick up the other end and pivot it over onto the other cross bar. Then you pivot the first end of the boat from the cross-bar extension onto the main part of the cross bar. You never have to lift more than half the weight of the boat, and actually it’s more like one-third, since you can lift from one end while the cross bar supports the weight several feet in from the opposite end.
If you are handy with building stuff, I can send you pictures of my setup, which is a temporary third cross bar at the very rear of the vehicle. Set one end of the boat on that, then slide it forward onto the rack. Some people just lay a carpet on the back of the car and do the same thing.
Same height, same weight,
but I am 20 years older than you.
Just engineer it and it is simple.
With my 80 pouund disco:
lay it on the ground with the hull side up with the bow up against a big rock or tree.
Go to the stern and standing behind it pick it up.
When you have it about waist high push it up over your head (keeping the bow footed against some immovable object)
Then walk forward and under it while you slide you hands along the gunnels and at the same time raising it in the air.
Once you are under the portage yoke just let it down on your shoulders and let the bow swing up.
It helps to have a nice padded yoke.
Cheers,
JackL