Anyone out have any opinions concerning OT guide147.
Will be used mostly in slow to moderate rivers and lakes. Usually solo. Have an opportunity to get a new one for less than $500.
Actually…
I think I saw them at Dick’s Sporting Goods for just under 500. If I remember correctly, they are quite heavy even for a short canoe. Other than that, not sure.
Seems a bit of a wide and heavy canoe
– Last Updated: Dec-30-05 8:36 PM EST –
for an imtermediate paddler. Fishing, dogs, kids I could see. To have any fun in I can't see it. Really can not see giving up the fun and pleasure of a well responding canoe unless you must for some reason.
You also need to really watch OT weights. I had an OT Discovery listed at 85 pounds, but on the scales it was actually 110 pounds! The extra weight OT can sneak in gets old real quick!
>:^)
Mick
almost bought one
for my first canoe. Then I tried to pick it up…They also remind me of a Harley-Davidson; heavy, slow, one dimensional. Not a bad choice if you’re fishing, and I saw a couple going fairly well down a slow river.
wide for a rec canoe
– Last Updated: Dec-31-05 9:22 AM EST –
the Guide is more of a fishing design than a paddling design. If you want a versatile 14 footer that won't break the bank, look for a Mad River Explorer 14 TT. Still poly, but a different layered construction, with a vee bottom and only 34" wide, which is much more proportionate to the length. The seats in the Explorer are bench style rather than molded, like the OT, which allows you to turn it around and paddle solo, if you want (not eh ideal answer to the question, but a common one).
Typical retail for the Explorer is $575-625 ; the upcharge will be the smartest $100 you'll spend.
$450 at Dicks
todays paper
guide 147 is very wide to solo
this canoe is too wide to paddle solo efficiently. You can kneel on one side and paddle ‘Northwoods Style’ which many Wooden canoe paddlers will say is the only way to solo. But it is best to buy a narrower canoe with better paddling characteristics if you intend to solo on a regular basis and go more than a few hundred yards.
Bill
Its what got me back into paddling
If you aren’t in a hurry and don’t minde the weight, don’t plan on paddling fast it works OK. There are better solos out there, but the OT147 will get you down the river. If you are expecting any performance at all–get a different boat.
It’ll make a cute patio planter.
Be patient. Better buys for under $500 will appear.
Bud Wei Zer
You can read what you read here with most respondents slamming the boat, or your could read the product review where 49 out of 63 owners rated it as a 9 or 10.
Sadly, by asking this question on this board you’ve done the equivalent of asking the opinion about a 6-pack of Budweiser at a home brewer’s convention.
Go forth, paddle, and be happy …
reviews
Yeah, the review here on the 147 seem positive. I got one for my birthday last year and like it enough for what it cost. It is really heavy at 75lbs. It’s not the geatest to solo unless you get the cane seats so that you can paddle it the other way around. I tried it once in the roto seats and had to add a 75lbs. sandbag to the front. Kind of a tank but not bad. I would probably buy a solo canoe if I didn’t have a kayak too.
Never liked Bud. Rice beer.
Set any objective performance standard, and the 147 is not going to come off well. Reviews are often merely justifications of what one bought.
you’re right
This boat will not perform well, but since the man is essentially asking if he should buy a Honda Civic indicates he knows little about canoes and is probably a newbie to our recreational activity.
So, in retrospect, I agree with everyone else.
Don’t buy this boat.
Follow the advice you’re getting and pay 3-5 times what this boat costs and get one of those high-performance boats we serious paddlers all own.
If you don’t buy one you’ll be forever envious of those that did, but of course they’re tippy as hell and very might scare the crap out of you AND even if you get comfortable in it no one else will ever go with you more than once, but so be it.
After all, it’s not getting out on the water and having a good time that is important, but rather, it’s all about performance – which comes at a price (monetary as well as comfort).
Besides, if you’re paddling a Bell, Wenonah, or other upper end boat people will look up to you and then you can complain about curious people bothering you to ask questions and even --GASP!-- ask to paddle your boat to see if it’s worth the extra money!
At least he’s not considering buying a Ford Escort (think Coleman/Pelican, Rogue River, or some other plastic bathtub that makes the Guide 147 appear to perform like a sports car).
No expert and have
never paddled an OT Guide 147 however your story is similar to mine so I will tell it. Maybe it will help you. 30 years ago I did a fair amount of canoeing (at that time in Grumman aluminum boats) Two year ago I decided to get back into paddling for fishing, river trips on slow rivers (mostly in the Missouri Ozarks) and lakes. I was concerned about weight as I planned to use it solo about 65% of the time. I still wanted tandem capability. I ended up buying a Bob Special from Nova Craft (royalex) and it weighs about 58 pounds. It is a symetrical design and with woven seats it paddles very well reverse from the front seat as a solo. The cost is more than you want to spend but a used one is not out of the realm of possibility.
Well after a year of paddling the Bob Special and realizing that my 65% solo became about 90% solo I decided to get a solo boat. I found a great deal on a used OT Pack and bought it. At 33 pounds it is very light but does not track very well and is slow. So I recently purchased a used Wenonah Vagabond solo. At 14-6 long and 29 inches wide and 42 pounds the boat tracks fairly well is fairly fast (not a racer but lots faster than either the Pack or the Bob Special) and is manuverable and easy to paddle. I got it used (1 year old) for $500.00.
So to end a long story, I ended up buying 3 canoes. If I could go back knowing what I know now, I would buy a Wenonah Vagabond or the new Wenonah Argosy for solo and then I would buy somthing like a Wenonah Spirit II for a tandem because now I want to get into tripping. The Bob Special is a nice fishing tandem or for day trips but it lacks the capacity for long trips. A fourth canoe is possibly in my future!
So that’s my story. Don’t rush into this purchase just because of price. Think carefully about how you want to use the boat and purchase to match your intended use. Who knows, you may also end up with a fleet!
Or take the moderate appoach and
buy a Mohawk. Many people start with a cheap boat and graduate very quickly which is a good way to go if you have an alternate use for the cheap one. I would start at the middle.
OT 147 is not comparable to Ford Focus
or Honda Civic. It is more comparable to… Geez, I can’t think of a Korean car as bad as an OT 147… A Yugo, maybe, except that an OT 147 is more nimble than a Yugo, while less durable.
There is nothing stopping OT from molding decent hull designs from poly. But as long as buyers think a short, fat, flat canoe is a good buy, then thousands will end up stuck with mediocre canoes.
— from a former enthusiastic owner of an OT Tripper, bought used for $400 and sold for $350.
and using your analogy …
… what are the Coleman/Pelican and the Rogue River plastic fantastics?
Bicycles?
You can’t place the Guide 147 at the absolute bottom of the pile when there are way, way worse boats out there – incredibly for the same, or higher, price.
So here’s a question: why are the worse boats (the Colemans) also the most popular? Perhaps America covets mediocraty, or more likely, is willing to accept mediocraty because they are just casual users and are not obsessed with paddling like some of us are.
Yes I can. And your citing the Civic
and Focus suggests you do not appreciate relative quality in cars.
I don’t have to do anything about the OT 147 and the Coleman and Pelican, etc., other than take pictures of them where they are pinned on Georgia rivers.
The scale of excellence is for canoes that have some excellence.
All the same
A lot of people dont have a clue what the differnce between a Coleman and a OT is.My father-in-law stopped over to look at my new Hemlock Peregine a few years ago and asked me what it was made of and I told him it was kevlar and glass.He swore up and down that the Coleman he had was made of Kevlar and was just as nice as my Hemlock.
whoa … clarification needed
… I was going to let this car analogy debate slide, but since you keep pressing the issue:
I do know about relative quality in cars, so I’m somewhat taken aback by your statements.
- please go back and reread my original post – you will find that I referred to the OT 147 as a Honda Civic – a well built, functional, but unexciting car
AND
- you will also note that I referred to the plastic fantastics as a Ford Escort – a truly horrible car that was probably worse than a Hyundai or a Yugo.
So what’s all the excitement about the Ford Focus? You are the only one talking about a Ford Focus.
I know people who own a Ford Focus and they like them, but I’m confused. What’s with the Ford Focus?