you guys know that Coffee is jealous
This is just the kind of exchange he was hoping for on his canoe thread.
buying without trying
People new to canoeing or with experience limited to rental canoes do not see the differences between canoes as more than length and price.
For many years i have done canoe demonstrations for Boy Scout leaders, who are as a group more informed about outdoor equipment than the general population. Most began as Scouts in Grumman Aluminum canoes, and a good number later bought a Coleman/Pelican because of the low cost. After paddling a really good composite hull for the first time the comment is usually the same “I had no idea canoes could be that different.”
The purchase of a canoe from a BigBox outlet is made from brochures and sales pitches, not from comparative paddling.
If an entry level canoe gets someone out on the water and leads to enjoyment of the outdoors, great. But if we can help a person make a better choice in the beginning, is that not good?
Bill
check out
the ford focus rally car, redneck. It’s not your aunts sisters sons car anymore.
ummm …
like can you read?
F-O-R-D E-S-C-O-R-T
like I said, I don’t know where all this Focus talk is coming from, as it weren’t from me.
Well, even an early Escort was a much
better small car than an OT 147 will ever be as a canoe. As for the Honda Civic, try any recent EX with stick, or an si if you can find one. Plenty exciting.
An OT 147 is more like a Ford Pinto.
Holy crap !!!
– Last Updated: Jan-03-06 10:22 AM EST –
The poor guy is trying to buy a canoe and you guys end up selling cars,
Pretty soon you'll be telling him that he should get a Tilley rather than a ball cap to go with his new canoe!
cheers,
jackL
thanx
Thanks for the bitch slap.
I think Jack’s right, we need to focus [bad word choice] on the topic.
I’m beginning to think making analogies on this site are a waste of time and effort – either someone doesn’t get it or someone else uses them as an opportunity to drag a thread off-topic.
So, getting back on topic, just buy the damn boat, learn (or re-learn) how to paddle and after a year or so you’ll know what to look for – and avoid – in a canoe – and, perhaps most importantly, you’ll have an extra canoe – which is not to be sneered at for some of us have three or more extra canoes, which on occasion, are not enough.
Solo use
– Last Updated: Jan-03-06 11:53 AM EST –
The molded seats make it uncomfortable to sit reversed in the bow seat, and you'd need to add ballast in the bow to solo from the stern seat. So if most of your use will be solo, you'll need to modify or replace the current seat(s), or add a center seat.
It is wide for comfortable solo paddling.
I can see both sides of the "quality" argument. One one hand, there's a 147 that belongs to the community association and lives on the town beach a short walk from my house, and I've spent many happy evenings in it puttering around the pond in pursuit of panfish. It's not as nice as my Bell, but it's better than some canoes I've been in, and a whole lot better than being stuck on shore.
On the other hand, I did have one of those "wow!" moments the first time I paddled a nice canoe.
There really is a difference. But for some users and missions it just isn't worth the extra money.
If you're willing to trade some initial stability for less weight and more paddling efficiancy, consider the OT Penobscot 16 as a good solo/tandem canoe.
Hey, ah’s resemble dat remark
– Last Updated: Jan-03-06 12:29 PM EST –
Ah's looved me old '73 Pinto.... three clutches an' all.
Fat Elmo