Old Town Canadienne canoe???

unstable roll of Canadienne
Question: I bought an Old Town Canadienne about a year ago, its in excellent shape, just need to recane the two seats. I am an experience paddler and my question is: the canoe seems to roll or rock to either side very easy causing a moment of terror for those aboard (two adult passengers with no gear). Does this seem right?

I’ve owned a fiberglass Canadienne for over 30 years. Downsides - it’s heavy (about 80 lbs), hard to turn and tippy. Upsides - huge carrying capacity, tracks better than any canoe I’ve paddled, whisper quiet in the water, fast in a straight line and very pretty. It turns heads. The tippiness gets better once you have about 400 lbs in it.

Turns out I never did get this Canadienne. I actually decided it was worth what he was asking so told him I would give him his asking price. I thought it was a done deal and we were scheduling a pickup and I never heard back from him. Finally talked to one of his kids and his family didn’t want him to sell. Something like that.

I’ve paddled the 17’ only, not the 16’, but I found it a wonderful boat loaded up for tripping (a real favorite) and a pain in the butt when heading out lightly loaded, with poor initial stability and very little secondary. It can go over fast on an unwary paddler. If you’re going to use it exclusively as a tripper, you’d be hard-pressed to choose better; it holds a bunch o’ gear, tracks very well and moves along faster than its shape would seem to indicate. However, as a lightly loaded “pleasure craft,” especially with smaller paddlers, I’d encourage you to look elsewhere. No matter what, this is a boat you need to test paddle before you make a decision.

I have an Old Town Canadienne. It is 17’2” with wooden gunnels. It is forest green fiberglass. I bought for it the “w” seat - a fiberglass seat that sets on the gunnels to allow the canoe to be used with oars. The hull has some gravel scratches but is rock solid. I would like to sell it.

I have the original brochure here somewhere, but if recall correctly it has a 920 lb. capacity.

It’s serial number is XTC32131M80G, so I suspect it was manufactured is 1980.

The most glide of any canoe I have ever paddled, even more than a Sawyer Cruiser. The gold ones are kevlar. The 15’7" model is around 48 pounds.

I bought the 15 foot model in kevlar recently for $250. The hull is now patched near the stem with several rolls of fiberglass tape epoxied on the ends. It is fast, really fast. I took out the thwarts and tandem seats and put back a solo seat and new thwarts. Then a coat of green marine paint. It looks new and has the gold interior.

If I sell it, the price will be around $800 at least.

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Sounds like my kind of boat. Perfect length for a solo.

Any Pics?

Sorry I am not good with photos on computers.

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