Anyone have one? It looks like the perfect boat for a large dog.
I do not have one. But I would not be inclined to buy one to carry a large dog.
It is a pretty short canoe and its seating arrangement does not look as if it has the flexibility to trim the canoe properly to accommodate the dog’s weight. The dog would almost certainly need to go behind the paddler. That does not work well for some dogs.
A former dog insisted on being in the bow of my former tandem. She would lay her head on my bow paddler’s shoulder so she could see ahead.
It is incredibly heavy for its size, even though the OT website says its 59 lbs, it feels much heavier and the apparatus that holds the seat takes up a lot of room in there. You might have difficulty getting a large dog in there an being able to balance the load. A small tandem might be better.
Yes, some dogs are happy being behind the paddler and others are not. Even if the dog is OK with the stern position, I prefer having the dog(s) in front of me where I can see it or them.
A large dog putting its weight on one gunwale can unbalance a canoe very quickly. If the dog is in front, you can at least compensate to correct the imbalance.
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My MRC Explorer 16 is Kevlar and weights 52 pounds. I have paddled it solo a number of times. I have 2 solo canoes but take the tandem on trips where it will be used as both a tandem and solo canoe.