-- Last Updated: Jul-02-09 3:39 PM EST --
Anyone have experience with this canoe. They sell it at Dicks. I'm new to the sport and was looking for something inexpensive to start out with.
Thanks
David
It depends…
on what you have in mind as far as what you want to do in the boat. What kind of activities, how many people and/or animals, how much weight, etc., etc., etc.
requirements
I was looking for 2-3 people for general lake/pond use and maybe some river use. I will also use it for some fishing. I’d like to keep it under 16’ and around 80lbs.
This model seems to fit the bill, but I wanted to know more about it since there are no reviews anywhere.
Well…
First of all, I’ll preface this by saying I haven’t paddled that boat. I’ve seen it in Dick’s, just wandering around the store browsing, and I have paddled boats that I would consider to be similar.
The first thing is the weight. From what I can find, the spec weight on this boat is 65 lb. The actual boat will probably be a few pounds heavier than that, but should be comfortably below your 80 lb limit. If you’re going to trailer the boat, it won’t be a problem. If you’re going to put it on top of your car, you’ll probably want help. It’s doable by yourself, but it’s not fun.
The boat might be a little small for what you want. As a solo fishing platform on ponds, small lakes, or slow rivers, it would be fine. You put 3 people in that boat, unless one of them is a small child, and it will be crowded. I think the listed capacity is 800 lbs – but realistically you probably won’t want to put much more than 500 or 600 lbs in it. For 3 adult-sized people, most people seem to recommend at least 17 feet.
As a short, fairly wide boat, it will be pretty slow. Again, it depends what you want. A leisurely cruise down a slow river, or just hanging out on a lake, it would be fine. If you wanted to cover any serious distance, you might look for something else.
I don’t know what the price is. If it’s under $300, you’re probably not going to do to much better, unless you look at a used aluminum canoe, or are very lucky. If it’s in the $500-$600 range, I would recommend you look for a used boat. Check the want ads here on paddling.net, check craigslist. You can probably find a much better boat for your money.
Anyway, like I said, I haven’t paddled the Potomac, so you can take this for what it’s worth.
Purchased Old Town
Thank you for the advice. I ended up purchasing a Used Old Town Discovery 169 for less than the Pelican.
Glad to be of help.
From what you are wanting to do, I think that boat is an excellent choice. I have an Old Town Discovery Scout, it’s a discontinued model but very similar, and I get a lot of use out of it for the kinds of things you have in mind.
Enjoy!
Pelican
I have this canoe an I love it. I’m a beginner and think it’s a great introduction into canoeing. My wife, son and I fit nicely. I fish it alone by sitting in the bow seat with a dry back 1/3 filled with water on the stern end and paddle backwards. Works great. I have a Honda Element and car topping solo seemed impossible. What I ended up doing was placing a 4" water noodle on top of the car and just rolling it on the roof. Same for getting it down. Hope this helps.