i bought a used rouge river 15’7 a few days ago and would like to have the owners manual for it as i have read in the reveiws and found my self it is like the manufacturer has dried up and blown away.if anyone knows of source for this or contact information for the manufacturer i would appreciate it.i have never owned a canoe before and have not spent much time in one so i need all the help i can get . i am and always have been an avid outdoorsman and expect to spend alot of time camping from the canoe during the milder months though they are few here in our semi-tropical home state of florida. thanks all and god bless and protect you in your adventures.
why an owners manual?
just read all the great stuff here: http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/
then check out a book or two on canoe tripping. heck, even the BSA book on canoeing is pretty useful for a beginner: http://meritbadgeonline.com/2004/canoeing_2004.pdf
reply to sapien
mainly for weight caps for camping gear , the older i get the more non essentials i want.it’s not as much fun sleeping on a pad at 48 as it was at 28.thanks alot for your reply i will definitly check out those links . thanks again , brady.
mfrs’ weight capacity may be overrated
some manufacturers claim you can carry 1200 lbs or whatever but you might be riding real low in the water. maybe if you look up other canoes of similar dimensions, it’ll give you an idea of the factory rating.
I would suggest floating the canoe next to a dock or other safe place, load it up with people or items of of known weights, and see how much you can get in it and still maintain about 8" of freeboard. you want to be comfortable that you can control and maneuver the loaded canoe and be reasonably safe from swamping it if waves kick up or if you tilt sliding over a submerged rock. I would guess you’ll be able to carry quite a lot though.
Capacity
One of my son’s has that canoe and I am pretty sure they list max around 850 lbs. In reality, 650# would tend to translate into quite a bit of baggage. What is the weight of the paddlers combined? Next would be assembling all your gear, weigh each item or bag, record the weights on paper, then adjust as needed.
We have had our Spirit II loaded with a weeks worth of cargo top out close to 650# and it was OK. I think your RR would tend to get pretty sluggish with 650# in it but not sure. Invite someone along on a paddle who matches your cargo weight and you will be able to come to your own conclusion.
Tom
weight caps
thanks sapien and focus.i took the canoe out for the first time yesterday loaded with 425 lbs.i paddled up river against the current a little more than three miles.it is a slow flowing river and it was not difficult to paddle except were the river narrowed enough to produce eddys.i don’t have much experience paddling but it felt a little slugish to me but it is probably more due to my lack of skill and knowledge than the attributes of the canoe.i have a freind who has quite a bit of time in paddling rivers in our neck of the woods i have invited him on a two day trip on one of our wilderness rivers in march if the water level cooperates,in the mean time i will just keep paddling every week end to develop some skills and learn the easiest ways to steer when heading back down river.i was taken by surprise by how fast the current can send you through the bottle necked sections of even a slow moving river and ended up ducking tree limbs a couple times.i was a little sore last night from using muscles i have not used in a while but over all it was a great day and i can’t wait to get back on the water. once again thanks to all for the reply’s they are much appreciated. Brady.