canoe suggestions?

[mainbutter]

Well I'm looking to pick up an affordable "do it all" recreational canoe.

I've never purchased a canoe before but am pretty well versed in paddling. Since there are so many specialist options out there, can someone key me into what to look for for a jack-of-all-trades canoe that is usable in everything from fishing lakes to overnight camping trips down the st croix?

thanks for any tips or specific brand suggestions!

[goblueM]

Well if you're going to fish and camp out of it on lakes and flat water rivers, you can't go wrong with most 15-17 foot canoes

I like royalex (plastic ones) better than aluminum or kevlar. Kevlar is too expensive and I'm rough on my boats. Aluminum sounds like a 12 gauge when you drop a split shot in it, and is pretty shiny. It'll fry you good on a sunny day

Old Town makes some good royalex canoes - try looking around for some used ones. that one popular free site started by a dude named craig usually has a bunch, especially in fall and spring

(jeez, talk about over the top auto-edits...)

[Quetico]

Go with a boat like the Penoscot 17'. Great all around boat. Mine's taken a beating over countless wilderness trips, day trips on lakes and rivers, and now as a instructional boat I use when teaching canoeing classes.

Best all around tough boat on the block.

[Redlantern]

I get by with an aluminum. Downside is noise and weight. Upside is price and virtually maintenance free. If I had the dough, I'd go Kevlar. You might want to check out Piragis' catalog. They have Wenonah and Bell canoes for sale. Might be cheaper to buy elsewhere but they have the specs on the canoes in the catalog.

[Quetico]

If money wasn't an issue for me, I'd get a Wenonah Minnesota II in carbon fiber. But thats a boat you need to be a bit more careful with and the nearly $3000 price tag is something for serious paddlers.

If you intend on beating your canoe on shallow river trips or just in general, stay away from carbon fiber and kevlar. Those two are far more sensitive and easily damaged materials. Also they run far more expensive.

[Se Mn FishSlayer]

River Ridge Custom Canoe very tough made of fiberglass its the best canoe on the market right now and its made right in rochester minnesota

[swamptiger]

Also check out Cranberry Creek, Old Town Osprey, and Meyer Sportspal - these are all multi-purpose sporting type canoes in the lower price range. For something a little heavier, it's hard to beat a Grumman Sportboat.

[grousehunter]

Check out Nova Craft canoes to. One of the prospector models would work well for you.

[RJMOEN]

I have a wenonah 17 ft royalex kinda heavy at 90lbs but is indestructible. If you can wait til the beginning of May, during the middle of the 100 Mile Garage Sale, and can drive down to Winona Mn, email me and Ill tell you where to get an awesome deal. robert_J_moen @ yahhhooooodot com

[kobear]

#1 Souris River Quetico-17

My vote. Stable, big capacity, rides over waves, still soloable. Easy to fish from loaded or unloaded. Ever try and fish from a MN II unloaded, get's a little squirrelly. You decide materials to fit your style. Not as fast as some canoes.

#2 Bell Alaskan Royalex Only

#3 Wenonah Spirit II

[Hammy]

check out midwest mountaineering's boat auction in the spring. hundreds of boats to bid on and tons of people to chat with about the ups and downs of particular models/shapes/materials.

I agree with earlier posters that, if you are not portaging around, royalex is the way to go. quiet and bombproof.

the other thing about aluminum is they stick to rocks. its a terrible choice for shallow rivers and near shore because of this and the noise factor.

[Quetico]

Royalex boats are great for portaging. I was told a few years back a bunch of outfitters in the BW and Quetico were starting to get away from aluminum canoes. They switching over to royalex for their low end rental options.

I've been portaging my royalex Penoscot 17' thru the BW and Quetico for nearly 10 years. Its amazing on portages. Some portages were over a 1km.

My only issue with it has been wear on the bottom of the bow and stern from running it aground too much. I spent the $50 and a saturday afternoon to put the kevlar skid plates on.

[OnAFly]

Make sure the canoe is actually Royalex when you buy it. When I bought mine it was $300 less than other places...I found out later it was made of 3-layer poly.

It weighs about 15lbs more than a Royalex version. I still like the canoe and I'm still young so I can just push through the extra weight, but in hindsight I wish I would have questioned why it was $300 less. Live and learn I guess.

Mine is a Penobscot as well. It's not the fastest thing in the world, but it is nice and stable.

[Gas Man]

I paddle whitewater in a carbon and Kevlar canoe, up to class III+. Not all composite, or for that matter, Royalex construction is consistent throughout the industry. Each manufacturer has their own idea of how to engineer the construction of their canoes.

Before looking for a canoe I would go and find a PFD (life vest) that is in your budget and that you could wear all day on the water. Then I would look for a canoe that will one, fit the (actual) amount of gear that you will carry on your longest trip, and two fit into your budget. The difference in weight between canoe B and D will likely be a slight percentage relative to the total weight of your kit. Find a boat, get out on the water and paddle. If you don’t like what you have, at least you have a base line and will know what you don’t like and can work around that. Sell it off and try another.

Brand and model specific suggestion? Bell NorthStar 16.5 in Lightning Tech BlackGold, or if you can find one, CharlieFuse BlackGold and wood trim, pre ORC buyout. It is the do all, the multi-tool of the canoe world. In my boat inventory, it’s the most dust free in the barn. My $.02

[Chode2235]

I would look into something like the Wenonah Spirit II. That is an amazing and all around great boat. They have it it Royalex which is a bit heavy, but much easier on the pocketbook than the kevlar options. You want something with decent maneuverability but tracks reasonably well too. There is always a trade off between the two, but the Sprit II is one of the best (and most reasonably priced) boat that does a lot of things really well.

I would avoid the fiberglass boats like the River Ridges, they weigh so much more, are hard to balance and portage, and the fiberglass doesnt roll off the rocks very well.

The aluminum boats are durable, but noisy, heavy, and have horrible performance.

Regardless if you go with a Wenonah, check out their HSOforum there is a lot of great information (also made in MN).

Here is the performance chart for the Spirit II off their site:

[Hula_Grub]

I have the 16' version of the Spirit II. It's called the Aurora and I love it. It works great in rivers, as a solo, carries easy and in royalex will (and has) taken a beating.

[charliepete]

I suppose it's all about personal preference. I've got an ancient 17.5' ft grumman. I don't own another boat and spend a lot of time fishing from mine in local rivers and lakes in addtion to my yearly BWCA trips. I generally mistreat it. I ram full speed onshore so I don't have to get my feet wet, drag it loaded across rocky portages if their short enough, and generally pound the heck out of it from enjoying the scenery instead of watching for submerged rocks. I've left a lot of aluminum on rocks over the years and don't even have any dents and have never had a leak. At 65#'s it's easy to portage, with it's keel it tacks nice and strait, provides a stable fishing platform, and is sturdy enough to really cinch down tight on the rack of the truck. Best of all I bought it used for $300 including the paddles. I don't worry that somone else will steal it when I head into a restuarant.

I like the weight of kevlar, but not the durability or price. I like the durability and price of royalex, but not the weight. In my book aluminum is the best blend of durability, weight, and price for what I do.

[MN Shutterbug]

I don't recall the brand, but I bought a canoe from Scheel's in Mankato last summer. It's plastic and has a square stern, which works great for my 50# trolling motor. It has built in back supports and it quite easy for one guy to throw on top of an SUV or whatever. It's also very stable in the water. I love it for casting for bass and trolling for 'eyes.

[LightningBG]

Well I'm looking to pick up an affordable "do it all" recreational canoe.

I've never purchased a canoe before but am pretty well versed in paddling. Since there are so many specialist options out there, can someone key me into what to look for for a jack-of-all-trades canoe that is usable in everything from fishing lakes to overnight camping trips down the st croix?

thanks for any tips or specific brand suggestions!

For what your describing, I'd go with an aluminum. The older the better. More durable and cheaper. Now if you're going to portage a lot, then its another story. But for a cheap bang around canoe, aluminum all the way.

[delcecchi]

Another property of aluminum is that it "grabs" on rocks, that is it doesn't slide over a rock as easily as plastic canoes.

For tripping I have rented a number of Souris River boats, made in atikokan, and have really liked them. They aren't quite as fast as a MN2 but are pretty rugged and paddle well. Also carrying 45 or so lb of canoe is easier than 75 to 90 lb for aluminum or royalex.

You need to weigh the priority of your own uses to make a good decision.

[Quetico]

Yeah Souris River really makes a great boat. I have used their Quetico 17's before. Very impressed. You still need to be careful with Kevlar boats. They definitely aren't as tough and bullet proof as aluminum or Royalex.

My 17' Royalex Penobscot weights in at 65 lbs. Not bad considering how much more durable it is compared to a Souris River or MN2. Its only 20 lbs extra. I've done 1/2 mile portages with my canoe and a lighter portage pack with a broken foot without issues.

Please note: portaging a canoe of any weight with a broken foot not recommended.

[Redlantern]

Del, what kind of aluminum canoe do you have that weighs 90 pounds? I have an Alumacraft Quetico 18.5 that weighs 65 pounds. I agree that the aluminum does grip, though. Maybe my canoe doesn't weigh 65 anymore after leaving some of it on the rocks. Anyway, I think Mainbutter had mentioned something in his original post about being affordable.

[SkunkedAgain]

I've got a 90's aluminum Grummin that I take everywhere, including to the BWCA, and have probably portaged it farther than most. I always get a lot of stares and comments that "I'm crazy" for taking aluminum into woods that far. I'm only 5'8 and 190lbs so it's not like I'm some muscle head. You can take an aluminum everywhere and it'll survive a lot longer than most. Yes it takes more work but that's why we have fun out there. Yes there are draw backs to aluminum such as grabbing at rocks, but if they were really problems then nobody would use them. Everything has a drawback.

Go aluminum. It's in your price range and the most versatile.

[Ice4blood]

i have a 16' old town camper made of royalex. At 60 lbs. I can still portage it in the boundary waters and it is flat so fishing out of it is a breeze. The camper is more stable than alot of canoes but it is slower and does not track as good as the penobscot on bigger water.