Looking for a Canoe. Suggestions?

[Buckethead]

Here is the deal,
I need a canoe for me, the wife and the kid. Nothing major, just something to float the creeks here in Alabama with.

Any suggestions on the best for the price.

Or if you have one to get rid of, I'd like to know that as well.

Thanks

 

[sirenmoses]

Mad River Explorer 14' or Tahoe, now discontinued. Tahoe reviews here: http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=595. Explorer is $650 at REI. Used recreational canoes w/PFD's and paddles start around $500 depending on condition. You can find beater boats much cheaper, but then you've got rehab/repair to do.

Check with your local paddling shop - they usually have bulletin boards with FS, and know local clubs who can hook you up.

Good luck, I'll watch for your posts if you have q's. Used to sell boats for REI Atlanta.

 

[cbmontgo]

Old Towns are good, and there is one for every style and budget. They also seem to hold their value pretty well.

 

[High Desert]

Used Canoes

If your gonna have three people in it, (the kid will get bigger) you need at least 16 feet. The Mad River Explorer is one of the best handling canoes out there. It has a mild keel molded in to help it track but not so much that it won't manuver..very Pricey though.

That said, I went to a marina that rents canoes and bought two 10 year old aluminum canoes for $150 each, spent $200(total, not "each") on some welding, (hard to weld that thin of a aluminum skin without burning new holes) the ends were worn down from beaching.. a little seam dressing and I was good to go. I've got three kids so it was five of us going each time..

Down sides to Aluminum, till you get good at it they are noisy when you clunk your paddle against the sides. And, up here in the Northwest, aluminum transmits (sinks) the cold from the water right up to your ass...course in the south that's no problem..up here the lakes and streams seldom get over 60 degrees by August..

Another up side, they are light, with a little balance help I can press one up on my lifted 60 by myself.. I'm old and arthritic..and my wife is only 5'3" so alone is the way it is if they're going up there...

check graig list for used, and paddle shops for bulliten boards with used gear.

 

[Doug_S]

I don't know of you have a Costco big-box store close by but if you do, check them out. That's where I got my Coleman 17ft. Great canoe.

Have fun!

 

[Jim S.]

Oldtowne Discovery 16"9. 4 people or 3 & dog. Great canoe. Don't waste your money on the Coleman. Any outfitters/rental places nearby. They often swap out their inventory annually & great deals can be had, good luck.

 

[stevezero]

Look for any rental places that might be in your area(rivers/lakes, etc). Most of them realized that its cheaper to sell off their rental boats and buy new boats each year than it is to repair/maintain them. They have deals with the manufacturers to buy their blems/2nds for their rental fleets. You can usually pick one up for about 30-50% of the cost of a new one. The fact that it has a few scratches on it is a good thing, you wont think twice about scratching it yourself.

 

[Buckethead]

Thanks for all the help.

Now I have a good place to start looking.

Jared

 

[Grouseman]

Discovery

I might have a canoe you would be interested in. I'm in TN. It is a 16' Ole Town, square stern. PM me for more details.

SS

 

[sdbrassfield]

Mad River Explorer in 16' length is a great canoe for what you are describing. It does not do one particular thing great, but does all things well. Great on flat water, rivers, or whitewater up to class II, and is a great camper with a capacity of 1100 pounds or so. I own one that I use primarily for canoe camping on rivers in the winter when we slow up on paddling the whitewater and love it.

The rest of my fleet are Dagger canoes. Four whitewater (Prophet, Ovation, Impulse, and a Quake), and an Interlude which is a performance flatwater design. I have a Indian brand canoe which is 18' in length that I am redoing the glass and wood on.

Stick with the royalex or polyethylene canoes. You may consider glass boats (fiberglass/kevlar) but they take alot of babying and care. Avoid aluminum especially if you are doing rivers as they stick on rocks.

If you are riding 3 alot consider a 17 or 18 foot boat from Mad River. Another good manufacturer is Wenonah. Alot of outfitters sell their stock in the fall/winter and you may be able to find a deal on a slightly used boat. Good Luck...

 

[Driley]

Outboard trolling motor

I have a 16' Old Town Guide 160 canoe and would like to add a trolling motor. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Riley

 

[rusty_tlc]

I have a 16' Old Town Guide 160 canoe and would like to add a trolling motor. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Riley

I used something like this one with a freiends canoe. Worked well for the flat water conditions I used it in.
$90 from Cabela's looks like you could make it for $5 in material and 15 minutes with a drill press.

 

[sdbrassfield]

Check out piragis.com (piragis northwoods company) they are about $ 60.00 there. Also check out eBay. There are about 15 for sale right now. Side (single gunwale) and the style pictured above. I have a side mount and it works great.

 

[1phrogguy]

Grumman makes outstanding aluminum canoes. Had one with a 2.5 hp outboard, it would do wheelies around the lake if I was the only one on board. My .02

 

[Driley]

Thanks for the recommendations!

I like the ones on e-bay and they look pretty easy to make.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Canoe-Motor-Mou...ryZ87089QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.com/CANOE-MOTOR-MOU...ryZ23800QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


It looks like a nice Minn Kota with about 40 lbs. of thrust should move me around some of the mountain lakes nearby.

Thanks again to all,

Riley

 

[Driley]

Here is the deal,
I need a canoe for me, the wife and the kid. Nothing major, just something to float the creeks here in Alabama with.

Any suggestions on the best for the price.

Or if you have one to get rid of, I'd like to know that as well.

Thanks

Sorry for jumping away from your topic... I purchased my 16' Old Town Guide 160 at an L.L. Bean outlet store that was closing here local for $500. They threw in 2 nice aluminum paddles and a roof rack mounting system. I search around local for used canoes, but living in Bend, OR, the only ones that people were will to sell were pretty much spent. You could probably find a used one for ~ $100.00. Keep your eyes open and if you see someone with one in the back yard, ask them if they want to sell it. My brother just went door to door along a line of houses that backed up to a river and found a prestine 15' for $50.00.

Riley

 

[3DAMAN!]

I have noticed that wally-world has a few Colemans (15 ft) locked up outside every spring. Cheap, around a couple hundred bucks if my memory serves me. And they CAN! order any Coleman product if you can get the manager to work with you. The clerks probably will not know this. Cant go wrong with Colemans for the price. I saw one that came loose in Little River(Townsend Tn) that was wrapped around a log for about 9 days after a floodwash. When the surge finally receeded we waded out and untangeled that damn thing from all the debris and in a couple of days in the sun it straighted back out almost perfect. We still use it every summer!

 

[cwb]

Most of the plastic boats are fine for mild use. I'd steer clear of aluminum and definitely fiberglass. Do you have an Academy Sports near you? They often have good prices on boats.

 

[tltaylor22]

I have 2 Grumman canoes. A 16' and a 13'? They are indestructable. I am a Scoutmaster and these have been used for 20+ years with no issues. I rack them both up on my 80 no problem.

 

[tyama]

There's a good supply of 16' buffalo canoes in AR. You can pick a used one from a canoe outfitter for a good price. They're based on the old blue hole mold, a well tested model. It's a cheaper and worthy alternative to the more pricey Mad river or Dagger/bell boat. HTH, ty