Canoe dreams

[roywest]

I grew up with canoes and have been missing having a way to get onto water myself or with a friend. I have no room for a big boat and my back won't let me sit in a kayak anymore, so a canoe feels like the best bet.

I imagine taking it on easy rivers, like the lower Yuba, Feather, Sac, etc. Cast from boat some, get in and out to wade fish more. Probably wearing waders. I'm big and my family is big - 6'5" and not skinny. Needs to fit on a Subaru.

I've been looking at Wenona canoes online, particularly the 16' Kingfisher. Light weight of Kevlar is attractive for getting a boat on the car myself, but the price and relative fragility are a concern.

Curious to hear what other folks suggest. Thanks!

[JayDubP]

I had a Wenonah Fisherman- 14ft, 38" Wide, in Tuf-weave (modern version of Royalex) , so weighed around 49lbs. Almost indestructible. You should be able to find a used one on Craigslist for $450- $900. Wenonah can tell you from the serial number what the canoe is made of. Wenonah stopped using Royalex years ago and has phased out the color repair kits for most of the Royalex. Used canoes may be Royalex and priced as Tuf-weave.

Fisherman model is very stable for fishing and plenty of load capacity for 2 adults, gear and even a child or dog. Easy to load on top of a SUV, although you may have to get wider crossbars for an Outback. BUT, pain to paddle in the wind and solo. I used an extra long kayak paddle when I went solo. It is as good as most canoes in whitewater and would be fine on the waters you listed. At your height and weight, the width of a Fisherman would be great for fishing.

I eventually moved onto an inflatable for white water use. You could look at a used Scadden Assault XX that can be set up 1 person or two person...and even with a motor. The ability to backrow while another person fishes is a huge advantage on rivers like the Lower Sacto, Trinity or Klamath.

[John Sv]

I have a 14' Wenonah fisherman in royalex.
Great to fish out of, stable even when our 5 y.o. leans of look over the gunwale. Or our dog bouncing around.
Float the lower Yuba, Truckee in the Floriston Reach (as well as the TC to Alpine) and numerous other rivers. Works well.
My issue is that bench seating is super uncomfortable to my lower back. I stand up in they canoe a lot when fishing still waters...just to alleviate my back issues. YMMV.
Oh I'm surprised how often I need to use the drogue when fishing. Canoes really scoot when drifting in the wind.
Re: paddling solo, JdubP is right it ain't that good, but it is passable. On my fisherman I have better luck NOT doing the sit backwards and pale stern first- I fill a big old dry bag with water and place it in the bow. Keeps the bow down enough to be able to paddle from the stern where the canoe is narrower....

[JayDubP]

johnsv: I used a folding canoe seat that just straps on the canoe seat- to provide back support & only add 2" or so to seat height. There are several models sold by everyone from Bass Pro to LL Bean. I used a CGI Sit Backer from Dicks (around $24) . It is a folding back and has reviews that the hinges are weak, so I used an additional 1" web strap (around back to seat on both sides) to keep the back from reclining too much-- seemed that when I was relaxing fishing that I would lean back more than when paddling. (I also used the seat as a camp seat when canoe camping on Lake Ajumawi)

here is a link to Amazon listing of various canoe seats.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/151-3431735-4079949?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=canoe+seat