Canoe for family & fishing

[albchen]

Hello everyone,

I've been looking for a relatively inexpensive watercraft for my family (wife and son). I've looked at prams, and I've looked at canoes and I think I am leaning more towards canoes (easier to row). Can anyone recommend a good canoe? Should I look at 16 ft or 14ft? What hull type or keel? This is going to be my all-in-one boat, for lakes/ponds, slow rivers and protected inshore saltwater bays. Please help, I know nothing about boats! Thanks.


Best Regards,
albchen

[Jeff Morrison]

Personally,
I'm partial to Old Town Canoes (Maine) but it may just be the yankee blood running through my veins. Take a look at L.L. Bean and/or www.oldtowncanoe.com

[mkrawec]

Hello everyone,

I've been looking for a relatively inexpensive watercraft for my family (wife and son). I've looked at prams, and I've looked at canoes and I think I am leaning more towards canoes (easier to row). Can anyone recommend a good canoe? Should I look at 16 ft or 14ft? What hull type or keel? This is going to be my all-in-one boat, for lakes/ponds, slow rivers and protected inshore saltwater bays. Please help, I know nothing about boats! Thanks.


Best Regards,
albchen

For 3 people you definitely want 16' or longer. Try to find something with 3 seats so you can solo from the center seat when your wife and son aren't with you. It's pretty easy to replace the center thwart with a 3rd seat. You're looking for a pretty common canoe so it should be easy to find one used on craigslist. Something along the lines of:

16-17 feet long and 32-34" wide in the middle.

The Pelican and Coleman canoes are going to be the cheapest ones you find for a reason. They'll get the job done, but they're heavy and slow.

Look for a used Old Town Penobscot, Mad River Explorer or Malecite. You may also find some Wenonah tandems on the used market (aurora, adirondach, prospector 16 are some of the Wenonah models that would fit your purpose)

http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/ has a lot of great reviews on different boats.

I don't know what your budget is but there's a OT Penobscot in the bay area craigslist that comes with padles for $750 and who knows what they would accept for a canoe in winter...

Good luck,

Mark

[lee s.]

"I've looked at prams, and I've looked at canoes.....Please help, I know nothing about boats! Thanks."
This is a bit worrysome. Do you ALL swim? For heaven's sake TRY a pram AND a canoe before deciding. There is a GREAT difference in stability.....an absolute concideration when children are involved. If necessary, I will bring you a canoe to try....I think (where you at?). It is an Old Town Discovery, one of the bigger ones. By sitting in either is the only way YOU can decide if a bit of ease in paddling is worth the trade off in stability when others are involved.
Of course you know the safety stuff like dry clothes in a DRY BAG and preservers and such.
....lee s.
PS-A good pram is a pleasure to row also and not at all difficult either.

[albchen]

"I've looked at prams, and I've looked at canoes.....Please help, I know nothing about boats! Thanks."
This is a bit worrysome. Do you ALL swim? For heaven's sake TRY a pram AND a canoe before deciding. There is a GREAT difference in stability.....an absolute concideration when children are involved. If necessary, I will bring you a canoe to try....I think (where you at?). It is an Old Town Discovery, one of the bigger ones. By sitting in either is the only way YOU can decide if a bit of ease in paddling is worth the trade off in stability when others are involved.
Of course you know the safety stuff like dry clothes in a DRY BAG and preservers and such.
....lee s.
PS-A good pram is a pleasure to row also and not at all difficult either.

Hi Lee!

Yes, we do all swim. I just recently found out that there is a canoe club in the Bay Area (Western Waters Canoe Club) so I will check them out. I also found out that California Canoe and Kayaks have an annual show where you can try out their canoes.

Thank you to everyone who replied!

Best regards,
albchen

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Chico Fernandez, Flip Pallot and others in Florida all use canoes in the back country of the Everglades for LMB, Snook and Tarpon.

Chico like the 16' "cottage canoes" or "tumble-home" style that are flat bottom with a keel so they are stable for fishing.

Like Mark said the old Coleman canoes are cheap new or used.

I have had a 15' and a 17' and they are a bit flexible but durable.

If you live near by I can let you borrow my 15' for a while. You can't hurt it.

I live in Davis, CA.

I don't think you want a canoe with "rocker" for white water and you don't want a narrow racing canoe either.

I think there are always used canoes around.

__________________________________________________ _________________


Another choice is a Tracker 14' (48" wide bottom) flat bottom aluminum Jon boat.

Andy and I both have these and they are great for 1 - 3 people.

These tough hulls are all welded for $2,300 new!!!!

Probably $3,000 with a trailer.

You can use an electric or gas on the rear.

[Darrin.Deel]

http://kiene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15723