Canoes..

[tomtom]

Im thinking of gettin a Canoe (in fact ive been thinking about it for years now.. and im not sure it will come along anytime soon...) Im a Kayaker (but im talking Canadian Style here not cockpit!) and have very limited experience in an open boat.. but i really want a boat in to which i can load my gear, and i disslike sea kayaks!

so i would like the option to have two people paddle it but would also like the option to go solo..

So what boat do you have?
Do you like it?
How much was it?
Why did you chose it?
Where did you get it?

 

[TheViking]

It can be cheaper to buy a canoe if one is living close to a good river. Renting one can be somewhat expensive. When we're in Sweden, we rent them for a steep price and paddle a good 90-100 km. With practice a canoe can be paddled single man. Front man is the 'engine' and the man in the back is the navigator.

 

[tomtom]

yup i have paddled solo in an open boat, great skill to have!!

 

[qweeg500]

I'm with you on this tomtom.
I'm hoping to be in the market for one myself, maybe in the summer.

I've been looking at the Coleman Explorer Canadian type canoes.
If the Coleman name is anything to go by I expect they're a good option although I'm sure there are more than few here who can recommend other ideas.

I've seen them for sale on the net for around £300 second hand and £400-£500 new.

Matt

 

[tomtom]

Second hand Canoes tend to be snapped up in about 10 seconds flat!

I have heard mixed Reports on Coleman boats.. some say they are heavy..

but unlike kayaks i don't really know what to look for in an open boat hence i started the thread!

i remember hoodoo showing us an amazing looking Kevlar one a few months ago! i have a feeling it was one of those you might need a second mortgage for though! and i don't know if you could get it in the UK!

 

[Carcajou Garou]

I presently have a Langford 17' kevlar in the prospector style with a v keel, Our others were fibreglass 17' trippers but they were crushed under 7' of ice and snow 2 years ago on our racks so we now store the new one inside our tent garage. Always carry a spare (3rd) paddle in case you or someone drops theirs. You can have a water shedding cover fitted to the canoe with holes where you sit and it will aid in any white water experience. Enjoy!!! :wave: ):
just a thought

 

[Wayne]

I presently have a Langford 17' kevlar in the prospector style with a v keel, Our others were fibreglass 17' trippers but they were crushed under 7' of ice and snow 2 years ago on our racks so we now store the new one inside our tent garage. Always carry a spare (3rd) paddle in case you or someone drops theirs. You can have a water shedding cover fitted to the canoe with holes where you sit and it will aid in any white water experience. Enjoy!!! :wave: ):
just a thought

Have you got a pic? I might be in the market for something like that myself.

 

[MagiKelly]

I got a Coleman Journey this year. At 15 foot 6 inches it is perfect for solo or tandem trips. It is robust and not at all heavy. Easy to put on the car roof. I have added "D" rings round the internal edges and oar locks so when solo I can row if required in heavy weather, when solo paddling would be difficult.

I have just posted some pictures from this weekends trip in my Gallery. Have a look if you want.

 

[Abbe Osram]

I paddled solo a "OldTown" Canoe. The company makes very good canoes. I very much liked it.

cheers
Abbe

:chill:

 

[tomtom]

do you know which model.. there are a few?

 

[tomtom]

wow!! Carcajou Garou i just checked out Langford, Their Cedar ones look AMAZING!!

 

[Hoodoo]

One thing I recommend before you buy just any ol' canoe, is to read up on canoe design. There is a LOT of variation in canoe design and which one you should get depends a lot on how you plan to use it. Some canoes are designed for fast water and rapids, some are designed for lakes and open water. Get a solo fastwater canoe out on the lake and you will be lucky to paddle across it in a heavy wind. Probably the best book I've ever read that explains the elements of canoe design is Bill Mason's Song of the Paddle. Besides containing some great yarns, there is just some excellent information in it as well.

 

[martin]

So what boat do you have?
I've got a Coleman Journey 15 1/2ft.

Do you like it?
Yes, very much.

How much was it?
About £500.

Why did you chose it?
I was told it is a good boat for a beginner and it is.

Where did you get it?
I bought it from Avoncraft

 

[tomtom]

thats the information i am looking for really (would have been helpful if i had specified wouldnt it :roll: ) im looking for a boat for flat water mainly!

 

[Hoodoo]

My solo canoe is a big lake canoe. It's a Bell Merlin II.

Here is a link to the specs.

There's about 2.5" of rocker in the bow and 1.5" in the stern so it cuts across a lake well in some pretty heavy winds. The more rocker, the more the bow and stern stick up. This is great if you want to turn your boat in fast water but the higher your stern or bow, the more the wind will catch it and toss you around. There is no perfect canoe for both. The Merlin II maneuvers well though.

Kevlar is the way to go if you are looking to go light. Roylex is cheaper, tougher (more abrasion resistant) around rocks, but heavier. If weight is not a problem, Roylex is great.

 

[george]

tom tom - I'd echo hoodoo, read up as much as you can before you choose.

If you're serious about getting in to paddling then you want something that will do what you want it to - not just a tub that floats, I wouldn't touch a coleman with a proverbial bargepole!

Look at mad river, wenona and old town. pyrana (sp?) prospectors are good too.

George

 

[george]

Sorry - I should have pointed out this thread http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=1989&highlight=canoe

George

 

[bambodoggy]

As some of you may know you can have a great effect on how your canoe handles in the wind simply by moving where you paddle from...

It is traditional to paddle a boat solo from roughly the middle of the boat and this works very well for light wind conditions and should also be adopted for river trips and cross winds on lakes.
If the wind is behind you then you should move and paddle from the back of the boat, your weight in the back helps to lift the front of the boat and it then acts like a weather vain and the wind itself keeps you pointing in the right direction.
If the wind is head on, then clearly you need to move to the front of the boat for the same reasons as above but the other way round.

Don't be affraid to move about in your boat...those that have tried this will know and those yet to try will find out that this can save you lots of energy and frustration when paddling in open areas.


Having waffled on for a bit (hope that's helpful to a coule of you) this is my boat:

http://www.hbcanoekayak.co.uk/3Canoe_Fishing.html (Mine is the Predator C133 at the top of the page....well, it would be wouldn't it).
I bought it from this canoe shop and paid aprrox £650 for it. It's made by "Old Town" who make very good boats!

I used to paddle a coleman and it was great but a little heavy for me on my own to lift it on and off the roof of the car (it was fine to paddle solo). My new one is perfect.....even if the colour does upset a few people! lol

I noticed today on evil-bay a Mad-River canoe, it's got 9 days left to run and is bid for at £200ish right now (I'm sure it'll go up).... Mad-River make very good boats! Might be worth a nose at...just do a search for "open canoe".

 

[HAM]

I bought my first canoe last spring, its a 16 ft Novacraft Prospector fabricated in Royalex. Its a fantastic boat and came well recommended. Its worth checking out reviews of any boat you're think of buying. Check out this site:

http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/

The prospector design is a high volume river tripping boat, and in Royalex is virtually bombproof - I would have destroyed a PE boat during a trip during the summer, as it was I've got some character scars on the hull and nothing more. The only downside to the prospector design is wind - its a nightmare to paddle solo in the wind. The design is such that when you heel the boat over, the waterline shortens from the 16ft to about 12 - 13 ft, this makes it great to play in solo (assuming its not windy). Lots of companies make prospector designs or similar. My view is that this design is a compromise but a good compromise for most things. Royalex is heavy but we don't do a lot of portaging in Scotland, and I live a stones through from the River Dee so I wasn't too bothered about that.

Biggest downside is cost - £1000 (I was tempted to sell a kidney but . . .)

I bought mine from Carlisle Canoes. Jim was very helpful , and went out of his way to deliver the canoe to a mutually suitable point (they can be prone to damage if shipped so I'm told).

Good luck with your choice.

Perhaps we shold hold a bushcraft UK canoe trip. The Lake District is pretty central (UK speaking). Anyboby think there would be interest??

 

[bambodoggy]

Typical....my new boat must be about the only one not on that review page!!!!! lol

I'd be up for a bcuk canoe meet up...the lakes sounds good. Most of my time has been spent in Rivers up to now and most recentlty in very quiet canals and backwaters..... I have perfected my indian j-stoke and can now paddle my predator at just under running pace but totally silently and am enjoying sneaking up on the various wildlife along the waterways. The alore of whitewater has never been that strong for me although I do it and enjoy it but for me the real joy of an open boat is being all alone with my dog and in a very quiet stretch of water where I can stalk the locals and see all those things that we humans usually miss (I'm talking wildlife here before anyone gets the wrong idea of me!).