Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

canoe material?


Recommended Posts

was wondering if anyone knew much about canoes and the different materials, and which kinds i should look at. will be used 95% for fishing so stability is key. want it to be light enough for me and the wife to take off the top of the SUV "easily". and durability is also important, as it will hopefully be used for bwca for years to come. was thinking about trying to find a lighter weight aluminum. any help would be appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What kinda price range are we talking here?

Being a broke @$$ graduate student, i have a 350 dollar 17.5' Pelican job made out some kind of plastic called "Ram-X". Had it for a year, rammed it ashore a good 25-30 times, it's a little scuffed up but not too bad. It's still got plenty more years left in it. It's got a wide body and is pretty stable. I use it for fishing 99% of the time. It's light enough the GF and I can easily put it on the roof rack (I have done it by myself before too).

If I had the $$$, I would go with an Old Town Penobscot. It's made out of some kind of plastic called "Royalex" (I just looked at the OT website) I have an old buddy from back in MO who had one, that thing has ran down fast streams hundreds of times, scraping the bottom, banging into rocks and trees, T-boning other canoes, being T-boned by other canoes, etc. for years. Needless to say, it's not the prettiest canoe anymore, but it isn't even close to retirement. You pretty much have to try to tip it. But I guess you get what you pay for, they go for $1200 new. I wanna say it's got at least a 1000lb capacity, which would be great for the BWCA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You'll find a lot more specific canoe info in the canoes forum. Its up in the hobbies seciton.

What you want for lightweight will depend on your physical ability of course. I have 2 canoes. One is of the Ram-X material and it weighs 80+lbs. I now have a new kevlar boat that weighs about 43lbs. The difference is amazing.

Most aluminums are going to weigh in the upper 60's to more than 70lbs. Not bad but cheap and easy to find.

RamX and Royalex are both plastics, but the royalex is lighter and somewhat stronger. I would say its more rigid. My RamX is 12yrs old and never had a problem. Its just a little softer material.

Getting off the car is not that hard if you do it together. I would say you should try different boats to see what kind of styles you like. I would say look for at least a 16 footer made of plastic or lightweight aluminum. That should be a good beginner boat. They will be durable and provide a good platform for fishing since they are just designed to be a bit more stable. Narrower boats are faster, but they can be more tippy, not always great for fishing in.

Of course the best way is to test out a few. REI and I think midwest mountaineering have boat demos where you can test boats on the water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, based on what you've described, I would recommend the Penobscot made with Royalex. They're in the mid-range for weight, no problem for two people to get off an SUV, & not as heavy as the aluminum monsters (at least the old ones I remember!) on the shoulders during portaging. They're also very durable - if you're looking for BWCA use they bounce off of rocks in both rivers & lakes handily. grin.gif

More research is probably in order too. The Penobscot 16 I have has different degrees of initial & secondary stability. The "initial" is the immediate feel - the thing feels tippy when empty, but the "secondary" is what it actually takes to dump it. I've never dumped mine in 10 years as the secondary stability on the Old Towns is very good. You can stand up in them if you happen to toss a bait into a shoreline tree out of reach (or so I hear...).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Guide 3 by old town it is very stable and light. Use it for puddle jumping and takes the abuse well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For canoe country camping in the BWCA or Quetico, you probably want to avoid royalex or fiberglass canoes due to the weight 70+ pounds. However, if you plan on shooting rapids and river canoeing they are a reasonable option.

Of the lightweight canoes that you see in the BWCA are Bells, Wenonah, and my personal choice Souris River. Bells are beautiful and light, but that beauty (wood trim, etc) comes with a price. Wenonahs are a slimmer canoe, built for speed therefore sacrificing some of the stability that you are seeking. Just make sure you check out these brands, which are often not at the local stores.

To get an idea of others opinions, take a look at the canoes that outfitters supply in the BWCA... there are very few Old Towns, etc.

Just my 2 cents.

( Note from Admin. Please read forum policy before posting again, Thank-You )

Karl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Point of fact: my Royalex-hull Penobscot 16 is 58 lbs. not 70 plus!

The Souris River canoes sure are purty though. They'll be on the top of my list when I get older & various body parts begin to give out & I need something lighter. I've been fondling them annually at the Spring Sportshow in Minneapolis for years...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's lots of options, depending on your budget, etc. You might want to stop by Midwest Mountaineering in Mpls., in fact they have their spring expo coming up. If you go before the sale they will probably give you the expo price. I did that with a kayak I bought a few years ago. They also have occasional boat demos on Lake Nokomis, where you can paddle several different products. REI is a good resource in the cities, too if you are shopping around.

I've had an aluminum Grummann Eagle 17' for about 20 years, which I have never had a problem with. Very durable. But the older I get, the heavier it is. If you can afford a Kevlar model you wouldn't be disappointed, especially if you want to do BWCA trips with portages of any distance.

( Note from Admin, Please read forum policy before posting again, Thank-You )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maximum12- Sorry about the 70+ weight statement. I was mostly shooting from the hip and thinking of 17+ canoe lengths. I just wanted to make sure that anyone thinking of a new canoe with thoughts of annual trips to the BWCA knew of a few brands to read up on before making a purchase.

Also, I forgot to mention that many of the outfitters in Ely or along the Gunflint Trail sell used canoes with some likely still available this spring.

[Note from admin: Edited. Please read forum policy before posting again. Thank you.]

Best of Luck- I'm looking forward to getting my Quetico 17 (a blem I saved a good chunk of change on..) into the BWCA in mid-May.

Karl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

KJC no problem, just didn't want him to be scared away from another possibility - I'd be alarmed at 70 plus lbs! My paddling companion has a Penobscot 17 & it's 65 lbs, so it's significantly heavier even a foot longer (& part of the reason I bought a 16' Penobscot).

I'm envious of your Quetico 17 - I don't generally lust after equipment but...I'll make an exception in this case. We'll be going into the BWCA in May as well, perhaps over Memorial Day - can't wait!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote:

You can stand up in them if you happen to toss a bait into a shoreline tree out of reach (or so I hear...).


Yep you sure can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check out the Boudary Waters model by Wenonah. It is very similar to the Souris Quetico 17. I bought one last year. Wenonah says it has "rock solid stabilty with good glide" and they are right. If you dont want to shell out the bucks for the KEv ultra light, check out the flex core - its reasonable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.