canoe question
Posting Guru
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 2,007
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From: Oregon
The wife and I bought the 16 foot Coleman. It's great for lakes and gentle streams. I can load it up with all the camping gear I have and it rides great. It would be nice to have one a little shorter with a little less of a flat bottom for doing whitewater, but there's tradeoffs.
A canoe is perfect for backwater. You only need a channel a couple feet wide and a few inches deep and less than that, they are easy to pull to the next deep water.
The boat store here organizes kind of a boat show for canoes and kayaks once a year. Several manufacter's show up with what they've got and you can try them out on a pond at one of the parks here. I'm sure they do it at other places in the country. It's great, because you can try everything from a short canoe to a sea kayak. There's no pressure to buy anything, they just hand out contact numbers. There's so many differn't styles of canoes and they all handle according to thier shape, you almost have to try them all out to see if you're getting the one you want.
A canoe is perfect for backwater. You only need a channel a couple feet wide and a few inches deep and less than that, they are easy to pull to the next deep water.
The boat store here organizes kind of a boat show for canoes and kayaks once a year. Several manufacter's show up with what they've got and you can try them out on a pond at one of the parks here. I'm sure they do it at other places in the country. It's great, because you can try everything from a short canoe to a sea kayak. There's no pressure to buy anything, they just hand out contact numbers. There's so many differn't styles of canoes and they all handle according to thier shape, you almost have to try them all out to see if you're getting the one you want.
Posting Guru
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 2,420
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From: Langhorne, PA
OK, if your'e on the back bay of a small lake and going up through the woods that is great. You should take it, most canoes that size start at 400 bucks.
You will learn what a canoe is good for and isn't good for.
My problem: All I have is a sixteen foot canoe, and what I really want is a 16 foot fishing boat with an 85 HP jet drive and trolling motor. I always felt unsafe in my canoe, especially since I mainly used it on the Delaware river.
You will learn what a canoe is good for and isn't good for.
My problem: All I have is a sixteen foot canoe, and what I really want is a 16 foot fishing boat with an 85 HP jet drive and trolling motor. I always felt unsafe in my canoe, especially since I mainly used it on the Delaware river.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,979
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From: central ohio
i have a 12' canoe i bought new for 800 bucks, the motor i have on it is a johnson 3.3 hp that i got used for 250 bucks, the outboard motor bracket cost 50 bucks. the canoe is fiberglass, i love it, just slide it in the back of the truck and go, no trailer tags, lights or wheel bearings to worry about. mine is 30 inches across the middle, really stable. i take it in small streams, upground reservoirs, the scioto river when its calm, doesnt have much draft (amount bottom of boat is under the water) so it doesnt have to be very deep to use. low maintence. probly your best boating value. remember a boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,323
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From: Montana Territory
Colemans are kinda flimsy in construction (plastic or thin fibreglass), so they seem pretty unstable... Some of the better names, like Dagger and Old Town are made from Kevlar and are a lot sturdier. Bigger canoes are usually a lot more stable and shorter ones are more manuverable and faster. '14 is just about perfect, and for the money, Old Town makes the best one out there, and they're made in the USA in Old Town Maine, all by hand.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 351
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From: Richfield MN
I got a 14 ft Coleman I use a trolling motor,put the Batt in the front of the boat. Took a old lawn chair cut the back legs off use hose clamps to hold it on to the boat seat.
Fish the lake's here all the time can load it and unload it myself.
Great for my son and I.
Had larger boats before didn't use them that much to justify trying to store it.
A canoe is easy to store,I use it all the time.
Go buy it you won't regret it.
Fish the lake's here all the time can load it and unload it myself.
Great for my son and I.
Had larger boats before didn't use them that much to justify trying to store it.
A canoe is easy to store,I use it all the time.
Go buy it you won't regret it.
Still kicking!!
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 6,061
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From: Kalispell, Mt.
Originally Posted by Mattsbox99
Colemans are kinda flimsy in construction (plastic or thin fibreglass), so they seem pretty unstable....
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 377
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From: Lafayette, Indiana
My 17Ft sportsman doesnt flip easy. I use wide bodies for sporting for that very reason. I have seen many humnter dock up using a "touring" canoe. Always made me wonder if they had a death wish with all those clothes on.
Mine is an Old Town, had one hole, $100 with 4 oars.
Mine is an Old Town, had one hole, $100 with 4 oars.
Elder User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 774
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From: Plano, Tx.
Originally Posted by 924x2150
Why not wait? get a 14 Foot Aluminum John boat with say,.. a 9HP motor, that should keep you going while still allowing access to Horsepower-restricted fishing areas. A good John Boat is much more stable(you can stand-up at least), offers more space and payload capability, and can be safely moored when trying to chill-out or fish. A 14ft JB can still be carried in the bed of most pick-ups also.
I've also rented a lot of John Boats, and when I'm fishing, I would rather have the boat, it's fast to get me to the spot earlier, it's more stable and just roomier.
but with a little bit of practice you really can to a lot with a canoe, I guess it's personal preferance,
that and it's more fun to take a hott chick out in a canoe than a john boat
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Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Springfield, IL USA
I fish 4-6 days a week during the summer and 2-3 days a week the rest of the year whenever there is open water. I fish from a 15 foot Nova Craft canoe. I canoe is a great fishing platform, manuverable, safe and can get you where other boats can't go. I have landed a 40 inch Muskie in my canoe with no problem. I'll take my canoe any time.
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