Wood Or Aluminum

DMan · 01-30-2012, 10:40 PM

We've only ever had aluminum canoes and have been very happy with them. They are relatively lightweight for carrying from a campsite to the water's edge and handle nicely in water. But we may be getting ourselves a new one this year to take on vacation. What type would you recommend?

wvbreamfisherman · 01-31-2012, 06:52 AM

I'd say Royalex (Oltonar for Old Town). It's a little heavy, but my 17 footer is not much (if any) heavier than the comparable Grumman aluminum canoe.

Royalex is a LOT quieter, doesn't grab on rocks like aluminum, and doesn't glare and get skillet-hot on a sunny day. It's also extremely tough!

A lot of newer canoes are made from polyethylene. I'm not sold on these. It's heavier and nearly impossible to repair, and epoxies don't stick well to it without some special preparation. I've also seen some polyethylene canoes delaminate after a few years (the one I best recall was an Old Town, so not a junk brand).

Wooden canoes are beautiful, but need a good bit of TLC, and definitely not as strong or able to shrug off hits.

Just my $ 0.02, YMMV

Pathfinder1 · 01-31-2012, 09:00 AM

Hi...

Doesn't one of our posters make canoes, etc.?

I don't know if this will help, but an outdoor writer by the pen name of Nessmuk (he wrote for the predecessor of Field & Stream, I think), who explored the Adirondaks by canoe in the late 1800s/early 1900s, used specially made cedar canoes.

He was a small man, and one of those canoes weighed only ten pounds...!! He can be found on Google, etc.

wvbreamfisherman · 01-31-2012, 09:55 AM

Nessmuk- George Washington Sears. His "Woodcraft and Camping" is available free on Project Gutenberg, and is quite an interesting read.

Here is a link to a story about him and his canoe (and tangentially about Frederick Remington): In the Same Boat - Paddling.Net

ppine · 01-31-2012, 10:08 AM

Aluminum canoes were popular after WW II when they replaced wood and canvas canoes, and remained popular until the advent of quality fiberglass canoes around 1970 or a little later. Aluminum is relatively heavy, noisy, cold, sticks on rocks and cannot be formed into shapes that move thru the water easily.

Quality fiberglass canoes (and Kevlar) are lighter, faster, quieter, and more beautiful. They are not as durable. An aluminum canoe can stand neglect. It can spend the winter in a snow drift and come out fine.

For rivers I like Royalex. I have a 1952 vintage Old Town in red cedar and canvas that I have taken on many river canoe trips. Wood canoes are much more durable than most people realize. They are fast, quiet and beautiful. They tend to be heavy and require maintenance. One of these days I will be building a stitch and glue wood canoe with high quality marine mahogany plywood and epoxy. A 17 foot boat of this type will be fast and weigh about 60 pounds.

Pathfinder1 · 01-31-2012, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wvbreamfisherman

Nessmuk- George Washington Sears. His "Woodcraft and Camping" is available free on Project Gutenberg, and is quite an interesting read.

Here is a link to a story about him and his canoe (and tangentially about Frederick Remington): In the Same Boat - Paddling.Net

Hi...

Thanks for the additional info, WV.

wvbreamfisherman · 01-31-2012, 10:51 AM

I've been looking into skin on frame canoes (sort of a modern analog of birchbark, I suppose). I think you could get a 15 footer down under 30 lb without much trouble at all.

It would take a lot of steaming and woodbending, but nothing too complex. I haven't been able to find a hull profile that I like yet though. I may just take hull sections off another canoe and modify them a bit to make my bending mandrels.

ChadTower · 01-31-2012, 12:22 PM

Don't look past inflatables. They are really coming into their own lately and have all sorts of new advantages.

DMan · 02-01-2012, 08:26 PM

Thanks for all the input. It definitely gives us a lot of different options to look at before we make up our minds. We're going to be going to a trailer show in March where they usually have the latest in outdoor gear. I'll have a look there as well.

wvbreamfisherman · 02-01-2012, 08:42 PM

Best possible thing would be to try different types. You probably aren't going to be able to do that with wood, since they are so expensive (as well as rarer than the other types).

I have no experience with inflatables, but they seem to be fairly popular, and I can see a lot of advantages to them. The last time I looked at any they seemed to be fairly pricey, but not sure if that's still the case.