Favorite Tripping Canoe

ppine

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Let's say we are going to select a boat for Class II rapids and long trips, say a week or more. A high volume boat that can handle big lakes and some rapids. What canoe would you choose?
 

bsmit212

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I was at REI today and the Mad River Canoes look pretty nice. I have heard only good things about Mad River products. I would look into those. They have several models that would be good depending on what you want to pay, material, size, etc.
 

Hikenhunter

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I would probably look at the Old Town line. Nothing wrong with Mad River either. I think you would probably find something to your liking with any reputable Canoe manufacturer so your choices could overwhelm you. Incidentally, I have done some 6 to 10 day trips on the Delaware River as well as many weekenders under a variety of conditions. I did them all in Old Town Canoes with no problems.
 

wvbreamfisherman

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My (obsolete) Old Town Acadia would fill that bill nicely. Perhaps an Old Town Tripper, or even a Tripper XL, if really high volume is needed.

An old Grumman aluminum canoe would do as well, but I prefer Royalex.
 

Newanderthal

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I'm currently using an Old Town Penobscot 17RX. It's insane. Cruises big lakes, wide rivers and swamps with no problem. It tracks really well, and adding gear and weight doesn't change how the canoe handles.
 

ppine

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WV,
The Tripper and the big Grummans in the 17-20 foot range are the old standards for tripping.

New,
The Penobscot is a good boat especially the 17 footer, it might be better for shorter trips, say less than a week.

I had Mad River canoe once, that I lost in a divorce. It was a 17 footer with high volume. It was 15 inches deep and had full ends with 3in of rocker. It was a great river canoe called the Reflection.
 
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wvbreamfisherman

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WV,
The Tripper and the big Grummans in the 17-20 foot range are the old standards for tripping.

New,
The Penobscot is a good boat especially the 17 footer, it might be better for shorter trips, say less than a week.

I had Mad River canoe once, that I lost in a divorce. It was a 17 footer with high volume. It was 15 inches deep and had full ends with 3in of rocker. It was a great river canoe but I forget the name of the model.
Agreed! I'm not really up on newer models that might fill the bill. Heck- I'm the guy that still uses an ALICE pack, and prefers revolvers <mumbles something about being an old Fart>.....
 
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ppine

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I just finished a week long trip in my old Old Town from 1951, a wood and canvas Guide 18. It is a great boat but felt over-loaded and sluggish with two 220 pound guys, dogs and a weeks worth of gear. It is only 12 inches deep which got me to thinking about a new tripping canoe. I am going to take the keel off which will help the handling on rivers.

I used to have an old Sawyer Charger that was 18.5 feet and really deep. It was fast but still big enough to carry a load, and had a lot of flare to shed big waves. It was an early Kevlar boat that finally started to come apart. I also had a Wenonah Odyssey which was 18.5 feet. It had no rocker and was very flat. It was fast but terrible for trying to manuever on tight rivers.
 

Hikenhunter

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I've been looking at a Nu-Canoe Frontier. It seems like quite the all around craft, good on lakes as well as class 2 rivers. I tried one out last summer but am not so sure that I will like tackling any 2+ rapids with it as you sit kinda high. Yet it offers so much in versatility that it is still a consideration for me. The other boat I've been looking at is a Emotion kayak the Advantedge model. I have, in recent years, found a kayak to be more suitable for me than a canoe. You can't get as much gear in a kayak but the ride is, to me, more relaxing. I am looking for something I can use on lakes or class 2 rivers with just a few 2+ rapids. something that I can handle easily by my self and that will take the weight of my backpacking gear but thast will also do well on day trips. So far these two are the only ones I like that seem to be able to fit the bill.
 

ppine

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Hike,
Lower the seats if it will improve the center of gravity. Most are secured by 4 bolts with spacers and hung from the gunnels.. Get longer bolts and spacers.
 

Hikenhunter

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Hike,
Lower the seats if it will improve the center of gravity. Most are secured by 4 bolts with spacers and hung from the gunnels.. Get longer bolts and spacers.
Thanks for the advice and for a regular canoe that would work but the Nu-Canoe doesn't have the depth of a regular canoe and the seats get mounted on rails like in a kayak. The boat I tested was very stable and It might just be that it takes some getting used to, but until I actually get it in some rapids I'm not so sure I wouldn't end up in the river.
 

ppine

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Shallow canoes are rarely good in fast water. You need at least 14 inches of depth amidships.

I really like the new Wenonahs and Bell Canoe Works boats. They have some big boats for tripping with rocker at both ends. Rocker becomes very important for fast water in loaded boats.
 
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Newanderthal

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New,
The Penobscot is a good boat especially the 17 footer, it might be better for shorter trips, say less than a week.
I've loaded mine down with enough gear to simulate a month-long trip to test how it handled the added weight and it cruised almost as well as it did with just two people and a dog.

I did a week-long trip in an old 12 footer.
 

Pathfinder1

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Hi...


I've done some canoeing on waters flowing so fast that we should have known better (but we didn't, and are still here to tell the tale).

However, I'm not a canoe person. I'd rather have a Jon boat with outboard and oars, or a dory for the rivers. I like to explore the shorelines as much as I like to fish/hunt (ducks) out of them.
 

troutstalker

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I prefer a kayak. I have handled 2 to 4 foot waves in lake Ontario without getting wet while fishing for salmon! That was with a Wilderness Systems Pungo 140. I now use a 1995 Wilderness Systems Chesapeake that weigh 36 pounds. It handles rough water as well as meandering streams. I can also carry it on my shoulders with a full pack.
 

ppine

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Souris makes some really beautiful canoes and I like their trippers. I would go for a 17 or 18 footer given a choice.
 

Northern Dancer

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...I debated long and hard before I made my selection. The reality is there are a lot of excellent models out there. It all boils down to - how often I'm I going to use this canoe, under what circumstances and how much am I prepared to pay for it.
 
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