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First I just want to say THANKS to all for the great forum, I have been reading for almost a year and have been very impressed and really enjoyed this canoeing community.
I normally trip with my two daughters, 12 and 13 year old. We normally do a few trip each year and hoping to do more in the year coming. At this time we have been renting a canoe close to the location visited and due to a new job have not been on a trip this year. I would love to have my own canoe but the prices are pretty efty for ultralight one, which is why the return (on investement) on buying one is not my first priority. Anyhow this have been something I think eventually will happen and I can see the benefit of having our own. So my question is this.
Since we have now a 60lbs retreiver in the family and looking foward taking her canoeing with us. What am i suppose to use? I am 220lbs, two teenagers, a dog and gear. we are pretty good at being light packer, althought we eat very well. What should i use a 18' with 3 seat, a 17' which I think would be overloaded. A 16' and a kayak or small pack canoe that girls can use solo. I would love to have something that work with all scenario (which I know is not going to happen). did I mention I would expect to go solo with dog sometimes and that once a year I have canoe trip reunion with a bunch of guys ( tandem canoe needed for two adults). I am not sure If I make sense in all this but I would like your advise on my situation. Can I buy something that would work most of time, what do you guys do. what is your setup. Should I convince the wife of letting me buy 3 canoes......
Looking for advise.
Thanks
Sebastien
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The 18 foot is overloaded too.
The girls are growing. Its time for them to paddle on their own. Two 16 foot banoes are probably the best bet.
Soon the girls would leave and then something in the 19 foot range that you need now is going to be too big.
Don't know where you are but in the US a used ultralight is about half the cost of a new one.
Hornbeck Canoes makes small pack canoes at a pretty affordable price.
When our kids were at this age we had one canoe. Realizing that they would soon have other interests, we just rented a second when needed. And sure enough soon they had other obligations,, babysitting and working at 16
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My buddy and I started the annual ritual "Dads and Daughters" canoe trips in 1993. 2 dads, 5 daughter, all in two 16 foot canoes originally (youngest was 5). Darn kids started growing, and we expanded to a third canoe.
Flash forward to today's times: One daughter in England, and one in California, so "Doug and the slugs" trips are pretty rare. I've also bought a 17.5 foot kevlar Swift Winisk in the meantime, and we've done a couple of 3 in a boat trips that went very well. They were in the summer, with slightly less gear, but we were quite comfortable. Here a link to a report with lots of pictures:
arrgh! forum won't let me include a clickable link until I do some more posts.
You can find it by searching:
>click Old Forum Archive button at top right of this page
>put Elliott my first trip report in the search box
> click on first returned link
>follow embedded link to picasaweb to see the 254 photos
Same boat works well when my fishing buddy needs a troll motor, and with the kneeling thwart, it's paddlable solo, if the wind's not too bad.
So my recommendation, based on experience with 2 daughters, is a slightly bigger than average, lightweight canoe.
Here's to flat lakes and portages
-Doug Elliott
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Nerdoug, I have a 60lbs dog to had to the list of participant.
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I would of expected more reply and suggestions.
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I took our 16 foot Old Town on a trip this fall with myself (200 pounds), my dad (195 pounds) and my son (75 pounds) and with all our gear we could not paddle safely (there was about 2 inches of freeboard). Thankfully a couple was putting in the same time we were and offered to take a couple of our bags for us.
I'd say two canoes is the best way to go.
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Sebastian; with a 12 and 13 year old, it's definitely time to get them their own canoe. they're only going to get bigger!
I run a canoe program for kids and at about 11 years old, we're starting to get them into their own boats without any adults to help, by 12 most are starting to wilderness trip, and by 14 they're looking at whitewater courses.
A 12 year old may not have the strength of an adult so they'll paddle slower, but when you hit the beach, while we're laying there blowing like a beached whale, they'll be tearing around the campsite like a puppy with a new toy!
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Fully agree with 2 canoes, but consider flexibility/versatility if you are able to go that route:
I own a 17.5ft Winisk, fantastic tripping/expedition canoe for 2, suitable for family of 4 with small kids. Mine are both under 10yrs old right now, but we added a 15' Bob's Special to the fleet this year.
The Bob's is not an ideal solo canoe, its not an ideal tandem tripping canoe, arguably its not "the best" at anything, HOWEVER, I can solo it nicely enough (Winisk no chance) its perfect for me and one kid, it can work on short and light tandem weekends, and it will be easy for a pair of tweens to handle in almost any condition with its stability.
I'm not saying you should get one, but having 2 very different boats allows me a lot more options for each trip than a pair of 16' twin canoes would
food for thought, review all possible trip combinations you may wish to take, and see what's out there
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Essentially you have four adults and a dog.
Most would use two canoes. I don't see a solo being an advantage at all. Beware though that given the kids ages you might buy one and rent one. Teens seem to develop their own interests which might not be canoe tripping.
I hardly ever trip with my 75 lb dog. Moose chasing is a problem and you cannot tie your dog in the canoe safely. Too many trips with a wet dog in the tent. She does not have fun if she is confined in the boat. She likes hiking far better.
My kids were paddling their own rental in Algonquin at nine and 12. All was well from Cedar till we got to Burnroot and the kids went on a sleeping strike. Tweens.. They would rather read, try hairstyles etc rather than portage!
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