I think I want a canoe

[Welder]

I've been on a few canoe trips, one of them an overnighter, and I'm warming up to the idea of maybe buying my own. I'm usually out with 4 other people, so I'm thinking if I had one that could haul 2 or 3, that'd be nice. The canoeing around here is on small lakes or on the Shenandoah River. There are small whitewater areas, but nothing to write home about. I'm not competing, I'm not racing, I'm just floating down a slow (often shallow) river with some friends, from late Spring to early Fall.

I don't know what I don't know about canoeing. I see these different brands listed, and I don't know what's what quality-wise. I'm probably going to be buying used, spending $500 or less...preferably half that. I know there are awesome wooden super canoes out there, but much like expensive watches -- that's just not my thing.

Could somebody here who's somewhat of an SME on things that get paddled on the river give me sort of a rundown on what features I want, what features I don't want...talk to me about paddles, seats, life jackets, whatever in the wide world of canoes that comes to your mind. Aluminum and fiberglass seem to be the 2 materials I see in most ads. Besides the $3k wooden canoes of NoVA.

Oh yeah, for transport I have an '04 Outback stationwagon with the factory cross-bars on the racks. From my work, I've got tons of small ratchet straps and bungees already. Advice on anything else I'd need is more than welcome too.

I know it's not canoe-forum, but I also know there are SME's about almost anything here. When you get a chance, love to hear what you have to say on this subject.

[Robinson]

When I was a kid my brother and I frequently paddled up and down the river in our Grumman aluminum canoe. Nothing fancy but it was always reliable and easy to use.

[LittleLebowski]

@TBone550 I’ve got two perfectly good kayaks you can have. Nothing wrong with them.

[OlongJohnson]

Threadkiller! I was looking forward to getting my learn on.

Grew up playing in little boats, but my people were the poors and they were always heavy.

[JDD]

I've been on a few canoe trips, one of them an overnighter, and I'm warming up to the idea of maybe buying my own. I'm usually out with 4 other people, so I'm thinking if I had one that could haul 2 or 3, that'd be nice. The canoeing around here is on small lakes or on the Shenandoah River. There are small whitewater areas, but nothing to write home about. I'm not competing, I'm not racing, I'm just floating down a slow (often shallow) river with some friends, from late Spring to early Fall.

I don't know what I don't know about canoeing. I see these different brands listed, and I don't know what's what quality-wise. I'm probably going to be buying used, spending $500 or less...preferably half that. I know there are awesome wooden super canoes out there, but much like expensive watches -- that's just not my thing.

Could somebody here who's somewhat of an SME on things that get paddled on the river give me sort of a rundown on what features I want, what features I don't want...talk to me about paddles, seats, life jackets, whatever in the wide world of canoes that comes to your mind. Aluminum and fiberglass seem to be the 2 materials I see in most ads. Besides the $3k wooden canoes of NoVA.

Oh yeah, for transport I have an '04 Outback stationwagon with the factory cross-bars on the racks. From my work, I've got tons of small ratchet straps and bungees already. Advice on anything else I'd need is more than welcome too.

I know it's not canoe-forum, but I also know there are SME's about almost anything here. When you get a chance, love to hear what you have to say on this subject.

This is somewhat less helpful to you based on your price range, but Old Town Canoe and Mad River Canoe are two of the bigger names. I am partial to Old Town, but I will accept that Mad River makes some good ones as well.

Materials: most of the big names have a plastic material of one brand name or another. Fiberglass tends to be lighter/faster and often more expensive, but more fragile if you are in white water or bouncing over rocks. I have seem old town canoes completely wrapped around rocks in the middle of a river, pulled off with a come-along, and then repaired by screwing new seats and gunnels on. The plastic boats are substantially more durable than any of the other options. I don't have much experience with aluminum boats, aside from the noises they make when they find rocks...

Size: Are you planning to go just the 2 or 3 of you in one boat, or do you plan to do overnight/multi day river camping trips. If not, a 15 or 16 foot boat is probably going to be right for you. If you are planning camping, you might want to size up a little larger, although a 16' is definitely enough for 2 people and all their gear camping. I grew up with a 17'4" old town discovery, great for river trips and camping, but it was slower and more unwieldy when paddling around without a bunch of camping gear.

Accessories: For general recreation, you are already all set. Life jackets and paddles is really all you need. I like to have a bow and stern line tied on, but it is not really necessary. If you are planning to race or do a lot of whitewater, you might want some positive buoyancy bags of some sort (much more important if you have a boat that does not naturally float when swamped). If you are planning day trips, a cooler that you can tie to one of the crossbars is pretty useful - but I suspect you don't need advice on that front.

Transport: All you need is 2 cinch straps, one to go over, around and back on each of your roof racks, and a bow and stern line. I think I have seen more canoes on outbacks than any other vehicle.

[Welder]

OK I'm no good at multi-quoting, but here's the gist of what I see so far...

LL, you are *nuts*! I won't accept a free gift like that but I'll scrounge through my stuff and see what I have that I can trade you. Idk much about kayaks, but if you really don't want them I can make them disappear without any financial loss on your part. We can talk about this by PM when the time comes.

That said, I'm really still looking for an actual canoe....I'd like to put 2 or 3 people in one boat; that's what I'm enjoying most at this point although kayaks have their own place and are also FUN!

Thanks JDD for your detailed advice! That's exactly the sort of thing I'm hoping to see here. Talk to me about the equipment, the experiences, the screw-ups, whatever. Love to hear it.

[Cookie Monster]

Following with interest, I need a floating device I can put two crazy 4 year olds in and paddle a little bit, something my 5'8", 150lb, 45 year old excuse for a body can move around.

[MickAK]

Something you might want to consider on aluminum versus fiberglass or plastic is if you already have an aluminum TIG setup and possibly some sheet scraps around you can make repairs easier on an aluminum boat. At that price range, you might look for a nice aluminum canoe with a big hole in it - obviously not going to sell for much, but generally a pretty simple repair if you're an aluminum welder.

[Welder]

Something you might want to consider on aluminum versus fiberglass or plastic is if you already have an aluminum TIG setup and possibly some sheet scraps around you can make repairs easier on an aluminum boat. At that price range, you might look for a nice aluminum canoe with a big hole in it - obviously not going to sell for much, but generally a pretty simple repair if you're an aluminum welder.

Yeah I don't get much call for aluminum work; what I do, I handle with a spoolgun because it's thicker stuff. But I can fart around with a TIG enough to make an airtight weld; the last and only paid TIG work I did was on a high-pressure hydraulic tube 8 years ago which is still holding. I wonder what canoe aluminum is? 4043? Or just 3003? Certainly not 5356.

[Clay1]

I'm a shooter first, but I happen to post on 7 different kayak forums. I'm biased for sure, but you don't see any canoe bass fishing tournaments (at least not that I am aware of) but Kayak Bass Fishing is huge. Many tournaments out there. You would fish a tournament for the same reason that you would shoot a match. Experience and to test your own skill set. A sit on top is more stable than a canoe and a great fishing platform.

I don't want to make this post forever long, just planting the seed to look at a Kayak. LL's offer is generous indeed.