New Old Town Guide 119

[eric1978]

Well, my best fishing buddy is having a baby in about two weeks, and he's gonna be out of commission for quite some time. Since I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot more fishing alone, the tandem is now less than ideal, so I picked up my first solo canoe today, which I've been looking forward to for years. I've been drooling over Vagabonds since I found this site and Riversmallies, but I just didn't have the cash to drop a grand on one (well, my wife SAID I didn't, so...). I bought the Old Town Guide 119 from Dick's for $400. The only color they have available in that model is the camo, which I pretty much think is hideous and hate, but for that price, I guess I really don't care. I could have spent an extra $200 to get the same canoe in red or green with a Discovery decal on it instead of Guide, but I would need my head examined if I did.

Went straight from Dick's to a little pond to get a feel for it and see if I'll need to move around the seat, and sure enough, yes I do. I'll be moving it forward about 5 inches and raising it about 3 inches. I'll be using the molded seat they give you with it, which is pretty comfortable structurally, but sits way too low for me. I want to be higher up, and I'll just learn to adjust to the lesser stability.

Anyway, I'll be documenting all the modifications I make, and will be posting the progress with pictures as I go.

I stopped at St. Charles Hardwoods today and bought a nice chunk of 8/4 Ash, and milled it down to two 1 3/4 X 1 3/4 struts for the seat. Routered the sharp corners and sanded nice and smooth, gave them a coat of Tung Oil, and I'll put a couple coats of polyurethane on them tomorrow. I'm pretty sure they use Ash for the thwarts; anyway it matches perfectly.

More detailed photos to come as I make more progress. Any tips or comments along the way are welcomed and wanted!

[smallmouthjoe]

I want on of those things so bad, just can't afford it now. Where's the nearest Dick's?

[eric1978]

I want on of those things so bad, just can't afford it now. Where's the nearest Dick's?

I'm not sure if they have any in Springfield, Joe. I'd check their website. There are three in St. Louis in Chesterfield (valley), Des Peres (270 and Manchester in West County Mall) and where I am in St. Peters (Mid Rivers Mall). Also one in Columbia, MO, not sure where exactly.

I know how you feel, man. I've been dying for a solo forever, but the tandem I share with my buddy has been fine until now.

It's not the absolute best canoe, but it's an Old Town, it's close to the right size, it's not too heavy (43 lbs) and it's CHEAP!!! I'm pumped.

[smallmouthjoe]

I'm not sure if they have any in Springfield, Joe. I'd check their website. There are three in St. Louis in Chesterfield (valley), Des Peres (270 and Manchester in West County Mall) and where I am in St. Peters (Mid Rivers Mall). Also one in Columbia, MO, not sure where exactly.

I know how you feel, man. I've been dying for a solo forever, but the tandem I share with my buddy has been fine until now.

It's not the absolute best canoe, but it's an Old Town, it's close to the right size, it's not too heavy (43 lbs) and it's CHEAP!!! I'm pumped.

I wish we had one in Springfield, be nice to give Johnny some competition, then maybe his floor help could actually call themselves help. Yours looks just like a pack which is what i really want but I don't know if I can afford it. I'll check out the one in Columbia, the next time I go. I go through there every 3 or 4 months so i hope the price stays the same. Thanks.

[eric1978]

I wish we had one in Springfield, be nice to give Johnny some competition, then maybe his floor help could actually call themselves help. Yours looks just like a pack which is what i really want but I don't know if I can afford it. I'll check out the one in Columbia, the next time I go. I go through there every 3 or 4 months so i hope the price stays the same. Thanks.

Yeah, I looked at the Pack, but they're almost twice as much, with the only real difference being they are 10 pounds lighter than the Guide. The Guide is about 2 inches shorter and a little deeper than the Pack, and actually, the material that makes them a little heavier is a little tougher than Royalex. I float some really questionable water sometimes, and do a lot of dragging and portaging, so the tougher the better for me.

If I was gonna fork over the bread for a Pack, I'd probably just go one better and get the Vagabond. I think the Pack Angler version is a total rip-off, and I'd just do the mods myself and save a couple hundred $.

Oh, and the people told me that $400 was the permanent price for the Guide, but I don't think Old Town is making them anymore, so when they're gone, they're gone. They still make exactly the same canoe, call it the Discovery 119 25th anniversary model, comes in red or green and is about $600. Marketing garbage.

[Wheatenheimer]

Hey Eric! That's an awesome deal, the fish won't care if your boat is camo, it just won't look as cool on top of your Range Rover! We'll have to get together and meet somewhere halfway, like the Gasconade or one of them Piney's for a float sometime soon!

Smallmouth Joe, check out http://www.twobrotherscanoe.com/ This is a buddy of mine that lives just across the border in Arkansas, about an hour and half from Springfield. I have their Royalex 14 footer and it works great as a solo for me, it is also big enough that my lady can go too. I think they still have a few boats left and you'll find them in about the same price range as what Eric paid.

Thanks,

Kevin

[eric1978]

Hey Eric! That's an awesome deal, the fish won't care if your boat is camo, it just won't look as cool on top of your Range Rover! We'll have to get together and meet somewhere halfway, like the Gasconade or one of them Piney's for a float sometime soon!

Kevin

Kevin,

I'll definitely call you on that float one of these days. I've got a couple of stretches of Meramec I've been dying to do in my solo first, but I'll be fishing all winter (well, most of it), and we should meet up one day. Cheers!

[eric1978]

Okay, here's the seat assembled on the new custom thwarts. (Haven't put on the backrest yet)

I still need to cut off the excess bolt hanging down past the nuts and grind them smooth, but I have to disassemble for polyurethane, so I'll do that later. The risers are 1" Oak dowel, with a hole bored out down the center. I wound up having to use 3/8" carriage bolts because Home Depot didn't have any 8 inchers any smaller. Not really a big deal, just a little more weight.

Next step will be mounting the seat in the canoe...report and photos to come

[Flysmallie]

That's a very nice seat setup that you are working on there Eric. I might have to steal your idea!!

I have/had the same seats in my boat but they really sucked. Too low and too flexible. When I put my big fat butt in them then the would flex and I would sit even lower. With your design your raising them up plus giving them the extra support that they need on the bottom.

[Gavin]

Looking good!