Old Town Or Aluminum

[bobber]

hey, if your going to pass on the square stern send me some info on it!!!!..... thanks

[eric1978]

If you have a lead on an Old Town, I'd go that route. I'd steer clear of aluminum. Mostly because like it was said, it is tougher to glide over the riffles. It is a bear to drag too.

As far as noise, you won't find a completely silent canoe. That is where one has to learn to paddle without banging the sides. One must also refrain from sliding their equipment around in the bottom of a canoe. I guess what I am saying is that a canoe is only as noisy as the operator. At times I am just as guilty too.

True, and I'm getting better and being noiseless; keeping the paddle across your lap instead of laying in the canoe helps a lot. But sometimes you screw up and bump the side or drop a weight or something, usually no big deal. But if you're in a good spot in an aluminum, you might as well stick a warning bell in the water and start a ringin'.

[Flysmallie]

I'd definitely go with polylink or royalex over aluminum...As for the Charles River....looks like a pretty nice boat, but its only 15'8" long in the poly link version...Might go with something a bit longer like the Discovery 169 for hauling 3 people and replace the seats with something better than the plastic fantastics it comes with. Price is about the same, not a big deal to paddle one solo, and they last forever. Cheers.

I have a 169 and paddle it a lot solo. It may be a big slow tank but it will carry a ton of stuff or 3 people just fine. It is a little on the heavy side. And yes you are going to want to replace those seats.

[Wayne SW/MO]

i like the stability of the ghennoe.

You would love a 160 Guide then. I assume your young ones are too little to be effective paddlers, but you can use a trolling motor on a regular canoe, you just need a simple mount. I don't know of any aluminum canoes that are as stable as the Guides, Discovery's, or even the Pelicans. The Buffalo's wold be another option and the chance of getting a second could save you some money.

[wily]

hey bobber -- here's the link

good luck

http://joplin.craigslist.org/boa/1437485073.html

[John Berry]

I sold my aluminum canoe and bought an Old Town.

[Chief Grey Bear]

True, and I'm getting better and being noiseless; keeping the paddle across your lap instead of laying in the canoe helps a lot. But sometimes you screw up and bump the side or drop a weight or something, usually no big deal. But if you're in a good spot in an aluminum, you might as well stick a warning bell in the water and start a ringin'.

I am not knocking you skills eric. Nobody is silent out there. And the longer the day is, the louder I get. If you know what I mean.

There is a trick you can do to make them not so noisy. Get a good quality "Astro Turf". Glue this on the bottom and a few inches up the side, in the front and back area of the canoe. You can do the whole canoe if you want too. This will deafen the sound remarkably and will not add a significant amount of weight like carpet would when wet. And it is very durable.

BUT that is only if you WANT an aluminum canoe. Which I do not recommend. Some people, for reasons unknown, do seem to like them.

[eric1978]

I am not knocking you skills eric. Nobody is silent out there. And the longer the day is, the louder I get. If you know what I mean.

There is a trick you can do to make them not so noisy. Get a good quality "Astro Turf". Glue this on the bottom and a few inches up the side, in the front and back area of the canoe. You can do the whole canoe if you want too. This will deafen the sound remarkably and will not add a significant amount of weight like carpet would when wet. And it is very durable.

BUT that is only if you WANT an aluminum canoe. Which I do not recommend. Some people, for reasons unknown, do seem to like them.

Because they're CHEAP! My buddy and I have floated a million times in his Grumman beast, and when we're on bigger waters and don't have to drag or portage, I really kind of like it. He bought it from a neighbor long ago for 100 bucks and we've probably used it 100 times. $1 per float...not a bad deal.

I like your astro turf idea...it would at least be good for around the places you set your paddles and tackle and what not. You bump into a rock, though, and it's gonna sound like two semis colliding head on no matter what. Some people don't care I guess, and yeah, the longer the day, the less I seem to notice.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Yeah they are cheap and there is a reason for that. They are cheap. There is no craftmanship to them. It is just like stamping out a fender at Chevy. Nothing to it.

Dragging over riffles is not the only drag either. They just plain drag through the water too. You will do more and harding paddling in a aluminum canoe than you will any other.

Since sound travels in water much better than air, I don't care what you are in, the fish already know you are there. Or coming.

[Flysmallie]

I'm thinking about adding some of this to the bottom of my Old Town.

Hyrdo Turf

A friend has it on his jet ski and it looks pretty tough. I'm not really looking to reduce noise just something to make the bottom a little less slippery.

These fish have grown up their entire lives with boat and canoe noise. It's not like they have never seen one. I'm not saying to go down river beating your paddle all around or blasting off an air horn (one of these days I'm going to kill one of these bastages), but I wouldn't be overly concerned about it.

Unless of course I'm in a aluminum canoe!! They should have to put a cow bell on those things so you can hear them coming....oh wait you can hear them coming...for about 3 miles.

I did see a guy last year in a canoe with some horns on the front of his canoe. You know like the ones you would see on the front of a Caddy in Smokey and the Bandit. Always wanted to do that but I don't think I need horns on the front of my boat hanging on every tree that I pass.