New Canoe

[Al Agnew]

I picked up my new Wenonah Vagabond yesterday. My old one was getting pretty worn out and beat up, so I wanted to replace it. The Alpine Shop didn't have any in stock, and neither did anyplace else within a 150 mile radius, so I had to order it. Wenonah had to make one before shipping it. So although I ordered it back in May, it didn't get to the Alpine Shop until mid-July, and then I was in Montana so they held it until yesterday.

After finding out about the pending demise of Royalex, I decided to hold onto the old one, and use it for some of my really bony creek outings instead of scratching up the new one too badly too quickly.

A couple of things...my old one is a cream color, which I really liked. Back when I bought it they offered that canoe in a bunch of colors, but now they only offer it in red or green, so the new one is green.

And the seat...my old one had a fixed seat, which was too low for my tastes, and the front edge came from the factory about three inches behind the center of the canoe. The seat was a wooden one with webbing, and bolted to a sheet of aluminum that was suspended from the gunwales. I drilled holes in the gunwales and used long bolts and plastic spacers to suspend it from the gunwales about an inch below the bottom edge of the black plastic gunwales, and moved it forward to where the front end was almost exactly at the center of the canoe. The aluminum plate was attached to the gunwales in such a way that it was not removable without popping the rivets and removing the gunwales, so I left it.

Now they come with an adjustable seat, and I was curious as to how the seat would work...

It won't, for my purposes. The only level seat position is way too low, and the other positions are tilted downwards in front, apparently for kneeling. I never kneel, so there was no seat position that would work for me. Also the thing wasn't all that solid and rattled around terribly. There was that same aluminum plate that the seat attached to, just a different arrangement with slots to change seat positions.

Again I couldn't remove the plate, so this time I decided to just drill some holes in the plate where I wanted to place the seat. It was still placed at three inches behind center, but I could still use the plate and place the seat to where the front edge was only an inch or so behind center, which I figured was good enough. I also tilted the seat slightly with the FRONT edge a little higher than the back edge, thinking htat might make it a little more comfortable. It turned out to be a bit more difficult to do all this than I had planned, and I lost about a gallon of sweat working this afternoon in the sun getting it placed. I took it out on the pond and paddled it for a bit just to see how the seat placement worked. It kinda ticks me off to buy a new canoe and have to immediately work on it to get it like I want, but I think the seat is about perfect now.

I also spent some time putting more plastic epoxy on the bottom of the old one. I may put skid plates on it at some point.

I'm now up to two tandems (both Old Town Penobscots), two Vagabonds, and three old Oscoda fiberglass solos, along with a jetboat, a 14 ft. johnboat, a kayak for Mary, a Watermaster personal raft, and a one third interest in a big raft. And I don't think I'm done boat buying yet, because Mary wants another kayak for Missouri and wants me to buy another one for Montana so I can keep up with her on fun floats on the Yellowstone. I'm gonna need a couple of warehouses to store them all. I just hope she doesn't decide she's interested in stand up paddleboards

[Old plug]

Wellll old agnew had yard, ei ei oh. And in that yard he collected old boats ei ei oh. Boats here, boats there, surely was no grass there.

[Al Agnew]

Just to show how much Mary and I are into canoes and floating, when we built the house more than 20 years ago, we built four sets of canoe racks on the outside wall of the house...but now I have five canoes at this house. So only one is in the yard at this point

[fishinwrench]

Why in the hell did I never think of a canoe rack on the side of my house or shop?

Thanks Al, no more weedeating around sawhorses for Me !

[Chief Grey Bear]

Why in the hell did I never think of a canoe rack on the side of my house or shop?

Thanks Al, no more weedeating around sawhorses for Me !

Mine is in my garage. I don't like them being in the sun all the time.

[fishinwrench]

The North side of my shop gets very little sun exposure. Soon as work is caught up I'm gonna slap something together that hopefully won't look too redneck.

[RSBreth]

The marina of a water rat is alway expanding Al - I can't even remember if it's two tandems, a kayak, a solo, ( THE solo) two float tubes, an inflatable kayak, the 17' Bass boat - I think that's it.

I think.

[gramps50]

I have a 16' jon boat but I see some of the places Al and others are going in their canoes and kayaks and now I want a solo canoe, think it would suit me better than a kayak. I have an old clamp on trolling motor too that might work on a canoe not sure. Guess I need to start watching craigslist and here for a bargain starter solo canoe.

It's too bad no one makes a canoe shell that one could buy them put the seats and other accessories that want in it instead of buying one and having to strip or modify it.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Actually Gramps it really isn't much of a job to strip out the thwarts and seats. It seems that every solo on the market needs the seat moved anyway. I think if you're going to put a TM on one a 14'-15' converted to a solo might be more stable and suitable to power.

[fishinwrench]

I have a 16' jon boat but I see some of the places Al and others are going in their canoes and kayaks and now I want a solo canoe, think it would suit me better than a kayak. I have an old clamp on trolling motor too that might work on a canoe not sure. Guess I need to start watching craigslist and here for a bargain starter solo canoe.

It's too bad no one makes a canoe shell that one could buy them put the seats and other accessories that want in it instead of buying one and having to strip or modify it.

Wanna sell the jon boat?