Canoe purchase

[Wayne SW/MO]

I think that is very similar, if not the same boat, as the Rogue River sold by Bass Pro. I know they put them on sale in the spring, around May I think. They aren't real expensive.

[Champ]

I actually never found much for used canoes.

I found the best price at Scheels all sports. Similar to a Cabela or bass pro.

http://www.pelican-intl.com/canoes.html

Not sure where you live, but you can search for dealers. Just call ahead to see if they cary canoes.

Not the fanciest canoe, but stable enough to do a lot of casting and horsing in fish.

[Forsythian]

Champ, when you canoe solo do you turn it around and sit in the bow seat? Or do you need to sit in the stern seat and ballast the front?

I've always thought those "molded" seats prevented my preferred way of soloing a tandem canoe, which is to turn it around... thanks

Edit- sorry, I read above where you stated that you sit in the middle seat... the question remains regarding the molded seat though, it would seem a bit "awkward" to sit backwards of the way it is intended...

[ColdWaterFshr]

Champ, when you canoe solo do you turn it around and sit in the bow seat? Or do you need to sit in the stern seat and ballast the front?

I've always thought those "molded" seats prevented my preferred way of soloing a tandem canoe, which is to turn it around... thanks

Edit- sorry, I read above where you stated that you sit in the middle seat... the question remains regarding the molded seat though, it would seem a bit "awkward" to sit backwards of the way it is intended...

Forsythian - I had that problem with my Old Town 158. It came with molded seats. And you simply cant sit backwards in those molded seats. I got tired of floating it solo from the stern position. Front end would stick up high unless you weighted it, then it was tough to manuever. So, I bought a webbed seat and mounted it to the bow seat. (was too cheap to buy 2 seats). I left the spacers out, too. So the seat is up a little higher which is more comfortable. Now when I float solo, I turn it around, weight is distributed a little better, and I can manuever a LOT better.

[Champ]

If I'm by myself, I usually sit in the middle seat and have the canoe pointed forward.

I have also turned it around and have sat backwards in it.

The molded seats are the same both directions. Doesn't matter which way you are facing in this boat.

Took me a while to learn and practice the J stroke, but now I can track it pretty straight by myself.

Most cabela's and bass pros have a test lake. They'd probaby let you try out some canoes.

[Fox Statler]

Solo Hands Free Fishing Canoe

http://www.willowford.net/WF%20Signature%2...HF%20Canoe.html

[Al Agnew]

Buying a canoe is never easy. There is no all purpose canoe, and no tandem canoe that will ever handle as well solo as a dedicated solo canoe.

You CAN, however, get a little closer to an all purpose canoe with some designs than you can with others. But you get what you pay for. Cheaper canoes like the Pelicans and Colemans and even the Old Town Discos will be serviceable, but they aren't efficient paddling designs and they are a lot heavier.

I don't like molded seats. They add weight, are not all that comfortable, and you can't sit backwards in them. They also don't work well with some of the seat backs available.

I don't like short tandem canoes. The shorter the canoe, the more difficult it is to stow spare fishing rods, and the more likely you are to hook your partner.

I don't really care for short, wide canoes. Yes, they have more initial stability--they don't feel as tippy. But chances are they have little or no more SECONDARY stability--once they start to flip, they keep going. They are slower to paddle, don't track as well, and are more difficult to stop in current.

Some OK choices for a tandem canoe that can also be paddled solo, in my opinion, would be the Old Town Penobscot 16 (I have two of these, and have paddled them solo), and the Wenonah Solo Plus. The Penobscot is more of a tandem that can be paddled solo in a pinch and still have decent performance. The Solo Plus is more of a solo that can also be paddled tandem.

[Brian Sloss]

There is a company here in Alton, mo that sells a full line of Old Town canoes that are overstocks. They are brand new though and they charge less than retail. The name is Ozark River Co. and I think their # is 417-778-2400. They do a lot of Ebay business and if you did a search, you would find them. Also, we may be selling some of our Old Town's of this winter. www.11pointcanoe.com. Call me at 417-778-6497.

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

If you haven't bought your canoe yet you might check the buy-sale-trade section of this forum. Phil had three listed, fully equipped for $800. I'm not a canoer so I don't know if these are good or not, but it's worth looking at.

John

[Brian K. Shaffer]

In addition to KS FF's post - have you considered a personal pontoon boat ?

let me know - Brian