Canoe recommendations?

I'm looking at buying a canoe this summer and am hoping for some advice from those with more experience. Mainly will be used solo for fishing or just casual paddling around large ponds or small lakes but I would like to have one suitable for occasionally taking a second person. Any recommendations on size, materials, designs, brands, etc to look for or to avoid would be appreciated. Thanks

I bought an osage osagian aluminum 17' 10 years ago for $200 and it has been great. 750# load capacity and ez to deal with by myself. When alone I sit in the front seat facing backward to paddle and it puts me more toward the center..

Love my 16 foot Grumman aluminum square stern canoe.Light and easy to use.Great for ponds and deadwaters and streams.

I bought a 15' aluminum Browning AeroCraft back in 1976 or 77 and still use it today. Been a great canoe.

Grumman 16 ft sq stern. Purchased used in 1981 for $200. Hauled on top my truck or in bed for years. Used it for trapping,turkey hunting, squirrel hunting , duck hunting and fishing. Used trolling motor and at times a 4 hp Johnson outboard other times sold it to years ago and got $500. Lot of great times. At my age I just sit in my 16 ft Alweld to fish

I like a 14 foot fibreglas.light enough to portage or throw on top of the 4 wheeler and big enough for two people for day trips.
Fibreglas are tough and easier to repair than aluminum or cedar strip/canvas.

Love my aluminum canoe.... 17 ft.... I do the same thing Marty does when I am by myself.... I can handle the canoe way better !!

Can’t beat the paddling pleasure of an Old Town wooden / canvas canoe. 1960…16 foot..very stable OCTA ..75 lbs

The wife and I …out for a stroll in the White Mountains

I have a friend that is really into canoes. He looks for older brands that used roylex. Much lighter and durable than most materials.

Nothing bigger than 15ft. I sold my 17 fter years ago. Good riddance.

Wider is better (tip a narrow canoe in Alaska once, swim 20 minutes to shore half hypothermic and you'll know what I mean).

And get one with a keel. The keeless is all the rage...until you get on a lake with a crosswind and you become a sideways water kite ( then you smash into the BWCA rocks at Mach V).

I"ve been in spendy canoes and they are lighter to portage, but light isn't usually stable. I'll never give up my cheap, super wide plastic 15 footer now.

Pelican makes a cheaper one. Might be the same canoe I have (under a different name). A full 42" wide.

Pro tip: Paddles are for metrosexuals. Screw some oar locks on and you'll likely never use a paddle again (unless you're floating a river, or just goofing around with a friend).

Take a look at Radisson Canoes. I have a 12' Solo - Love it. Bob

14.5 northeastern works for me.

As fellow Minnesotans Calvin and I will secretly pride ourselves in knowing more about canoes than the average person. Granted, we would never say that out loud but a casual glance into backyards across the state will reveal that we have an inordinate love for canoes. And there are good ones and bad ones. Generally I agree with Calvin but not entirely…

Weight and material type are the largest concern for me. Many on here are recommending canoes that weigh >70 lbs. That’s fine if you can dump the canoe from the back of your truck into the river/lake/pond. Keeping the weight to 60 lbs max will make for a much nicer canoe. Royalex is a great material and I would recommend a canoe made from it.

Unlike Calvin I don’t think a wider canoe is better. Unless you like the undeniable feeling of paddling (or rowing!) a refrigerator. Keeping it to 30” wide is fine. On a hot summer day learn the limits of your canoe and you’ll never want for a more stable platform.

There are several models of canoes that are designed as either solo or tandem canoes and I think they are in the 15’ range. Keel or keel less? If you’re on a river the keel doesn’t do much for you. If lakes are more your destination then a keel will help, especially if you insist on rowing.

X3 except square sterns

What do you have to move it around with, would be the first question ?
I bought a 20 foot Grummun and tried to take it home on a VW Rabbit. Luckily the people delivered it to me , all 800 miles.
How many come up in the local by-sell in your area.
Where are you going to store it in the off-season ? Deals with the finish that it may have

I have an older Sears, 17 foot aluminum canoe. After trapping out of it for a week on local rivers and ponds, I'd be in the market for a good 15 footer. I am not that big of a guy, and even with traps and gear (muskrat, not beaver), and sitting in it backwards, the bow still was out of the water and any wind made it almost too much to handle. When the wife and I take it out in the summer, we look like a battleship going across the lake. Its the perfect size for two and a week's worth of camping gear though.

Or a sportspal which is a better copy of the rad made of one piece of thicker material but still light, I have both a 13 and 16 footer and use the 16 more, both are square stern and usually sport a motor just for convenience but also have oar locks and row just fine with them but padding is not so good due to the width like squaring around a whale but almost untipable

By the way I love the handling of an old wood/canvas canoe nothing handles better except may a true birchbark one and I only have one experience to go by on that

Have the small Grumman 12', setup w/oarlocks. old auto compass bolted to seat. My poorman's guideboat....Tut

Plan on moving it with a 1/2 ton pickup that has a headache rack and a second equal height bar above the tailgate. Plan to store outside under my porch, so it would be in some elements but not direct sun.

My 16ft Grumman works excellent. Square stern, nice and stable for me. Used that thing from spring fishing and beaver trapping to fall duck hunting

As above, go with a Raddison/Sportspal. Lightweight, stable, with a keel. Going solo stay lightweight, you’re not running a canoe livery, will be on ponds so would not worry “durability”: Also the Sportspal allows for a sail to be hoisted, which is great fun on bigger water. Stay Lightweight!!! and you’ll go canoeing more often.

I am a big guy I like my 17 foot Old town Penobscot for 2 people and run it myself also heck I stand and fish from the middle and use the SUP paddle some times

ok the same advice I give for guns , Go paddle it if it is a seriously good deal then buy it and you can always re-sell it

but if your going to drop coin on a great paddle go test them lots of paddle shops have rentals , classes , and can let you test paddle

buy a good paddle for you and a plastic and metal or cheap one to keep around for utility stuff and loaning to others

I know there is a paddle shop on the French island in Lacrosse that does rentals and classes I know Rutabaga in Monona(Madison) Wisconsin does test paddles classes and rentals there are probably countless outfitters or fellow paddles that would let you give their boat a try.


where you have to store it , Aluminum can stay outside most everything else should get under a roof or the sun eats the finish

mine is Roylex it is light , stiff , yet forgiving of rocks

try a bunch

Have a 14' rogue river from Bass Pro. Not built for speed but is very stable. Slides up into the back of the truck easily.

The General crowd ,public Price shops. What they want out of a canoe and what they'll pay for is two different things.

Go big …or go home…21 feet..

The deal with royalex is that the manufacturer of the royalex sheets quit making them a few years back as they were only used for canoe making. Not a big enough market.
So this means you're looking for a used boat. Thing to look for, wear on the stems or the pointy ends where it grounds against the bank. Ideally you get in and out wet feet and don't scrub the bow but it happens. Be cautious of boats worn down below the top color. To far into the foam and you risk delamination. Mild rash can be patched up with a kevlar skid plate.

Avoid wood trim unless you are into the annual rub down and care of wood. Wood is beautiful but it isn't the best option for a beater canoe.

https://esquif.com/en/canoe/adirondack/

T formex material, better than the old royal x and lighter too

Length : 12’
Width : 31.5”
Depth : 13’’
Weight : 42 lbs
Colors : Green, Sand, Camo
Style : Pack Canoe Hull
Material : T Formex

In my opinion the Prospector design in 16ft. Length is the best all around canoe ever produced. Has stood the test of time. It literally does everything well.

Length : 12’
Width : 31.5”
Depth : 13’’
Weight : 42 lbs
Colors : Green, Sand, Camo
Style : Pack Canoe Hull
Material : T Formex

The fact that almost all canoe makers have a prospector model or type in their line tells you something.

I have an Old Town Pack. Excellent for what it is supposed to be used for but very tippy. 12 ft long. 32" wide. 33 pounds.

I’ve been very satisfied with my Radisson after 20+ years

I like the durability of aluminum...15 ft Michi Craft is about perfect in these slow moving mud bottom creeks...It has a keel, 3 built in seats, and factory formed sponsons on the sides for added stability/tip protection.

Aluminum is nice. I like the Grumman but they are cold, noisy and attracted to rocks.

x2

I have 2 ABS Royalex Old Town's, 1) 14' Camper, easy to handle solo for the same things you want it for, and a Tripper, 17 ', for 2 man, longer trips with extra gear, traps etc. I also use a double blade kayak paddle solo, really helps keep moving. Foam filled hull is it's own flotation, can be rigged with an outrigger thing for a small motor.
A little spendy, but well worth the price IMO.

All true, you can dampen internal bump noise on aluminum with outdoor turf, padding etc....But on a rocky bottom creek, I wouldn't dare go with aluminum.

Aluminum tends to be on the heavy side also, so a definite portage disadvantage unless your on steroids, Lol.

But for longevity, and mud bottom creeks, it's aluminum for me, all day, everyday.

My 14 ft fibreglas Kawartha canoe-nice and light-throw it in and out of the truck when doing nuisance work,and tough as nails,have been using it steady trapping nuisance and fur for over 25 years at least.
It paddles pretty good on the river too for a workhorse canoe.

I got the same tripper. Nice stable tank of a boat but better for me and the missus for the extra set of hands to get it off the truck, lol. I can portage it but getting to levitate about 6' foot up can be a bear.

If I had deep pockets I'd put my money down on a novacraft pal in tuffstuff. Their 12' trapper looks really good as well for small creeks and swamps.

The tail gate extensions are nice that go into the trailer hitch. Even more nice is when there is a roller system on them with some of the old wringer washing machine rubber welded in place to roll the canoe up
Protection from the elements is always good. Even Al gets oxidized and needs polishing ever so often and you will see the glide afterwards.

I like my Old Town Pathfinder 15' and the Radisson in 14'