I wan't to buy a canoe.  I have borrowed one in the past (an old town) and like it but I know they are expensive.  Can I get a descent canoe for around $400.  I will be using it on slow moving rivers around home...no white-water.  Any advise?  Thanks.

Spend upwards of $1000, and get a canoe that will comfortably last you a lifetime!

I have 3 canoes, and all are worth a minumim of $500 to $1500, even the one in beat to shit condition...

I greatly prefer "Mad River Canoes", but "Old Town" makes a sweet boat, and they are generally a bit less expensive as well!

A "Royalex" ([i]vinal[/i]) hull is going to be a lot faster, lighter, quieter, and more durable...

In that price range you are probably better off with an aluminum canoe. Unless you can find a good deal on a used fiberglass or royalex.

I have a Sawyer X-17 in kevlar that has been a great canoe. In quality boats the lightest is kevlar, then fiberglass, then Royalex. Royalex is more durable than glass if you expect to be hitting rocks or dragging it around.

Avoid the Coleman Ram-x canoe even if the price looks great. They are too flexible which makes them very slow. They are also unstable.  

I can’t comment on price ('cause I got mine free)
but IMHO, in fiberglass Mohawk canoes can't be beat. I've used (and abused) my 16' Mohawk canoe in the everglades for going on 9 years now.
It's tough, quiet, and light enough that I can portage it by myself.
If you can afford it, I'd suggest an Old Town Kevlar boat, but since you say price is a factor I would strongly suggest a Mohawk fiberglass.

FWIW,
echo6

A *canoe*???  You know the saying, "half the man, half the paddle", right?

Get a kayak instead.

A friend of mine was going to buy a Kayak, while she was waiting for the the next shipment to come in, the store " Galyans " had manufacturer reps there the day the shipment arrived, she got it for wholesale price. It might be worthwhile to check around and ask for upcoming sales and manufacturer discounts.

Try again...  [size=4][blue]1/2 the paddle, twice the man![/blue][/size=4]

BTW: I'm one of those insane [red]C1 boaters[/red] ([i]I mean really, who needs to have feeling in their feet and legs anyway..?[/i]), that also happens to be a member of the BOCC ([i]Burned Out Canoe Club[/i])!  [:D]

I should also point out that I'm a class IV-V C1 boater!  [BD]

I have a 17' Grumman lightweight (Aluminum) for sale. $400. Grumman no longer makes canoes. This thing is easily managable by 1 person; in water OR carrying it!

Live anywhere near youngstown, Ohio?

For about $120 you can build your own pirogue out of 1/4" plywood and cypress or polpar. I made my 14 footer for about $70 because I got the cypress for free. I'll make my next one 16 feet to haul my big ass better. Exterior plywood has about the same glue as marine plywood has except you have to fill the voids. I'd rather chop fiberglass and fill a void or two than pay 4 times the money for marine plywood.

DairyFarmer - Why bag on the Coleman RAM X-15?  Too unstable, flimsy???

I have owned 3 canoes.  A Grumman aluminum 17',  a Osagian 17' Heavy Duty and a Coleman RAM X-15.  I have sold the Grumman and Osagian and still have the RAM X.

I have been going to the BWCAW for 8 years and have used the above 3 considerably.

Aluminums, especially older ones, and fiberglass  are heavy dogs but can carry a lot.  Grummans are unstable with gear.  Osagian was a battle tank.

The Coleman fit the bill.  Cheap, light and can carry 2 guys, 10 days worth of gear which is 2 boundry packs - 3CuFt and a mess boundry bag, a 80lb dog, fishing gear and anything else we carried.  I've had it for 6 years.  It was stored indoors for 4 years and looked new as no sun rot.  It has spent the last 2 years outside and is getting faded but still performs like it always had.  Don't discount these for what they are.  If you lose it, you're not out much.

As far as stability goes, it is one of the more stable canoes I have.  We would tip the Grumman with the dog pretty easily and always was careful.  The Coleman, I couldn't get to tip loaded and with dog while I was rocking it violently from side to side.

They do flex but track very nicely.  All in all a good canoe for the bucks.

Mohawk, Dagger, Mad River and Old Town do make wonderful products and the $$ are certainly more.

That said, I don't canoe as much since I got 3 kayaks.  Much more manueverable, stable and can fish easier because your on your own.  You just can't tote a lot of gear.  Not too good in the BWCAW either due to boundry packs.  These are the Old Town Otters.  I can fit 3 in my truck and have run lakes to Class3 with these little boats.

The Pirogue boats are very nice and there are many plywood kits out there.  They are beautiful, very light but not that durable.

I have a factory second Old Town Discovery 169. It's 16'9", fairly wide and weighs around 85lbs. It's stable and is a great river hunting and fishing canoe, but has a rotomolded polyethelyne structure, which, while it gives excellent impact resistance and carrying capacity, is slow to paddle and heavy. It's a PITA to portage anywhere, especially loaded with gear. Figure out how much gear and people you will have to carry, then look for a canoe with the carrying capacity you need. Keep it as light as possible if you plan on traveling rivers and streams. For lake canoeing, it's not as important. Avoid aluminum unless you desire a war canoe capable of ramming and sinking other canoes.
Try going the used route. People are always getting rid of canoes locally, and usually for quite a discount.

During the [b]'89 World Canoe and Kayak Championships[/b], 3 of us were paddling our kayaks across Deep Creek Lake ([i]western Maryland[/i])late at night, to crash the worlds party that was held for the racers and sponsors.

First, we were caught by a Coast Guard vessle, and nearly arrested, for not having lights on our watercraft.  A girl that was with us, quickly chimed in that we were all foreigners, that were attending the World's party, and decided to take a refreshing tour along this branch of the lake...  She put her finest "Mock British" accent to work, and then the CG began questioning me and the other guy, so we just acted as if we didn't understand the English language at all.  She was actually able to convince the CG that we were all foreigners, and they ordered us to shore withiout further incident...  Thankfully, the nearest shorline was where the party was being held!  [}:D]

After we stashed our boats along the shore, and partied our asses off for several hours, we found our yaks and "attempted" to paddle the 2-3 miles back at around 2:00am, but the fog was do dense on the lake, that we couldn't make anything out ([i]destination shoreline lights[/i]) and got really confused and seperated...  We spent over an hour or so, paddeling in circles and looking for one another.  This was beginning to get scarry as hell, when finally , one at a time, we paddeled out of the fog, and realized we were each seperated by a couple of hundred yards. [:\]

This could have been disasterous, but thankfully all turned out well...  and the party was awesome!

Get a Transparent Kayak
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AR-lvr, I'm glad your Coleman works for you. I had a 17' as my first canoe 20 years ago. It was very flexible, get into a light chop and it would sound just like you were squeezing an oil can. With similar paddlers and gear it would not keep up with aluminum canoes, let alone glass.

I just looked up the specs and it weighed 87 lbs. Your 15' weighs 75 lbs. A standard 17' Grumman will go 75, light weight 66. My 17' Sawyer weighs 56 lbs..

Have to throw out my credentials too. Just got back from Quetico Park (north of the BWCA) on Sunday. Been paddling up there for 20 years. Used to get in 4-5 trips a year, down to one now.

I also have a 17' Sawyer Loon. It's a cross between a canoe and kayak. It has a 6' open cockpit. With a double bladed paddle I can keep up with a good tandem team. This is the same boat that Verlen Kruger paddled over 17,000 miles in.

I am currently paddleing a 15 foot Dagger Reflection. I vote to go Royalex for the ability to "take a licking".

I wrapped mine around a tree during a huricanne river run one day and it popped out fine.

I was looking at a mohawk online last year but the lack of rain in VA has put a hold on a new boat.

Ah yes, the night fog on Deep Creek.  I got caught in that once.  My dad, friend and I went night fishing at the dam until about 0100.  No for set in where we were, but when we left and drove around the first bend BAM very heavy fog.  Smart us, we forgot the spotlight, and only have a 4D mag light.  My friend was looking over the bow for things in the water while I drove and my dad spotted reflective markers near the shore line.  Navigates from the dam to McHenry village across from Wisp essentially by memory.  


On the Canoe topic, out of all the canoes' I have been in I think my Dad's mad river is the most stable and fastest I have ever been in.

We have an Old Town. It's a great boat.

We have a Mad River.  Love it!  I get to store it in the living room every now and then. It really opens people's eyes when they see it.  I have used the Coleman and also think it flexes too much.  I have used the Old Town to float and work on a small canal.  It's a pretty sound boat.  I would never consider an alum. canoe.

That was one helluva long float in the fog!!!

The Worlds Party was held at the state park beac area, and we had to go very close to McHenry vilage, since we we're staying in the A-Frame that is adjacent to the German hotel, next to the main bridge.