canoe options

Dave,

The thing to be careful of is the shape of the hull. Free or cheap is super, but a free canoe that will easily roll in very cold water is false economy. You should really look for a canoe with a stable hull profile first, especially with the kind of weather we duck hunters go boating in.

canoe info

Charlie
 
Gary ,
I did put an ad on craigs list and found one in Ri here , i am going to look tonight to see what it is . Thanks




Dave
 
I wouldn't be concerned with the noise generated by an aluminum canoe when duck hunting - you'll be shooting before getting close enough for the ducks to hear you.

My personal number for a used canoe that has been sitting behind someones garage collecting spiders is $250 max. Different if it is a twice used Mad River or Old Town but much more than that & you ought to buy new.

Another thought is a factory second at the Old Town factory. I've never been up there but years ago I had some buddies who did the pilgrimage & got some great deals. With the price of gas you would have to be going to Maine anyway.
 
I just sold a 15' Michicraft that I got when the company owed me money. It was a nice canoe with real good "initial" stability. For hunting you want a high initial stability.....they don't paddle real fast, or turn on a dime without a lot of muscle but you won't flip when shooting or the dog jumps out. My buddy Bezubic had a Mad River 13' with a square stern in camo color and it was probably the best hunting canoe I've been in. He put an electric motor on it and it would fly.
 
Secondary stability is also a concern with a duck canoe in cold water. Primary stability can fool you, you think you are stable and then you go too far and wham, you're in the water.

A canoe with good secondary stability is safer from what I can tell. The explorer (not tryign to push them, but I've had good luck with mine) has okay primary stability but superb secondary stability. Once you get over the perception that it feels tippy and learn to trust the hull, it is a very good platform.

My only criticism with mine is that it is a bear to paddle solo without weight in it, for example fishing solo in a lake with any significant wind. It is a kevlar hull, so it is light, but it also gets blown around a lot. It paddles superbly with a slight load (2 paddlers++ or one paddler and duck gear).

I got mine in a divorce sale (was the husbands, sold off by the wife), so I got what I believe to be a fair deal. The kevlar hulls were pricey when new. Like Dave Park's shotgun buying advice, the trick for buying a small boat is to sock away some cash and start looking around. Eventually you'll see what you want and have the cash to make it happen.

There are about 100 canoes on the Burlington VT craigslist right now if there aren't many in RI. Might be worth a road trip if not for the price of gas. Take the family for a weekend trip, pick up a canoe for the ride home.

I'm not a fan of "dogs + canoes + cold water" personally. I know a good number of folks who are, but it isn't my thing.

Charlie
 
I had a friend who had a Coleman canoe i think 15 foot , that was a tippy canoe where everytime you got in it felt as though you were going for a swim ,
Dave
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I'm not a fan of "dogs + canoes + cold water" personally. I know a good number of folks who are, but it isn't my thing.

Charlie
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If you think a Coleman is that tippy, DON'T HUNT OUT OF A CANOE. I have one, in addition to my stripper and sea kayak. I think the Coleman design, although not graceful and fast, is actually rather friendly.

All things are tradeoffs in canoe design, if you want to carry a dog, deks, gun, shells and yourself, and have a stable platform to hunt from and the dog to jump off, I think you are asking a bit much from a canoe. If you find a barge of a canoe stable enough to do this, I wouldn't want to be paddling that thing in any kind of river current by myself. If you bring a buddy, well you need yet a bigger canoe.

I hunted out of mine last fall, small bodies of water, tossed a few blocks, poled it in to the weeds, covered it with burlap and weeds, and laid down in the bottom. Remember sitting on the bottom of the canoe versus sitting on a seat makes alot of difference in your stability.

Be safe whatever you decide
Chuck
 
Dave...

Suggest you get together with Mike Sw. he knows tons about this subject. Not for nuthin' but what about a kayak style system.

http://www.wplenterprises.com/CanoesMarshlander.php

I like this canoe... looks a little odd, but stable. Plus, you can put an electric motor on it in the event you are crossing say... Wardens, etc.

If I am going with you, I'd appreciate an I=pod hookup this time ok?

A. Don't know much about them but I believe Old Town makes a canoe called the Predator that is made specifically for hunting. You may want to check on that though I believe it is pricey. I see you guys are familiar with Wardens Pond - I have stayed at the campground across the way a couple of times and shot over at Peacedale. I was always curious if there was hunting allowed on Wardens. If anyone wants to pm me and give me some insight I would appreciate it - what kind of species do you see there? I'm considering a RI license this year.
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Patrick,

It's where I go to run fresh water through the engine (and trailer) once in a while. It's a beautiful body of water - choked with weeds at this time of year however as it is very shallow...

I have never hunted there - I'm sorry I don't know. Would guess mallards, blacks and woodies. I've been there 10 times and never seen a duck ; )

If you get your RI license, look us up.

Best, A.
 
Thanks Andrew, I get plenty of Mallards, Blacks, Woodies around home so Wardens is probably not worth the trip for me. I have a Barnegat Bay Sneak Boat coming soon and am looking to do some coastal hunting and hopefully find some different species.
If I do get the RI license I'll look you up for sure - please do the same if I can do anything for you in CT.
 
Dave,

I have a 10' double ended Golden Hawk Canoe made in Caddtt, WI. It is very stable. I have had a 75 lbs lab jump out of the boat and not tipped. I have hunted out of it but usually use it to get to my spot and set decoys. I have hunted out of aqua pods, pirogues (like a Bobcat), Old Town 14' Predator kayak, 17' aluminum canoes, Fiberdome Redhead, and others. I still take the canoe more than any other boat. It is light enough to carry easily, will haul lots of weight and decoys, and is better paddling than many marsh boats. It is fiberglass so I do not use it on the rocky rivers.

http://www.goldenhawkcanoes.com/wst_page2.html

My other recommendation would be the sportspal canoes that castlecraft ships anywhere. They are aluminum. But they are are lined with foam so they are quiet and they are stable.

http://www.castlecraft.com/sportspal_double-end.htm
 
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Dave,
I have had a 14" Mad River Winooski for over 25 years. It has a very wide beam and is very stable, but also tracks nicely. Two guys and a sometimes excitalble 80# lab can float a river jump shooting and feel safe. It is light enough that I store it on brackets on the wall of my garage and I can load it on my Jeep roof rack by myself. I sometimes use it as a "taxi" for my ground blind and as many decoys as I can pile in it and push it along in front of me while I wade to get it to a sandbar on a lake where I hunt. The Mad River canoes are not cheap but I agree that a tippy free canoe is false economy.
 
The indian chief logo canoe is t
he Osage or Osagian canoe co out of missouri. I would recomend them highly. I have a 15ft flat backed sportspal canoe that is also good. I hunt out of a 14 ft mainstream kayak a lot and just bought a 14 ft predator. I really like the predator. but have not hunted it yet My 55 lb griffon is a regular passenger on the mainstream and rides the back deck the local guys call her the "navigator" but I will stress this Dogs that you cannot trust to stay put regardless of the distraction have no place in a canoe or kayak especially in a river.
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I have a carstens pintail.... Its great for kayaking with the kids in the summer on our pond or local rivers and lakes.... And as a duckboat in the fall...I have trained two puppies neither of them were steady or calm in the beginning... no problems... boat can handle it... I can push pole it... paddle it, pull, drop it down a hill, the really nice part is it tracks great... it has two built in stabilizer holes, on in the front & rear deck, I have steel rods 4 feet long that I drive through them into the marsh to stabilize the boat... I just recently had Ira from momarsh customize a doors blind kit for it. Hopefully the UPS truck is here today... I can shoot out of it no problem...

check em out...

http://www.carstensindustries.com/
 
A bit of a hijack here, but I have the opportunity to pick up a 16" Grumman flat back cheap. I might use it in a few secluded spots, but I do not think I would hunt from the boat. I have a friend with a 4 h.p. eska that I might be able to talk him out of to use on the canoe. My only real experience with a canoe came at boy scout camp 1978. Three of us swamped that thing more times than I can count. I guess I have always been a little gun shy of canoes since. I really just want it to knock around in in the summer, and maybe take my girl fishing. Any words of wisdom on these canoes? From what I have read they seem to be a good boat. Shawn
 
Shawn,

16' Grumman square sterns go for $500.00 and up around here. They're a bit heavy but built solid.
30 years ago a guy I worked with invited me along duck huntin with him. Put me in the front seat with a dozen decoys and a couple of guns along and away we went. We would paddle or run his 3hp ducktwin a mile into a marsh that was hard to get a boat to. There were 5 or 6 other friends and acquaintances there too, and the huntin was good. Later years saw a dog involved and heaters, blind material, etc. I don't remember ever flipping the thing, usually didn't need to, I could get wet all by myself. But, bear in mind that when we hunted out of the canoe we would pull it up into the marsh grass so it was solid to stand in. Since the increase in popularity of mud motors and airboats we don't hunt that area anymore. Now we take life easy in a 16' semi-v and an outboard.
Rereading your post, you haven't shown any reason not to buy it. You will enjoy it and I would bet, do some huntin out of it.

George
 
I have a 14ft Meyers SportsPal with a square stern and painted marsh green. Took it out many times last year in small lakes and backwater marshes. It is very stable. I have a 35lb springer spaniel that goes with me and she is really good about staying put. I usually carry a dozen or two decoys too. If I hunt from it, I always stabilized the canoe by tying it to trees, shrubs, etc., just in case. I really like it because it does allow me to get to some pretty remote areas.
 
Eric ,


To be honest i always like your setup so i decided to try a kayak at a local shop that rents them the problem i had was that my back was killing me so i asked the guy there to see if we could adjust the seat and he did but i was not comfortable at all , i guess i I must be a decendant of the Fuk-aw-ee tribe a canoe just feels alot better . I know it is strange but that is how i feel . Thanks for your posts though . very nice setup and i love the "navigator"



Dave M
 
Thankls alot guys for the tips , i am looking at all of them and trying to make a decision as to what to go with , i do know i want to go 14-15 foot in length and the Great Canadians look like a real winner as far as width . I do like the carsten line also , decision, decisions . Keep them coming guys it all comes in handy to help me make a decision .




Dave M
 
I'm not a fan of "dogs + canoes + cold water" personally. I know a good number of folks who are, but it isn't my thing.

Charlie
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Charlie,

You hit the nail on the head. That's why I sold my old aluminum canoe and bought a FatBoy from Ira. Once you put a dog in a canoe the safety factor goes out the window. Remember to wear your life jacket and a wader belt

-Dave
 
Shawn - when you say Grumman flat back I wonder if you are refering to a flat sterned displacement hull skiff they made that had a canoe looking bow but more than the 36" relatively standard canoe beam. It did not have a flat planing bottom, but could be pushed along fine with a 2 HP. Kind of like an aluminum Grand Laker.

I've never been in one but look to me to be meant for power first, rowing second. Not really paddling.

I googled Grumman Scanoe & could not find pictures. What Coleman calls a scanoe is more of a semi-double ended canoe set up for an outboard.

If this is the same boat I'm thinking about it would be a challenge to get on top of a car by yourself - but a relativel stable platform. Less than 200 bucks & I would be willing to try to hide it from my wife.
 
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