canoe..CANOE !!!!..did some one say cannnooooo--well..well
i just might be able to add one or two small notes--
2500 bucks of hand made Kevler canoe deep in Quetico..
37 pounds..16 feet long..about 32 inches across and made
to handle anything and go anywhere you please.. two men
and all their gear for two weeks and last spring
just me and all my gear for two weeks....
soooo...your looking for a boat..
first for $500 you will need to follow that advice about
checking for a deal..some towns even have a local canoe
shop where you could get a "blemish" at a good price..
it's going to be a long winter so look around..
next--aluminum is maintenance free and get beat around
to no end--but..they take on the temp of the air and
water around them--cold water--cold boat..fiberglass
and Royalex don't do that..and a "tin" boat is noisey
CLUNK__CLUNK..and it well reflect the sun enought to
make the inside hot.. a coat of duck boat tan paint
will fix that...aluminum canoes are made with a keel to
hold the two halfs together..try and get a "shoe" keel
it's flat unlike the knife like keel that gets hung up
on stuff and makes the canoe hard to turn...
plastic boats--if the inside of the canoe is braced up
with metal pipe--pass it up..it may get you around but
you can do much better..Royalex or some such stuff is
a foam filled plastic between two sheets of a plastic
that is a bit soft but will take a real beating on rocks
and the dents will come up if warmed in the sun..before
i got that canoe in the photo i had a Old Town Pathfinder.
heavy at 57 pounds but i used it for around 20 years and
the hull held up to everything wilderness tripping tossed
at it...
canoe shapes---you want a "normal" looking canoe..
look at a LL Bean catalog--the Camper Canoe is the style
you want..avoid canoe with odd shapes and lots of whats
called "tumblehome"--that is the sides are very rounded off.
also look for a "sportsmans" style canoe with a flat bottom.
they are whats called "pushers" because the flat bottom
is not made for speed but stability--i could stand in my
Pathfinder to scout fast water ahead but i have found
that the more rounded bottom of my Prospector makes
for a unstable stand..i could stand and paddle the other
canoe but not that one..
how many people???..two is normal--three is a squeeze
in a typical 16-17 foot canoe..any more that that and
you looking at a 18-20 foot cargo canoe...
ADD ON...paddles--good low price paddles can be had..
wood is best but if you get a aluminum canoe get metal
shaft and plastic blade paddles..metal boats are hard
on wood...PFD--zip up fishermans styles are good and you
can put SURVIVAL gear in the pockets..a way to carry
it---racks are spendy but foam blocks work fine....
that all i can think of off hand--PM me if you want more
the Pathfinder with a solo load ready to push off---