Hey CANOEDOGS, what kind of canoe are you using? I have been thinking about getting a solo canoe for use when moose hunting, as my knees are getting too bad now to walk the cutover and burns.

Thanks,

Mike

Swamp..it's a 16 foot Bell Prospector--


i'm sure Swamp knows but for the rest of you the Prospector is the pickup truck of canoes.several brands were made in Canada,mine is a copy of the most well know one made by the Chestnut Company 100 years ago.it's just the right size and shape to carry heavy loads--like a quartered out moose--and still be stable on bad water.mine is made of Kevlar and at 37 pounds i can carry it anywhere.to use it solo i remove the rear seat which is replaced with a short thwart and paddle from the bow seat faceing "backwards"..the stern now being the bow.this puts me more to the center of the boat for better control. i got a full size canoe so i can paddle with my wife or the East Coast Buddys when they come out.i got all wood trim and seats not just because i like the classic look but it's quiet to paddle.


the solo set up with the seats changed around--bow view..




and just to compare boats this is the Old Town Path Finder i used for some 20 years..57 pounds and about 14 feet made from a plastic called Royalex..a very tough canoe.

Two questions:
1. How tough?
2. How much?

-Blast, even more jealous.

Blast--the Pathfinder is a brick..it sort of paddles like one too and these flat bottom "sportsman" canoes earned the nickname of Pusher..not much glide between strokes but they can be bent just about in half and pulled back into shape and the floor stomped flat again..the gunwhales of course would need repair but you could get back home again with the clever use of some duct tape..Royalex is soft and a run-in with a sharp rock will leave a small curl of plastic at the end of the scratch.round boulders and logs don't seem to bother it.i have fiberglass "grunch" pads at bow and stern that take up much of the damage if i hit something.the woodwork needs care and Oldtown no longer offers this boat with wood trim but the plastic is well done...price??i payed $600 for mine in 1985 but check Oldtowns site for an updated price.
the Bell Prospector was $2500..handmade with a craftmans touch to the woodwork..Ash and Teak..Kevlar picks up alot of scratches but is light and tough,i don't think you could fold it over a rock in the rapids and stomp it back into shape--at 37 pounds i can carry it over any portage--so far--
so your thinking about another canoe???..



heres the Prospector on a bog portage.a light canoe is much safer as you don't have the stress of hauling something like a 85 pound aluminum boat.i made this carry with my 57 pound Pathfinder and at the end set it down with a "clunk" rather that just rolling it off my shoulders and setting it down like this one.

37 pounds to carry makes up for a lot of issues on the water... Though at that price I guess I'll stick to my kayak.

-Blast