Hi guys I am newbie and need some help

Hi I just joined here. How is everyone doing?

I am thinking of buying a Coleman Ram x15 15 year old canoe on ebay for 357.00 euros. Actually i won the bid, i am currently living in Germany so I have to pay in euros. Well anyone, the pics make the canoe look good. Is this model from so long ago good? he says its in very good condition and pics look so. we are planning to go pick it up on Sat but wondering what you all have to say back home about this. i know I paid a lot for it, but to get American made goods here is quite difficult.

First off, is this model good, second is this age of a canoe a rat trap? is this canoe able to be stored outside in wintertime or summertime with some kind of cover as I dont have a garage for it. Will storing it outside during winter with say some make shift galvanize cover protect it? But basically, is this age of a canoe made by coleman a good choice its about 70lbs. thanks.

The Coleman RAM-X is good canoe for general use. I had one some years ago and it took more then it's fair share of abuse. The canoe is very stable and does not roll easy.

The drawback with these canoes is that they are heavy and it is good idea if you have 2 people if you are going to pack the canoe on top of a car. This gets old fast and we ended purchasing a used trailer for towing the canoe around when we could.

For 357 Euros, you really can't go wrong and will get many years of use from the RAM-X.

As for storing outside, we just covered the canoe in a large tarp and it was fine though summer and -40F winters.

On a related note, Coleman no longer manufactures canoes, they sold this division off to Pelican Canoes.

If you want more info, head over to Paddling.net. This link takes you directly to the reviews of the canoe. I occasionally hang out in the forums on the website there and find that there is a lot of good info on canoeing in general.

I have had one of these for many years. As others have said, they are very stable once you get out on the water, but will feel a little tippy at first. The canoe is a little heavy but nearly indestructable, and holds up well when occasionaly bashed against a rock. As with any plastic or polymer, you should not store it in direct sunlight. The cold will not hurt the canoe if it is safely stored elevated off the ground and covered with a tarp.

Hi Guys

Thank you all so much for this wealth of information. My husband was about to murder me when he realized I had bid on this canoe. We have a Zodiac 340 inflatable boat and he said we didnt need any more boats. But I love the feeling of a canoe and the peace and quiet it gives when out on the water. Back homein Oklahoma I used to do a lot of float trips and missed that so much. I have been looking for a canoe for years, this kind in particular and I just stumbled upon it on german ebay. The fellar bought it off a US soldier who was stationed here. I actually had one back in Oklahoma and yeah, its a monster to load on and off a car. It will be two of us so I think it will be ok. The side of the Canoe does not say Pelican but Coleman, made in Texas, USA so perhaps its older than 15 years? It looks really good. Let me see if i can find pics of it for you pros.

let me see if pics will load,

Zodiac, Very, nice canoe!. It is in pristine condition and is more then worth the investment.

For me, seeing that canoe evokes sentimental memories of many days and weeks of paddling the lakes in our old Coleman RAM-X and I am sure that you too will also have many memorable trips with your canoe.

Thank you guys. The fellar who had it on auction said he bought it at one year old from a Soldier. then he has only used it about 6 times and it has been in his garage for the past years, in all totalling 15 years including the year old from the soldier. I cant wait to get it. I have always loved canoes and especially the coleman brand. I had a fiberglass coleman back in Oklahoma and I used to do many float trips which were the BOMB. Since I moved to Germany I have been longing to go back in a canoe. They have some funky stuff here and I dont like kyacks at all.

I am glad you canoe pros see what you see cuz that makes me feel confident on the find.

Now my next stupid question, i was at the home DIY store equivalent to Home Depot or Lowes etc. I wnat to build my own trolly or slip wheels. Can you tell me how? I saw the bare wheels and not sure what piece of piping or tubing i need. I bought three garden plastic stools that is elevated off the ground which I will use to rest it on with some foam or styro between the gunwhale and the stools. Then I want to get some home made canoe wheels made. Any ideas? I am a pretty good DIY type of gal.

Nice find! You can tell it wasn't used for whitewater...

I googled 'canoe trolley' to see what they are, and here's one on Amazon.

Sue

There are several DIY canoe dolly/trolley/cart plans via a Google search.

Are you sure you want to go this route though as there are many canoe carts for almost any price range. For example, we have a cart similar to this one here that we picked up second hand for $40.00. I am sure if you looked on Ebay, there would probably be some that will fill your needs. Also you can search on the Paddling.net classifieds section.

Hi Sue

I dont want to buy one, but I can use this pic to try to make one for the canoe. I will pick it up on Sat and we will go to a river called Blue Adria and do a float. I cant wait. my pommies as in Pomeranians will love it and so will I

Pomeranian river dogs! I love it.

Nice cart, I can actually make that one up quite easily. Didnt really want one but Husband does not know about canoes much so he is thinking it will be hard to transport it. I told him no, but if I can have something to ease his concerns it may make our boating trip better. I will keep checking ebay here. Remember I am in Germany so I cant get everything you can get there on those ads. I have to hope for ebay or some other local sources. thanks

my babies go everywhere with us and they love the boat, and love water. Soon as they see their life jackets they come running to mommy to get it put on lol. They do not bounce around in the boat they normally go to sleep

A canoe trailer is a great invention - carrying a heavy caonoe for 200 meters isn't fun.

With a trailer, you can also stack most of your luggage in the canoe, so you don't have to do multiple trips for loading and unloading. The trailer can (usually) be packed reasonably flat and just come along on the trip without much trouble.

I'm interested in a DYI canoe trailer project myself. I'm targeting bigger wheels than shown here, though - big wheels run much easier over roots and rocks.

My goal is to be able to hitch my canoe+trailer it to my bike. No, I'm not kidding: There are lots of really nice waterways where the obvious canoe landing sites has a very nice dirt road all the way down to the water - but that road is blocked for cars. Being able to park at the gate and wheel or bike all my gear plus canoe from there down to the water vastly expands my options.

I am actually blessed with multiple public ramps that allows us to bring a boat inches from the water line. The canoe will not be a problem because we will bring the car right at the end of the ramp and then demount it. We do not have a trailer hitch on the car, its about 1,500 euros nearly 2000 US and I aint gonna spend this now cuz huby will be giving us this car in two years so it makes no sense to invest in a hitch now. next car, for sure we will get a hitch cuz then we dont have the hassles with deflating and inflating.

I actually just got back from DIY store nd bought a plant of nice wood about 140cm long and 20cm deep and 2cm thick, with that I will cut it in two and and scred it together, then I got some strange but dang strong wheels mounted with metal brackets which I must screw on to the boards and they will remain solid and two little hooks I will put on the sides of the board and that will be the harness connectors. When it is finished I will show you guys. That is WHEN or if we have to pull it say about 25 meters from the water

Well I got the canoe, its a tank al right, but in excellent condition. We spent 5 hours on the lake with it. i found it a bit difficult to maneuver but still fun. it was a battle keeping it straight. is that normal? My other Coleman was 18 foot fiberglass and I cant recall this much work. But it was a blast however. We were the envy of many people in their tiny narrow over loaded canoes. lol. I found it rocked a lot too. How can I stabilize it with DIY method?

- It's hard to keep straight if you have 2 different strength people. This'll normalize with time as you learn each other's tempo. I'd put the stronger person in back.

- If you have items in the canoe with you, balance the load better. Second, stop moving around so much! Canoes rock. It shouldn't be too much. If it is, chances are one of the two above are the problem. The only other DIY is to make an outrigger, in which case, welcome to the South Seas!

I was the weaker one and I was in the back, he was the stronger and tallker and bigger in general and he was in front. So perhaps we will try this weekend and see if its any better with him behind. He is the one who kept moving his booty and causing it to rock. also coming out of it ws difficult cuz it rocked like hello. I suppose this is not a boat you can put a little anchor in and jump off for a swim is it`? Getting back on will surely tip it, wont it?

In terms of the rocking, all canoes handle differently and once you get more familiar with the RAM-X, it will soon seem to be less rockier.

As for keeping the canoe tracking straight, I agree with MDinana, your husband should be in the back and he can then adapt his stronger paddling strokes to match yours. This should allow the canoe to track in a more straighter line.

It takes a while to work out how the rythm and teamwork of a canoe. It is a good idea to swap places to see what works out best.

Yes, the strongest and heaviest in the back is the usual configuration. But don't take it for granted that this is the best solution for you and your husband. Try out different configuration and see what works and what doesn't.

A redistribution of weight can also get you there: If you want to continue to be in the captain's positon (to the rear) then put a rock or a couple of gallons of water behind you. You may also shift the luggage around.

The goal is to trim the canoe so it is ever so slightly deeper in the back than in the front. It is much easier to steer. If your husband now applies all his muscle power then you just steer while he does the propulsion... (As long as he is well behaved, that is - I have no problem wrecking the steering of my wife from that position if I want to. But then I'm about 60 pounds heavier and twice as strong as her... But if I'm well behaved and the canoe trim is good then it's no problem for her to steer)

Happy padling!

Myself, I usually sit in the back - that's the best place to put me with my big ego. (On the other hand, I'm not only stronger and heavier, but I'm also a better paddler. Not that it matters much on the family oriented splashes we do now - no challenge at all, except to keep the kids fed and warm ...).

thanks for the advice. What dou you mean by steer? What must I do paddle or what do I do to steer? I thought the bow had to be deepest in the water that is why I put him up front. We didnt have any gear more than some drinks and sandwiches. Should I put some extra weight in the boat next trip? Thansk for taking the time.

Now the next thing is making a home made outrigger cuz I dont want this to tip. the water we go in in the Rhine River in Germany and belive me, its DEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP, did I say deep? soon as you leave the bank you are talking about 20 feet right there and then it gets deeper to about 50 or even more as big ships travel there. So I dont want to tip there at all.

I will try this for sure on the weekend and see waht happens. Now when floating down a moving river, does this same principle apply? I remember my coleman fiberglass used to be so stable I could stand in it and row. Will not even try to do that with this one. I wonder if the keel in this canoe makes it less stable?

Keels usually enhance hull stability (rolling). The contour of the hull (in cross section) is often the culprit.

The first part of your paddling stroke is normal. Somewhere between a halfway and a almost finished stroke you twist the blade sideways. It now acts as a rudder, allowing you to steer. Push it sideways. Normally that would be away from the canoe, but any move that gets you where you want to go is permitted.

If you need to steer the other way you may also just put the paddle on the other side of the canoe.

Do a quick google video search for "canoe J stroke" or "canoe L stroke" and you should have plenty of ideas to different things you can try out with your oar. (One example here, just the first random google link I found: http://www.redrockstore.com/Jstroke/index.html )

Paddling is teamwork. In a perfect world, the effort of front and back paddler is balanced so you go straight. In the real world, the back padler has to compensate some way or another. The front padler dictates the rhythm of the strokes and the rear padler is the one that steers.




No, it's the other way around, the rear should be deeper or the boat becomes impossible to steer. We're not talking about excesses here - an inch deeper in the rear than in the front is plenty. Maybe as little as half an inch. Try it out and get a feel for what works best for you.



Possibly. If you keep your husband in front, absolutely. If he goes to the rear extra weight probably isn't necessary.


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I can understand that ... but there's really no reason for you to tip unless you deliberately push the boundaries. Nevertheless, with all the traffic on Rhine I'd stick close to the river bank.

You mean that T bar that is in the middle that should actually be a third seat?

I can understand that ... but there's really no reason for you to tip unless you deliberately push the boundaries. Nevertheless, with all the traffic on Rhine I'd stick close to the river bank.

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You live and you learn. I wonder how I used to paddle so well in my fiberglass without ever tipping or it being unstable? I often used to be able to stand and row as well. I dare not do this in this one.

I will follow your advice and give it a try on sunday. thanks much

Different body shapes behave VERY different in the water. A totally flat bottom gives you very high initial (primary) stability. This feels rather safe. The downside is that if you push the boundaries it will flip instantly, with little warning.

A round bottom has very little initial stability. Every little move makes the canoe tumble sideways. This feels rather unstable - but quite often a round (pear shaped) bottom will give you great secondary stability. I.e. there is little resistance to small tilts, but a very large resistance to bigger tilts.

It takes a while to get used to the more "lively" response of a canoe with poor initial stability - but such a canoe may be just as resistant to tipping as a flat bottomed canoe.

And yes, there are highly unstable round bottom canoes out there... but those are typical a special design for experienced racing paddlers (Those boats are very thin and long, with as little resistance as possible).

Have a look here... http://www.redrockstore.com/canoes/characteristics/stability.htm

and here: wikipedia