C-Forum

canoe-camping and fishing on class I and class II rivers and on lakes. Looking for a royalex hull for weight and for durability on rocky streams. So far I've been using an Old Town Discovery 169 which has many virtues (stability, room for gear/kids, durability), but is quite a beast (heavy, cumbersome). I plan to keep it, but need a second boat so wife, two small kids, & gear can go together. I'm hoping to find a boat that handles reasonably well on the river and still performs fairly well on flatwater. I know it's hard to find a multi-purpose hull that will do both, but I want to come as close as I can. I'm hoping to find something used, but am willing to buy new if necessary. I'd appreciate any/all opinions. Thanks!

check out Mohawk Canoes .com

For class I-II and lakes only, I would stay away from a WW built boat with a lot of rocker. Maybe look at a Discovery 158. Or if you will have two boats for gear distribution, look at a shorter (and lighter) boat like the Mohawk Sport 14.

Lake paddling sucks with a canoe that has enough rocker for III+ whitewater. You can take those big lake canoes on more than I-II as well.

Hi,

I would agree with the two previous posts. The Mohawk 17 Intrepid looks about right.

I think you are going to find that once you get used to a good Royalex boat, you will want to dump the Disco. They are just so heavy and wet. They also don't last was well as Royalex canoes. While I am not a big fan of the Old Town Tripper (17'2" Royalex expedition canoe), if you could sell the Disco and buy a used Tripper, you will be happier.

One 17' and one 16' boat in the family might make more sense than a pair of identical canoes. The 16' is bound to be nicer in whitewater day trip mode.

The 17' Old Town Royalex Penobscot is a good choice, too. More speed than the Tripper.

Roy

a Dagger Caption that I use for whitewater. It's a hoot, but would be miserable on a lake and a bit unstable to the young 'uns. I'll use it for day trips on the Hiwassee with my 4 yr old, though. I'm thinking 1.5 to 2 inches of rocker is all I'd want for my canoe/camping and fishing boat. I've seen several used Discovery 158's for sale, but haven't checked them out, thinking they'd be PE and heavy. If there's a royalex one, that might be good. I really want something around 16 ft long for room and tracking on the lake. I think the 158 is 15'8" so that's getting pretty close.

Mohawks Intrepid 16 is what I take out on the lake for fun and fishing. It even does great on the hiwasee with first timers on they're own. Very supper duper stable and fast.

If you see an Mad River Explorer 16 in your searches have a look at it.
It is the "pick up truck" of canoes, does everything well, but fills no exclusive niche.
As it is an older established line you might find one in old, thicker, royalex, faded and scratched, but solid, especially if the owner established bang plates. It will do grade 3, track on a flat water lake, has good stability, all of these at an average + level.
It has been pushed aside in the market place by some new ideas in canoes but that'll probably help you with the price.
As it has been used as a tripping boat you might find it with accessories:
wheels, spray deck, floatation.
Good luck

(Oops, it is aMad River Explorer- corrected)

We have some Intrepids in the fleet and I think they are more on the WW side of the compromise - if I was spending much time on flat water i'd be interested in something a little more flat water performing - Mohawk Nova? MR Explorer?

Ok, I'll go totaly an other route. My choice would be a Hellman prospecter in duralite , these boats are super tought and realy light.
Have a look, http://www.hellmancanoes.com/hellman-canoes.html
I have the Slocan and it work realy well on all kind of water but a little more prone to windage than the prospector. You wont find a beter boat!

When I was doing similar research I compiled this short-list:

Make Model length width weight rocker
Bell Yellowstone 15'6" 35 63 3"/2"
Bell Chestnut Prospector 16' 33.5 65 2.5"
Old Town Appalachian 16' 35 67 yes
Wenonah Rogue 16' 35.25 66 3"
Esquif Mistral 16' 35 58 3.5"
Esquif Prospecteur 15'11" 35 65 4.5"/4"
Esquif Presage 15'11" 35 70 2.75"

COMMENTS:
I liked the Mistral stats because of its light weight and REI had them on sale @ the time.
I own a Bell Wildfire [which I love], which has a similar hull to the Yellowstone. But you might need a longer boat.
The only boat on the list I have seen used is the OT Appa. I have heard good things about it.
I am a big fan of Mohawk, but without dealers it is hard to demo their line. You can find them used however, and they make good boats.

+1 on the Bell Chestnut prospector, I paddle it and it is a realy nice 16' boat. But if I had a choice, I would stay away from RX. If you don't plan on doing a lot of ww, you could easily go with a much lighter boat, like the Hellman I pointed out above and the Mistral from Esquif, that said, if you plan on outfiting the boat with Drings and tigh straps and other glue in accessories, i'm not sure how easy it is in the Mistral being Twintex... a Kevlar boat goes a long way if you are relatively carefull. you can run some ww with it and not having to cary the weight is a plus, espacialy if your wife will be using it alone with the kids!!

http://wenonah.com/products/template/pr ... php?IID=29

I'd suggest a We-no-nah Cascade. It's a wilderness tripper, which means it's good for everything from big lakes to class III. Prospectors are also good, with the family a 17' will hold everyone and still be good on the rivers. NovaCraft having the most seaworthy version with more flare than the others.




http://www.novacraft.com/canoe_pros17.htm

I own a esquif prospector and would highly recomend it for you. I've owned other 16'ers and carried alot more. In comparisson the esquif is substantially lighter weight than other plastic 16'ers. I can't speak for the durability yet, even tho I've owned the boat for a few years, I only use it a couple times a year. I use it mostly for camping trips. It hauls weight with no issues. It has a fair amount of rocker but it's still resonably fast. I use it on lakes and up to class 4 and everything in between. It's not the most stable boat for a 16'er but it sounds like you're an experienced boater, it wont be any issue for you. It's surly worth a look before you make a purchase. And no, I have no relationship with esquif.

You have to love manufacturer's sense of humor sometimes. For instance, here's Esquif telling us the rocker on their Prospector:

11,4 cm (11.4") bow
4 1/2 cm (4 1/2") stern

Personally, as a man who measures in inches, I really want to see a 11.4" rockered bow. Sounds like a fun boat. But, as someone a little educated in metric conversions, I have to wonder how 11.4 cm = 11.4" and how 4.5 cm = 4.5 inches. I guess the "new" math I was taught at school is really outdated by now.

Sounds like a Howler!