I need advice on buying a tandem canoe for.......

[dirk]

I am considering buying a used (10 year old) Old Town Tripper (17 ft). Next trip will probably be the San Juan with the family (2 adults, 2 small kids). Any thoughts about this boat on class I-II rivers?

Thanks,
Dirk

[roaring-riverman]

about it. I wasn't familiar with that hull material, but the guy educatated me a bit. Sounds like tough stuff that wears at least as well as Royalex. He said the boat retails for $2K and it would cost about $500 to ship it from Nelson BC to TN. For now, I'll keep my eye out for a used one in the states. Sounds like a sweet boat.

[John Coraor]

Dirk:

An Old Town Tripper should be quite serviceable as a WW expedition canoe, capable of multi-day trips in Class I-II water such as you find on the Utah portions of the San Juan.

John

[chriscanoe]

I will have t chime in on the OCA. While it is a little slow on the lakes, you will find it to be great for flat water rivers, class II and
III rivers. It can be used as a river tripper, which has been my main use for it with my 2 daughters. One of my paddeling buddies even started out with an OCA as a solo whitewater boat. worked good for him. Keep looking on Craigslist and one will pop up.

[driftwood]

Nova craft prospector is the way to go
Wenonah Rouge is great but a little more whitewater oriented
have used both on 2 week or longer trips with out resupply on class 3 and lots of flat.

The discovery is a horrible boat that is horrible made, it is not Rolex though it is made to look like it and as a result the hull will oil can quickly. avoid it at all cost

I agree that canyons stink on the flats though I find pocket canyons do pretty well but will likely not carry what you need.

[Einar]

Old Town Tripper (rylx) shines well on carrying large loads (1000 lbs) on Grade 3 rivers in the Arctic, there is always a demand for them to do that. An older model Tripper will last a long time, mine (resold) has been on several expeditions. You can bring the kitchen sink if you paddle a Tripper.
Pluses: built like a tank, diifficult to equal in weight carried/to-length & weight of hull and, at 17 feet, it is a know quantity to a pilot. Good resell, I paid $1300 used, it has sold twice again for...$1300, passed hand to hand, no questions. Now 18 yrs old, hauled a family of 4 on the missouri last summer. Confidence building fi you have kids and dogs on board, good stability
Cons: You might get tired hauling that thing on and off a car rack on the weekend, even for grown man, and eventually it gathers dust. Get a set of wheels. It's qualities diminish it's ability to manuever on a day tripping, a quality glass hull might be more fun and still be stable for a family.
A good boat when suited to it's use.