Advice on used canoes

[lam396]

I have a couple leads on used canoes somewhat local to me (about 4 hr drive) and I wanted some opinions. One is a very lightly used Old Town Discovery 169 that comes with cheap paddles, a dolley, throw cushions, 3rd seat and a nice trolling motor mount for $650 + 4 hr drive. The other is a lightly used Mad River Explorer 16 in Royalex. Comes with nice wooden paddles, padded canoe seats that strap on and a 3rd seat for $650+ 4 hr drive. Then there is an Old Town Penobscot 16 RX local with 3rd seat for asking price of $1075 which I havent even made an offer on so I'm sure I could get him to come down. the 3rd seat is needed because these will be used tandom with my wife and 2 small kids. I like to do solo trips also though. My questions are, which one would be better for family camping trips, floating down ozark streams and fishing out of? My concern with the 16 footers is they will be a bit to small when the family is with me. And my concern with the Explorer is the semi v bottom on shallow Ozark river bottoms. I do like the idea of the royalex over poly though. The Penobscot would be nice because it's 30 min away and royalex but im concerned it won't be "stable" enough for confident fishing or with a couple kids in the boat.

Any thoughts on price or which one would be better? I would appreciate any comments cause I'm kind of lost at making a decision here with some many variables and I unfortuanatly suffer from paralysis by anlysis syndrome.

 

[BrandX]

Choose stability first then tough construction material second. You are better off with a boat the family will enjoy paddling and stability will be key. You are better off repairing a well used boat because it was fun to take out that to have a built like a tank boat that never gets used. kids like dogs will move around and rock the boat. since your wife will be in the front of the boat she can not see them move and anticipate the rocking actions. she will hate it.
Oh, and forget about the drive.

 

[lam396]

Thanks for the reply. Any thoughts on which is more stable? I have read mixed reviews on initial stablity of the Explorer but both the Explorer and Discovery should have plenty of secondary. (note that I have only paddled a rented Discovery). But knowing my kids, stability is certainly a concern!


I would love to forget about the drive but unfortunatly I have had little luck finding canoes in my local used market. With a 4 hr drive each way, thats a whole day I will have to devote and sometimes that's hard to do.

 

[Sea&Xc]

As said above the Disco 169 will be the most stable, durable and carry the most but it is heavy.

The MR Explorer is a great all around design for lakes, rivers with a variety of load. I don't believe MadRiver has changed the design much (I'm more familiar with the older ones) but there is a difference in the build quality as parent company (Confluence) has grown and kayaks have most of the company's attention. The Shallow V gives it better secondary stability which I think is more important than initial stability when you have kids and when you encounter rougher water. It's not unstable by any means but you'll feel the boat rock when you make the movements. Edging or tilting the hull in moving water is a big advantage is certain conditions that is hard to do in a flat wide bottom design.

The Penobscot is another great all around design. It's more touring focused than the Explorer, narrower with better glide. If you want to paddle more distance, more flat water I'd go for this one. If you'll do more floating, more river with light WW than I'd go Explorer.

I wouldn't worry about the kids accidently tipping the boat, they're too light. Mom and Dad (usually Dad) are the ones who'll dump it. Many newbies don't keep their hips loose which allows the boat to rock under them. If everyone keeps their head and shoulders over the center of the boat and allow the boat to roll with the waves, you won't have to worry about a swim. Also make sure the kids understand that they aren't allowed to stand and give them a paddle to get them involved.

I have a Wenonah Solo Plus RX which has been a great boat. Similiar class of canoe but much more touring oriented with a lot less capacity. I'm about 155 lbs and wouldn't recommend it for 2 200+ adults. I can paddle it solo and not get blown about. When the kids were little, wife in front, girls in middle, me in back for short day trips. Now it's me in the middle and a daughter in each end (7yo and 10 yo) unless we have the kayaks or paddleboard with us.

 

[lam396]

Thanks for all the replys. I decided on the Mad River Explorer 16. I came to the realization that even at 16'9" we would outgrow that very shortly with our kids along so it will require a second boat or a 18'+ canoe for us all to camp out of so being the shortest canoe didn't really matter. Ultimatly I chose the MR because of the royalex and being slightly lighter and it also came with much better paddles. As a bonus, I called up a buddy who lived in the area I was driving to pick it up to see if he wanted to meet for dinner and he said he was coming back home the following weekend and would be able to pick it up and deliver it to me! Bonus! I'll post a photo when I actually get it but we are already working on plans to take it out on its maiden voyage.