Canoe choice

[MJC88]

So I've recently moved to the east coast and we're currently living near the tweed river. I'd like to get out on the river on a canoe for recreational paddling, fishing and camping. Will be a mixture of solo, two adult and loading 2 young kids in the middle.

I've found a place that has two canoes that I'm interested in on special for the same price @ 1299. One being the Mad River Journey 154 and the other being the Mad River Adventure 16. My head says go for the Adventure but my heart says the Journey. I think it's the traditional open Canadian style of the Journey that I'm attracted to, a "proper" canoe with a blank canvas that can be customised to suit, can go solo but also has plenty of open room for additional passengers and gear.

The Adventure on the other hand is a bit of a hybrid between canoe and kayak, it has front and rear seats with backrest, third bench seat in middle, drink holders, storage areas and can accept a electric motor with its flat transom. So on paper this has some really nice "family friendly" features.

If anyone who has some experience with either of these canoes, or canoing in general can offer their two cents I'd appreciate it. Plan to see the two on Wednesday, I'm hoping seeing them in the flesh side by side will help with the decision!

 

[MJC88]

To add another one in the mix there's a second hand Old Town Saranac 146 XT on gum tree for same price including two paddles and pfds. Hmmm

 

[MongooseDownUnder]

I have a Journey and find it pretty good. I find it works great with the kids (2 and 7) and I can paddle it on my own with no problems. I even use it for fishing along the Swan river with plans to do a long distance trip down the Blackwood river at some point. The only thing I have changed at this stage is replacing the seats with cane ones.


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[rurik]

I am a big fan of Wobbygongs. They are near bomb proof (seen one fly off a trailer do a full flip and only get scratches) and a great canoe for kids to learn in.


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[barefoot dave]

X10 for the Wobby. We love em at work. 8-10years getting smashed around all day. in 2011 we had a few wrapped around a tree. Literally wrapped around! peeled them off an with a heat gun brought back 4-5 to servicable condition. Brilliant!! They are super stable but have shallow rocker. But by jeez, you can load them high.
You might do well to check out Roscoes canoes (the shop) at the Gabba. They are going out of business and have some good boats for a good price. Sorry can't offer an opinion on the boats you talked about.

 

[rurik]

Who do you work for Barefoot Dave?


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[vanNek]

X10 for the Wobby. We love em at work. 8-10years getting smashed around all day. in 2011 we had a few wrapped around a tree. Literally wrapped around! peeled them off an with a heat gun brought back 4-5 to servicable condition. Brilliant!! They are super stable but have shallow rocker. But by jeez, you can load them high.
You might do well to check out Roscoes canoes (the shop) at the Gabba. They are going out of business and have some good boats for a good price. Sorry can't offer an opinion on the boats you talked about.

Sadly Barefoot Dave, Rosco has closed. Retired.....



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[vanNek]

Sadly Barefoot Dave, Rosco has closed. Retired.....



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Id!iot read all the post before quoting. Sorru mate.

If you find a Rosco Chief! Grab it... but it don't ever sell it! Royalex is indestructible!


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[Qually]

If you can get a canoe light enough so you can hoist it up onto your shoulders, it opens up lot's of possibilities. For me there are 2 types of canoe categories now. Hoist able and non hoistable. Even if you are going to go out with another person, unless you load the car together in the beginning, a heavy canoe will be a major hassle.

 

[barefoot dave]

Rurik, PM sent

 

[MJC88]

Cheers for your input all. I ended up getting the Old Town Saranac 146 off gumtree, picked it upon Friday and went on its maiden voyage on the weekend. Love it! Think it will be a good size for our current needs, we had 3 adults in it and could of had our toddler in it too. It came with two double blade paddles which seemed quite efficient but water tended to run down the shaft and into the canoe. Will be putting a couple of traditional single blades on my Wishlist forsure. Unfortunety I was too eager to get her in the water I forgot my phone so no pics this time. It's not the lightest weighing in at just under 36kgs but I think with a bit of practice of loading and unloading solo it will be doable. Really digging this mode of transport and look forward to many adventures to come in the future.