Aluminum or fiberglass canoe?

[cruisertoy]

I honestly would not rule out an aluminum canoe. I own two old Grummans. Almost indestructable. If you leave them out in the weather for years they will oxidize and be messy, but even though mine are from the 70's they don't put off much black. If your going with something other than Aluminum check some long term feedback on the material you are choosing. I've seen many of the Polyethylene and ABS boats warped just from sitting on top of a truck in direct sun for too long or out on the lawn for that matter. Materials are always improving though. I work with injected molded plastics and vacuum form 8' square pieces of different plastics every day.

The fiberglass canoe I had before my two used aluminum ones could not handle the abuse of river and rock use. I had to carry a large glass repair kit on every trip and spent several hours on a few trips fixing instead of paddling. Glass is fine for large lake water stuff, but it doesn't dent, it cracks. I wrapped my first aluminum canoe around a rapid on the white river in New Hampshire and bent it in half. Popped 30 rivits out of the Keel. We were able to get it to the side and smash it back into shape, put a piece of duct tape over the rivit holes and make it to our vehicle. The glass canoe would have been splinters.

 

[Cackalak Han]

Thanks Kerry. I'll look into the racks. With just a roof rack, will it hang over the front quite a bit?

Also, heard back from the seller. Royalex and mid-80's model. Says in good condition. What would you pay for something like that, assuming it's in good condition?

 

[Cackalak Han]

Cruisertoy, you're notmaking thus any easier!!! thanks for the input.

 

[kerry]

Thanks Kerry. I'll look into the racks. With just a roof rack, will it hang over the front quite a bit?

Also, heard back from the seller. Royalex and mid-80's model. Says in good condition. What would you pay for something like that, assuming it's in good condition?

If it's been stored inside and the exterior vinyl is not badly oxidized, I'd say the asking price is a good deal. The center air bag sells new for around $100, the 2 end bags are probably $50 apiece new. The PFD's are $50 each, the throw bag $40 and the paddles, if they are of good quality (and I can't tell enough from the picture) are probably $50 each.
The boat has knee pads and d-rings which are also worth something. It also looks like the rear seat has been replaced.
I paid $500(as I recall) for a Dagger Dimension with air bags, 2 cheap paddles, airbags and thigh straps and I jumped on it. The Explorer is a more commonly available boat, but if I were you and could afford it, I'd go for it.

 

[NikonRon]

Ron;
Can you elaborate on your views about the advantages of Kevlar. I've got a Wenonah 18' Jensen in foam core fiberglass with gelcoat. Weight is 54 pounds.
I can't justify the additional $$ for kevlar. Not sure what the weight savings would be in Kevlar but I'm happy with the fiberglass.

The kevlar is more abrasion resistant and would save you around 6 to 8 lbs. I had a Wenonah Advantage solo 17 ft. and I think it was 42 lbs. It did have the wood gunnels thats why it was abit heavier. I paid $1500.00 for it new in 1995. I'm looking for a used Minnesota II tandem now.
I had an Old Town royalex tandem back in the 80's and it weighed 80+ lbs., thats heavy when your handling and putting it on top of a rig by yourself, thats why I'm for the superlight boats, every pound counts to me. Big difference too if you are having to portage. Ron

 

[NikonRon]

Ok, so no aluminum. So for a budget of $500 (MAX. Would like to spend less? But not at the cost of quality). Is this a good choice?

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=7627507&cat=196&lpid=0

From what I can see of that Mad River it is a Royalex and you can't go wrong for that price. I never liked an aluminum canoe because of the noise factor. I try to move along in stealth mode being as quite as possible, you see alot more wildlife. Ron

 

[kerry]

The kevlar is more abrasion resistant and would save you around 6 to 8 lbs. I had a Wenonah Advantage solo 17 ft. and I think it was 42 lbs. It did have the wood gunnels thats why it was abit heavier. I paid $1500.00 for it new in 1995. I'm looking for a used Minnesota II tandem now.
I had an Old Town royalex tandem back in the 80's and it weighed 80+ lbs., thats heavy when your handling and putting it on top of a rig by yourself, thats why I'm for the superlight boats, every pound counts to me. Big difference too if you are having to portage. Ron

I'm not sure about the abrasion resistance but I agree on the rest. I just think that most manufacturers could produce high tech glass boats pretty close in weight to a kevlar boat but not quite as strong. I think many mfg's probably build kevlar boats because they can command a higher price due to the reputation of kevlar, whereas I'm happy with the glass boat that is close in weight to a kevlar. Repairing a glass boat is not that hard and if something happens to seriously damage a glass boat, a similar boat in kevlar would probably have required some repair also.
Of course, racers want to reduce every pound possible so kevlar or graphite would be their choice. But I don't think that the choices of a top end racer necessarily translate well down to the recreational boater.

 

[case]

We've got a MadRiver Adventure 14 that we really like. Royalex is great if you don't intend to baby your canoe, on or off the water.
It's a bit heavy at around 80lbs, but it's being used to teach a couple of newbies. The design is very stable and is great for flatwater, class I/II (that's as far as I've taken it), fishing and everthing else I've tried so far.

I'm a fan of the older aluminum styles, but this one is quickly converting me.

 

[kerry]

Is the Adventure 14 solid polyethylene?

 

[off.track]

Ok, so no aluminum. So for a budget of $500 (MAX. Would like to spend less? But not at the cost of quality). Is this a good choice?

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=218&ad=7627507&cat=196&lpid=0

look at craigslist in your area and check it often.. i see killer deals all the time around here.. it's pretty standard to see a decent boat for 300 or even a good/great boat for under 750.

 

[snipecatcher]

I paid $300 for my 17' aluminum. I love the nostalgia of the old school aluminum. One of these days, I'll have one of those ultra slim, quarter mile long boats that weighs as much as an empty styrafoam cup, but for now, the aluminum works well, and is maintenance free. If I knock out a rivet, a touch of JB weld permanently fixes it. We use it for racing, bow fishing, and duck hunting. When we did the Texas Water Safari in June, the boat weighed about 200 lbs, and when we had to portage over dams, I understood why everyone had kevlar canoes, lol. We did, however, see a team knocked out of the race in the first couple of miles due to a hole in their $2000 canoe. Due to our inexperience, we were bouncing our canoe off practically everything, with only a couple dents and scratches to show for it. Nothing wrong with aluminum. Plastic is tough, but it sure is heavy. I personally wouldn't have one of the plastic boats.
-Dan

 

[case]

Is the Adventure 14 solid polyethylene?

I believe so, but could be wrong.

We took it down a few good rivers later in the summer and it really tracks well and shrugs off damage quite well. It's heavier than other canoes, but it's been great to teach my wife and kid.

I broke the rear backrest "hinge" while moving it from one vehicle to another and am disappointed at the lack of interest MadRiver apparently has in selling me a replacement. They have yet to answer any of my emails.

The seat and backrest are very comfortable. I've fished from it for hours and a friend and I took it down the Chattooga River (not the one where you hear banjos, the other one) one day during a steady downpour, dodging trees and sandbars most of the way.

 

[kerry]

am disappointed at the lack of interest MadRiver apparently has in selling me a replacement. They have yet to answer any of my emails.

Mad River used to be a small family owned company. They are now, like Old Town, part of a much larger corporation and seem to exhibit the usual traits of corporate bureaucracy. They have failed to answer my e-mails too about their nice tilt up seats.

 

[6Pins]

wood and canvas.

x2 on that. I was hoping to build a CLC Nymph over the winter, but I'm probably going to end up moving and loosing workspace.

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/canoes/traditional_canoes/nymph-strip-planked-pack-canoe.html

 

[BigAl]

Is the Adventure 14 solid polyethylene?

I have this boat and wish I had bought another. It rides really low in the water and is tippy??? We drag bottom were most other boats float on thru