Recommend me a canoe (2 adults + 2dogs)

[kerry]

The shortest canoe I've used on a multi-day camping trip for my wife, daughter and I was a BlueHole Starburst which is slightly over 16'. But, my daughter was small enough to sit on a seat I made behind the stern paddler. If the weather was other than mid-summer, that boat would be too small to hold the required gear in my opinion. My favorite multi-day Class II or less camping canoe for the 3 of us is my Mohawk 181/2' WWIII. Plenty of room.
It's not impossible to paddle a 18' canoe solo, but you'd want a center seat to do that I think.
I would definitely say, don't consider anything less than 17' for multi-day camping trips for 3 people. I have some friends who paddled a 20' Old Town Tripper for camping trips with 2 adults and 2 kids. That's a big boat.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I've thought about just getting a 16 or 17 footer for now, and get a bigger boat in a few years. But that just seems silly. Maybe the 18.5 is the compromise I need. I'd just love to have a paddle in one, but the local Clipper dealer doesn't normally stock the MacKenzies.

Both kids are small now (4 years, and 4 months) but we'll need a bigger boat later.

The other aspect is, bigger boat, more weight. Trying to get an 18 or 20 footer off the car roof myself could be a chore!

 

[Lost Canadian]

Like many here, I'm looking for a family canoe.
Anybody have any advice?

Rob, considering you're from Ontario, I'm going to assume that you'll be hitting the hotspots, Algonquin, Killarney, Temagami, etc at some point. If you do that means lots of portaging, and weight may be a major consideration for you, especially with kids and gear. If it is and you want to get into a really nice ultra light you could always check out some used boats. I know the Portage Store in Algonquin routinely sells used canoes. They have 17' Kevlar Langford's, for around a grand. Some boats are in better shape then others, but, if you can get into a 17' Kevlar Langford for around $1000, hey that ain't too shabby.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Yeah.... Portaging with 2 younguns and all the gear, not even sure how you do that. Would probably take multiple trips.

Or, I've never used a cart but...

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_...older_id=2534374302700901&bmUID=1268428632601

Edit, and thanks for reminding me about Langford. They make a nice canoe too. The Northwind 17'10" would be nice.

 

[kerry]

My 18' foam core fiberglass Wenonah Jensen weights 54 lbs. My 18 1/2' solid fiberglass Mohawk WWIII Jensen must weigh around 65 or 70lbs. Wheeled carts are not permitted in BWCA. Don't know about the Canadian parks but I've never seen one up there.

 

[Lost Canadian]

Yeah.... Portaging with 2 younguns and all the gear, not even sure how you do that. Would probably take multiple trips.

Eeh, short one's wouldn't be much of a problem for ya, you just have to plan in advance so not to have to tackle these...

If you were to go somewhere like Killarney for instance, you could hit George, Killarney, and O.S.A lakes without a problem. The longest portage distance between those three lakes is about 450 meters, and I've seen lots of parents with their kids do them. A light canoe would just make things that much easier for ya.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Ordered a Swift Temagami on the weekend. Should be ready in about a month. I'm hoping to take a little trip just me and my boy before the bugs come out in May but... we'll see.

http://www.swiftcanoe.com/canoe/modern/temagami.htm

We ordered it in the Guide Fusion, so it's a Kevlar construction, but not as light as their ultra light layup, which we prefer for durability anyway. And went with a white gel coat. I'm not really sure about this...

I originally wanted green. My truck is green, trailer is green, green is nice, it's outdoorsy but... it's also kinda plain, and many cheap $500 plastic boats come in green. Thought it might get boring. I thought the white might look nice and "expo" of course. It also hides scratches better, and weathers well. But now I'm realizing that most rental boats are white.

We saw the Langford Hudson's Bay canoe, and it was really nice looking. We had thought to copy it.

http://www.langfordcanoe.com/news.php

We looked at some new Langfords. They are really nice looking boats for sure. The sales people put us off a bit though. Swift is family owned and run. One brother runs the boat building side, and another brother runs Algonquin Outfitters which has a fleet of 1000 boats they use for R&D. I think their boats end are a little tougher.

We did a lot of shopping. It was hard to justify the extra 500-1000 to shed 10-20 lbs on a boat. But ultimately... I actually pulled my back muscles trying to muscle a 70lb onto my shoulders. I'm sure with practice I could get better technique.

The Souris River boats were really nice and light, and seemed will made. Very modern looking. But they also seemed sorta fragile. I know they tout their epoxy system as being the strongest, but I'm talking about long term durability. They only have a thin clearcoat over the fiber. The Evergreen boats were nice and well made, but they were just not quite as "nice" as the Swift or Langfords, and not much less than a Swift anyway. I also looked at the Quessy boats, from Quebec, they actually build Langford's boats. But the Quessy seemed really cheap, and quite heavy, even in Kevlar. And finally looked at the Mad River Expedition 18 footer. Really nice boat, really well made, lots of room and the hull looked super fast, but just a little too much money for us, and probably just too much boat to solo.

 

[Chriscanoe]

That looks like a nice boat. Be careful with that kevlar!