Anyone into big canoes?

[Dagger]

We probably take too much stuff on our camping trips and rather than cutting down on the stuff we "need", or hauling more than one canoe, our OCD has struck again, and we decided to look into buying a larger/longer canoe. The longest canoe we have at the moment is a 17' Wenonah Spirit II. We (2 adults and one teenager) like to travel at decent speeds and we don't have any small children on board, so we will take performance over stability. We looked into Wenonah's Minnesota II or 3, but my heart sort of beats for the Northstar Nothwind 20. Does anyone here have experience with that canoe? We paddle 90% lakes and the occasional (1+) to (2) river. and of course, the canoe should weigh no more than 60 pounds if possible.
Appreciate you guys weighing in with your own experiences paddling larger canoes. Cheers!

 

[sweeper]

https://www.sourisriver.com/quetico-185

I have a 17'r and like it a lot more then my 17' Spirit II

 

[Dagger]

Sweeper, I looked at the Souris River boats before. I like them, but I believe the interior cross ribs will interfere with kneeling, my preferred paddling style. I had an old style tuff weave Spirit II that had ribs like that. I loved the hull design but couldn't ever find a comfortable way to paddle it.
I am curious though. What specifically do you like on your 17' Quetico over the Spirit II?

 

[sweeper]

The Q17 is far more stable then the S II. It paddles very well even in broadside winds where I always had problems with the SII having to keep the nose mostly into the wind. I also find it faster than the S II.

Having said that they are 2 different boats. SII is Royalex and the Q17 is Kevlar and I also am find that i like the stiffer boats.

 

[Holmes375]

I've paddled the Northwind 18 but only for one day paddle. Just two of us with day kits and a picnic pack on a couple Colorado lakes. Bear in mind the NW18 is actually 18'-9" and the NW 20 is 20'-5".

My partner that day was an experienced tandem bow paddler, I took the stern even though I have little experience paddling tandem. I was surprised how maneuverable the boat was, undoubtedly her experience at the bow helped in this regard. We had fun pulling it along with extended side draws and moving it around like an enormous freestyle boat ) or at least our amateurish imitation of such). Since we were very light in the water we could really play with the big cruiser.

Being a solo boat guy I was astounded at the room in this boat and its stability. I'm not used to walking around in a canoe

Never tripped in anything like this boat thus cannot comment on loaded performance. But I would certainly be looking at the NW 18 if I were to do so. I'm a fan of Ted's boats thus biased toward them.

 

[Zac]

Most of my trips have been in Wenonahs. Mostly in the BWCA. I buy my canoes used and they are prolific on craigslist in the upper midwest.

I sit and switch 99% of the time.

I've paddled a 16' Adirondack, a couple older Wenonah 17's in fiberglass and kevlar, and a newer 17' royalex Spirit II in the last couple of years. I feel like the Spirit II is more stable and handles larger loads better but is slower on flat water than the other 17'ers.

Don't tell anyone, but in my experience a keeled 17'-class Alumacraft will handle more weight and do so faster over water than the 17' Wenonahs. Remember, that's just between us.

I am 215# and travel with a 96# labrador. A 1989 18'6" kevlar Wenonah Odyssey has really fit the bill these last couple of years. It is faster, lighter, and hauls more than the Spirit II. It is similar to the Minnesota II but with a higher bow. I have a neighbor who loves his 20' kevlar Minnesota III for triple-portage or better trips but I have never paddled one.

I see more Quetico's and Minnesota's in the BWCA than any others. I think commercial availability plays a role there. Plenty of Alumacrafts too...

If I had the money to buy a brand new ultralight tandem, I would instead buy a used canoe or two, a Zav or two, and a new LJ or two. My Odyssey cost me $1000USD and I've seen two others for sale on CL for about the same since.

If your weight limit is 60# you are probably looking at tougher layups and not the ultralights?

I believe that Wenonah's Flex-Core layups do not have ribs. My Odyssey does. Wenonah says their flex core Minnesota IIs weight 54# and 58# in Kevlar and Tuf-weave, repectively.

If money and availability were no issue, I would buy an 18'6" Swift Keewaydin (and a Shearwater) tomorrow. They offer 4 layups under 51# http://www.swiftcanoe.com/keewaydin-186

The Keewaydins, unlike the Wenonahs, have some rocker which I hear is useful when paddling rivers.

 

[memaquay]

20 feet of fun, 42 inches wide, my favorite paddling canoe.

 

[Dagger]

Thank you for your input, Guys.

The Spirit 2 I had (but sold because it was too heavy for me) was a1997 tuff-weave cross-rib with a teal gel-coat. Beautiful boat. Wenonah told me, it was made with their old style tuff-weave layup which was mostly fiberglass. My current Spirit II is Kevlar with white gel coat and weighs a bit over 50 pounds. The rest of my fleet consists of an old 16' Royalex Adventure, a light Royalex (10') Tupelo, a fiberglass Wenonah Rendezvous and a Kevlar Wenonah Prism.

A down-sides of west-coast living is the lack of diversity when it comes to used quality canoes. Over 85% of what I see on CL here are Coleman, OT or older, heavy fiberglass boats. I see some used (low end) Mad Rivers, and a variety of used Aluminum canoes, but I would put many of those in the scrap metal category because of how banged up they are. I have yet to see a used Swift. I think I recall seeing one Clipper and one Souris River over the years, both 16' (ish) tandems. If you find a lighter weight canoe around here, chances are its a Wenonah. I have a friend who occasionally orders a canoe from Swift. I love their canoes, but the price for their light-weights, plus shipping to the west coast is up there.

 

[Dagger]

Your photo just uploaded...beautiful wood canoe!

 

[yellowcanoe]

We have a SR Wilderness ( 18 feet) its comfy, not that fast, and maneuverable in moving water. You can put minicell over the ribs ( we do this in wood canvas canoes that have cedar ribs) to allow for comfortable kneeling.. It is a little more stable than our old Wenonah Odyssey ( 18.5 feet long) and beat up over 30 years.. The flat foam panel is not easy to fix ( it had an accident in a rapid in Wabakimi).. The SR rides over the rocks better..

We use both boats not only cause we have had a dog but occasionally have to carry a LOT of gear including mandated fire pans and toilets.

 

[Canotrouge]

Clipper Mackenzie 20 made right on the west coast of BC. A great big canoe that move pretty fast and can be made pretty light!! https://westerncanoekayak.com/mackenzie-20-canoe/
but won't be lighter than 70#....

 

[Dagger]

Nice boat but 30# (!) over same size Northstar. The Clipper Mackenzie is probably tuff as nails and it has a much larger payload, but it is simply too heavy for my uses, and too much for me to lift on and off the roof of my vehicle.

 

[Mason]

Clippers aren't known for their light weight. My Clipper WWIII (18'6") weighs 73 pounds in fiberglass, cross ribs. It paddles much better than it portages.

 

[Abenakiregion]

Here's one of my 20 footers. Unfortunately well north of 60 lbs.

 

[Holmes375]

Your photo just uploaded...beautiful wood canoe!

I'll second that!

 

[Dagger]

A nice wood canvas canoe like that is on my wishlist, but something more in the 15' range is what I have in mind there. A 15'er might fit the below 60# criterium again too...

 

[yknpdlr]

32 feet

 

[lowangle al]

I

 

[memaquay]

Weight is mostly in the mind. With big canoes, (and I'm not talking about 17 foot spirit, that's a small fry), you have to accept that you won't be portaging it for a mile. When we get older, the hardest part is getting it up, so if you can get some assistance with raising it, the rest is relatively easy. My big 20 footer is around 100 pounds, my square stern, probably 10 pounds heavier. I never really thought about it, but a female friend of mine watched me pop it up onto my shoulders they other day, and said "you won't be doing that forever". I'm 57 now, and still haven't had a problem getting it up, and I hope to be able to do it for many years to come.

The secret is perfect balance. If you seat your yoke at the balance point, you can basically carry a big canoe with no hands. I took my square stern six hundred meters this June, just involved a little more mental effort. I'm no track star, I smoke and drink and avoid exercise, but I like to carry big canoes.