If you could have only two canoes. . . .

[Ralph]

Only two? Sooo many boats that I have not paddled.
I'd have to go with my Esquif Mistral 16 in Twintex and my Hellman Solitude. The Mistral is a very versatile and tough tandem and is reasonably light and my Solitude is versatile and tough, can haul all my junk and still have reasonable speed (compared to the tandems I often trip with). I have come to trust both of these boats and feel very comfortable in them. If I had the opportunity to paddle some of the other boats listed here I might change my mind but, for now, that's it.
But..., since others have snuck in a third boat, I'd include my Clipper Tripper for flatwater or easy moving water tandem tripping. Hauls a load, paddles efficiently and comfortably and can handle all sorts of waves and wind. Another boat that I have learned to trust.

 

[DanOver]

Hornbeck classic 14 and a Gheenoe 16 Super for heavy work, waterfowl hunting and fishing Salt and bigger water.

 

[Dan Cooke]

Loon Works/ Tom MacKenzie Nokoma, Northstar Phoenix for Solo Canoes.
Tandem- Northstar B17- Northwind 18

 

[yellowcanoe]

Loon Works/ Tom MacKenzie Nokoma, Northstar Phoenix for Solo Canoes.
Tandem- Northstar B17- Northwind 18

I guess I was not being honest. The Loon Works Aria will be here forever. I just dont use it for other than day paddles. Same for the Duet.. Joint replacement sucks..

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Good Lord! What a depressing thought....

I guess I already have 'em. The NC Prospector and the MR Guide. When they get too heavy, I'd just have to get lighter versions of same - or whatever's as close as I could get to that.

Of course - this wouldn't include my beloved's boats. The Chesapeake, the Malecite, and the Ranger 20 are hers.

 

[Terry Q]

(2) Krueger Sea Winds are what my wife and I have settled on. We like big water, long distances, going fast, carrying lots of equipment and having a canoe that can take punishment.

Despite their heavy weight, the canoes are easy to portage since portaging was a requirement in the design of the canoe, not an afterthought. Remove the seat, turn it over, put it on the upper position, lift the canoe up, put it on your shoulders and the balance is good enough you can control the canoe with one hand.

The other feature that has kept us happily married is catamaraning the canoes under less then desirable conditions.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Gdwelker]

For my wife and I we have the perfect canoes: two Kruger Sea Winds and two Hornbeck Classic 13s.

The Krugers are the go tos for camping, long paddles, sailing (BSD rigs), and just a good day on the water. The Hornbecks are wonderful for exploing all those little blue dots on the topo maps.

 

[yknpdlr]

Monarch
RapidFire

Got them both. I'm happy and not seeking another

Me too. I might add on the extremes, a voyageur ( for racing) and a Hornbeck (for pond hopping).

 

[Iskweo]

I do like Karin's Jacks Special ( alias cedar strip chum) but I find I am partial to my old Huron 15 footer. I was spotted lusting over a Kee 16 at the store a few years back too. You cant beat that for a nice light tripping tandem.

So there it is....a 15 foot w/c either Huron or Chum, and a the lightest Kee 16 they make. ( or if Alan could make me a 17 foot carbon fibre Morris????).

Christy

 

[Jim Dodd]

This may sound strange, but I only really need one canoe !

I started with a 17' Lowe Line Aluminum. I still have it after 44 years. It's really all I NEED !

It has served me well, and done everything I asked it to do ! Skated over ice thick enough to hold us up, and when I Ice picked my way to open water, gently put us a float again. Was more than able to hold 13 mud drenched tires,that I had dug out of the river, one hot Summer's day. Carried my bow killed deer, out to easy portage. My oldest Son caught his first fish from that canoe. Now he's a Fishery Biologist. That Old aluminum safely carried me and my two sons on a few Night floats on the river, as we gathered Bull frogs, and snuck close enough to Raccons fishing for Crawdads, that they
could have jumped in !
Yup that Old aluminum is really all I need !

As a luxury, I'd want my Pearl.

There, two canoes.



Below is Old Pearl on the left and one of Alan Gage's many designs, on the right. I don't remember for sure which design, or which one was faster ? I guess we'll have to wait until Spring to find out now !



Jim

 

[lowangle al]

Good Lord! What a depressing thought....



Of course - this wouldn't include my beloved's boats. The Chesapeake, the Malecite, and the Ranger 20 are hers.

That is a pretty good Loophole

 

[DuctTape]

I figure the two I use most often are the ones for me:

Bell Morningstar (tandem)
Curtis Vagabond (solo)

 

[Eric Billard]

Got my Esquif prospector 15, perfect for all my trips with my girlfriend and for solo trips. Just recently got all the fixings to deck it out for some more whitewater action (already have the knee pads installed). Once contemplated buying a refurbished ultralight 16' Souris River Quetico for $800 CDN from Killarney Outfitters at the end of the season, but life got in the way and I never went through with it. Should have in hindsight, then I would have two canoes.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Once contemplated buying a refurbished ultralight 16' Souris River Quetico for $800 CDN from Killarney Outfitters at the end of the season, but life got in the way and I never went through with it. Should have in hindsight, then I would have two canoes.

See we have no room for a wish list.. Wife or husband or storage limits predominate . You, Eric, however have the right to ask Santa for another canoe to fill your McCrea anointed total..

 

[Black_Fly]

I'd take a lightweight lake solo boat (eg. Prism), and then a river solo (eg. Northstar Phoenix IXP) that can do double duty on a lake trip. That way, I can do solo trips or double solo trips if necessary, no tandem necessary.

 

[sweeper]

Killarney Outfitters is where we bought our 17' SR Qs. They do a great job of refinishing them and its a great place to paddle when you buy one there.

 

[Guest]

(2) Krueger Sea Winds are what my wife and I have settled on. We like big water, long distances, going fast, carrying lots of equipment and having a canoe that can take punishment.

Despite their heavy weight, the canoes are easy to portage since portaging was a requirement in the design of the canoe

The other feature that has kept us happily married is catamaraning the canoes under less then desirable conditions.

Other than the weight a Kruger Sea Wind would be the ultimate fulfillment of my decked expedition canoe dreams. The catamaran thing does look interesting, perhaps especially for sailing.

But I don’t need 63 lbs worth of hand laid, multi layer Kevlar, and would compromise with a kevlar Clipper Sea-1 (56 lbs), a carbon Savage River Falcon (34 lbs) or some other high tech fabric vacuum infused decked canoe.

For now the 50+ Lb Monarch and rest of the weird decked canoe collection will have to suffice.

Some sour grapes there; I have never seen a used Kruger Sea Wind at an affordable price, and a new one is pushing $8000.

 

[OCDave]

I own, and love, a Northstar Northwind Solo.
I am patiently awaiting a Northstar Polaris I have on order.

Perhaps with more experience, I would have made other choices. Whenever I see a canoe with wood ribs, it kind of steals my breath for just a beat. However, at this point in my life/marriage my wife is more tolerant of me admiring another woman than she is of me admiring another canoe

 

[Iskweo]

my wife is more tolerant of me admiring another woman than she is of me admiring another canoe

Hahahaha...I hear ya there. I stumbled upon a cache of aluminums and one w/c y stern tonight in an industrial park. Now how to spin this.

Christy

 

[Grandpa Paddler]

I have worked my down from 6 to 2 and after 46 yrs of owning canoes and 50+ yrs of marriage, she still doesn't understand why a man needs more than 1 canoe. And she's not particularly tolerate of the other...