Old Town Penobscot Models?

[yellowcanoe]

Northstar is not making the 186.. Bell Canoe has been out of business for years.
I transported a Pen 186 from Maine to Toronto once. Heavy thing to get on the truck and certainly not portage friendly. As the transport was in a snowstorm no paddling

 

[Guest]

Northstar is not making the 186.

Northstar makes the Northwind 18, which is a bit of a misnomer at 18’ 9”.

https://northstarcanoes.com/canoe/northwind/?option=18

If I wanted a big, go fast tripper tandem and had oodles of cash the Northwind 18 would certainly be in the running.

I have neither the desire nor wallet.

 

[yellowcanoe]

LOL thought the discussion was about Penobscot models. I will go back to cheese making and bread baking

 

[LanceR]

Oh, POOP!!!

After several attempts over two days to get some kind of a reply from the seller I got a phone number and several pictures of the canoe. It had been listed as an LL Bean West Branch 18.5' canoe which as near as I can tell should have been the generally unobtainable 18.5 Penobscot.

What it really is is a 2008 LL Bean West Branch 158 which appears to be a Discovery 158..... and at least 80 pounds of "Superlink 3" plastic. It has spent its life sitting on a lake shore upside down most of the year. It is faded and filthy with what can be seen of the seat frames and thwarts stained from water exposure. It is caked with crud inside and out and has no shortage half decomposed leaf litter in it. And they think it is worth $600?? ARGHH!!!

At least I didn't find all this out after a three hour drive. So, back to the hunt for a big tripper.

Best regards to all,


Lance

 

[yellowcanoe]

Oh, POOP!!!

After several attempts over two days to get some kind of a reply from the seller I got a phone number and several pictures of the canoe. It had been listed as an LL Bean West Branch 18.5' canoe which as near as I can tell should have been the generally unobtainable 18.5 Penobscot.

What it really is is a 2008 LL Bean West Branch 158 which appears to be a Discovery 158..... and at least 80 pounds of "Superlink 3" plastic. It has spent its life sitting on a lake shore upside down most of the year. It is faded and filthy with what can be seen of the seat frames and thwarts stained from water exposure. It is caked with crud inside and out and has no shortage half decomposed leaf litter in it. And they think it is worth $600?? ARGHH!!!

At least I didn't find all this out after a three hour drive. So, back to the hunt for a big tripper.

Best regards to all,


Lance

Frustrating isn't it? Wouldn't you like to steal it and take a chainsaw to it. Too often dabbling canoeists don't know what they are selling.. Can you even call them canoeists? The Duck of Justice says no..
If you aren't familiar with that Duckhead google it or her or him.

 

[LanceR]

I tend to get cranky with the folks who know or should know that what they have advertised is plain false.

This time it seems to be mostly a case of a somewhat bemused seller who really didn't know what she had. And who has no experience with Craigslist and, apparently, little with the internet. I gently pointed her at where to find info on the Disco 158 so she could get current values and thanked her for her time. She did change the ad info but still has $600 on it.....

Best regards to all,


Lance

 

[JoelBeckwith]

I Loved both the P15 and P17. I had both in our rental fleet over the years and grabbed them frequently. The P 15 is ok, not great, not terribly fast. Vanilla would best describe the P 15. The 17 is a great seaworthy fast canoe that, with my daughter in the bow, could effortlessly keep pace with the sea kayakers we paddled with under load. The P 16 is one of my favorite all around canoes second to the composite Wenonah Solo Plus.

 

[JoelBeckwith]

I had a O T Discovery 174 that I used on a multi week trip in Saskatchewan. It paddled well. Fast and seaworthy in very large lakes. There were many long portages and after the trip I weighed the boat. Using a bathroom scale, weighing first myself then
me with the 174, it was more than 100lbs. 105lbs with my unscientific weighing.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I had a O T Discovery 174 that I used on a multi week trip in Saskatchewan. It paddled well. Fast and seaworthy in very large lakes. There were many long portages and after the trip I weighed the boat. Using a bathroom scale, weighing first myself then the me with the 174, it was more than 100lbs. 105lbs with my unscientific weighing.

Joel,

I have been a member of this forum for only about two years. I had not previously seen your name in a post. So, out of curiosity, I looked at your profile, and discovered that one of your interests is “Creative Spelling.” I like that as a concept! I would be intrigued to hear some examples of creative spelling, as opposed to just plain old bad spelling!

 

[JoelBeckwith]

Joel,

I have been a member of this forum for only about two years. I had not previously seen your name in a post. So, out of curiosity, I looked at your profile, and discovered that one of your interests is “Creative Spelling.” I like that as a concept! I would be intrigued to hear some examples of creative spelling, as opposed to just plain old bad spelling!

Same thing!

 

[ppine]

Bell Canoe and Northwind seem to disappear and re-appear. Their boats are good and worth chasing.

 

[goonstroke]

Happened to notice a gleaming 186 on Craigslist, if there are any unicorn hunters out there.
https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/camden-old-town-penobscot-feet/7125491899.html

 

[yellowcanoe]

Happened to notice a gleaming 186 on Craigslist, if there are any unicorn hunters out there.
https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/camden-old-town-penobscot-feet/7125491899.html

Picked up one of those for a Canadian friend in Winterport. Never doing that again; too old!

 

[NCDawg]

I have a Penobscot 17 in Red Royalex. It's right at 70 lbs which seems light when looking at the big beast. It paddles light with 2 people. I've used it mostly on fast, bony class 1 rivers. It responds well if you lean into it, but plows through anything like a tractor if you aren't comfortable leaning. I haul it on a Volvo XC70 and I can load anything in that canoe that I can get into that car. I want to sell it and get a Penobscot 16 to use solo on rocky rivers. The 17 is too big and heavy to solo and there's a thwart right behind the front seat. I have lots of places nearby(Western NC) that I currently feel uncomfortable paddling in my dedicated solo which is a Bell Merlin II in Kevlite. Too delicate, but I love it dearly. I'd trade the P17 even for a P16 in similar condition.

 

[ppine]

A whole family of P canoes that fell by the way side. I still have a w/c OT Guide and a kevlar Canadienne, but there is no company in America that has fallen further from grace than Old Town. After around 130 years of canoe building, they have discontinued wood boats. They have really discontinued building canoes that an enthusiast of the sport would want.

I have rented some 169s for technical rivers and they are kind of like a baby Tripper. The 174 seems like more of a lake boat. There are plenty of companies that have stepped up and filled the void left by OT. The old company does not even support their old models. They farmed out wood repair materials to Island Falls Canoe.

I can't think of a company I am more disappointed in than Old Town. Keep an eye for some older used boats in good condition, because I don;t see any new ones I would want to own.

 

[LanceR]

NCDawg, I'm over between Mount Airy and Winston-Salem. If you decide to sell/trade you Penobscot 17 it is a boat I might be interested in. Please keep me in mind.

Best regards to all,


Lance

 

[Guest]

MIKE,

I have a little history with the Penobscot 15.
If I had space for every canoe I wanted, I'd still have this boat.
Bought it second handed from someone who may have used it 3 or 4 times. It was like new, and if I remember correctly, I gave about 475 bucks for it.
It had brass end caps, sliding seat, and what I'd describe as beefy wooden gunwhales. It was fairly heavy; how much I have no idea, but surely 50lb+. Not a boat I'd want to portage very far. I hate portages!!!
Didn't much matter to me; I used it primarily as an "everything but the kitchen sink" gear hauler on class 1 and 2 rivers. I let the river do most of the work; I was in no hurry...........
No, you didn't get to miss many strokes if you wanted to maintain a constant speed. No, it did not manuever like a Bell Flashfire. I found it to have very good stability with or without a load of gear.
In 2 river photos I know for a fact I was hauling over 70 lbs of gear. I weigh about 215 lbs
Did it serve my purpose? Yes it did, and as previously stated, if I'd had more space; I'd still own it.
I thought it was a good looking boat.
Was it a better boat than my Swift Osprey, my SRT, my Blackhawk Starship, or my Dragonfly? NO!
But remember; I only gave about 475 bucks for the Penobscot..............

 

[goonstroke]

Funny what pops up when you're not looking ... here's a Penobscot 15 converted to tandem:
https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/bangor-15-penobscot-canoe-royalex/7114751173.html

The P15 seems awful small for a tandem, but maybe it works for youths.

 

[Keagriver]

I love my P16, my first canoe (I was pretty dedicated to sea kayaks before). It was bought with a third seat and aluminum gunnels, making it a wonderful solo boat. I struggled with two people on longer trips and traveling heavy (cooler, lots of gear) and was envious of of others in OT Trippers. Then a strip built Gil Gilpatrick 18’6” white guide canoe came into my life. I love it but too heavy.

The most recent trip with the P16 was last weekend on the St. John river solo, packed very light. 72 hrs from Baker lake to Allagash and barely a drop of water shipped! I love my Penobscot 16!

 

[alsg]

Then a strip built Gil Gilpatrick 18’6” white guide canoe came into my life. I love it but too heavy.

That's on my build list! What was the weight?