• Happy Weed Appreciation Day! 🌱🌿🌻

Input request for a lightweight mostly solo fishing canoe

Joined
Sep 19, 2022
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Long Island, NY.
Hi all,
First post here.
I would like to find a lightweight - user friendly- canoe to bring on our trailer camping trips.
My tow vehicle is a SRW F-350 with a mid rise ARE Cap so the roof rack is well over 7’ high - hence the requirement for lightweight. I’m thinking under 50lbs -lighter would be better ….
The boat will be used mostly solo for fishing/recreation but it would be nice if the wife could join me when she wanted to.

I’m a relatively fit 6’ 175lbs and the wife is about 125lbs soaking wet.

My first thought was the Hornbeck 14 solo/tandem. Love the idea of a 28lbs boat but not sure about the double paddle only and the sit on the floor…

Any ideas on a lightweight boat that can carry two in a pinch that also makes a decent fishing platform solo? A canoe that I could also use a single paddle is a plus.

Thanks Bill
 
Bill, there are many possibilities in the 15'-16' tandem canoe range, but I'd first like to welcome you to site membership! Feel free to ask any questions and to post messages, photos and videos in our many forums. Please read Welcome to CanoeTripping and Site Rules! Also, please consider adding your location to your profile, which will cause it to show under your avatar, as this is in many ways a geographic sport. We look forward to your participation in our canoe community.
 
Pretty much any Prospector tandem design should work. Symmetrical so it can be paddled solo from the bow seat, stable for fishing, and a tandem for when herself wants to come along.
 
Bob, Bobs, or Bob's Special.

I have a 15' Nova Craft Bob Special that weighs 40 pounds in the Aramid Lite layup. It's wide and stable at 35" beam, and can be paddled tandem by two lighter weight paddlers or heavy paddlers in a pinch. It's 14" deep, so it has a lot of freeboard. It's not a speed demon canoe at that width, of course, but it meets these requirements in your OP, Bill:

Any ideas on a lightweight boat that can carry two in a pinch that also makes a decent fishing platform solo? A canoe that I could also use a single paddle is a plus.


One small thing I didn't like is that I thought the factory seats were set too high for such a deep canoe. That made it more unstable than necessary for a wide canoe, especially since it has a shallow V bottom, and also made it hard for average size or short paddlers to kneel comfortably. Easy fix. I just bought longer spacers from Essex Industries and lowered the seats.
 
If you can find a Mad River Malecite from the 1980’s or 90’s it would be ideal. I am your exact size, but probably older, and really enjoy paddling my Malecite rescue solo, tandem and poling. Good luck.
 
The Mountainman in Old Forge, NY is having a sale this week and has a Polaris in stock.
Thanks for the heads up.
Looks like my timing is going to be off.
I’m in Ohio this week and will be in the Adirondacks early next month…
I’ll stop by The Mountainman while I’m there.
 
Back
Top