Old town next as a normal solo canoe

Finding solos canoes in europe can be a hard task. Finding sometinh o. A budget even harder. When old town released the next about a decade ago i thougt, these lines are nice.

When i saw one at the local dealer. I was less convinced about the chair.
Politely i asked if I coulg remove the seat and test it . No problem.

A quick spin was enough to seal the deal. Ripped the footrest out. The dealer knows his way in repairing holes in pe.
so when i left. I only needed to put a twarth in.

There it is up in sunny Schotland.




Without seat and footrest it is about 5 kilo's less weight . Of the catalogue.
I think 20 22 kg ish.

It is not a fast demon. But compared to other 13 ft baots like teh old town pack it has a better glide and tracks well.

As with many other canoes it spins gracefully on edge. Not as good as a wild/flash. But at a third or less of the price you get a boat that is very capable.

When people attend a workshop and the do not have or breng their on boat this is our plan a that never let us down. Easy predictable stable tracks nicely. Reacts to steering and correction.
Not a pig in wind conditions.

The OT Next (and its composite cousin, the Mad River Serenade) is one of my favorite 13 foot hulls. Both developed by Bob McDonough, they were supposed to be 'hybrids' but shine equally as well with a hung seat (or without, as in your boat!).

Dutchlennart Thanks for posting your pictures. I have a NEXT canoe but only use it for tripping on lakes. My wife worries a lot about my solo trips and the canoe tipping over. I'm always telling her how well my canoe handles wind and big rough water. I showed her your picture showing the NEXT over on its side. Nothing could show her better how stable the NEXT can be on lakes. Thanks again.

Interesting history of the Old Town Next. Originally marketed as the 'Pack Element' in late 2013, Old Town had both a Poly and Royalex version in the marketing release (hedging bets against the demise of Royalex). It was an attempt, perhaps, to capitalize on the popularity of the Pack, combined with utilizing their 'Element' seat from their kayak line. The hull was very close to the Serenade 13, a concept which McDonough brought with him to Old Town when he left Mad River. Their biggest challenge was the adjustable seating design. Original plans were to affix the assemblies to the sides of the hull (like was done with the composite Serenade) but the bond to poly or Royalex was insufficient. The rails were eventually hung from the gunnels when the Next was released in 2014.

Thanks m clemens.
The hull shape to me is better then most
13 ft boats i tried. Only some High end models like the flashfire, felicity and nakoma are there. Of these i find the flash and nakoma to small for my 80 kilo 180 cm.

The shape of the serenade i also tought was nice.
Sadly the construction was to much weight concerned. At least that is what i saw of them

After a couple of years, the Serenade was offered as a TR model (traditional) with a sliding hung seat, and then as an Ultralite in both Hybrid and TR models. The UL-TR came in at 30 pounds. I bought one as soon as they were available, but to my dismay it oil-canned so badly Mad River let me return it. I always thought Old Town should offer the Next in two variations as well; aside from the obvious weight savings in a hung-seat Next (I weighed mine at 52 pounds but unlike you I left the foot-pegs intact), I would think the price could be lowered substantially without the Element seat and all the hardware to mount it.

Before my truck was totaled, all I had to do was lift my Next into the bed. But to lift it over my head to get it on the SUV racks was a game-changer; I am now limited to sub-30 pound hulls. I am still on the hunt for a Flashfire.

I had to add this; not two days after talking about Serenades, doesn't my last FG one pop up for sale. I thought she liked it.

Never saw an aramid with gelcoat.
Maybe an injury or an upgrade or....
Not sure.if i bought ever a boat i did not like. Sold many of them as well due to injury, upgrades , change of interrest moving homes, shortage on cashflow..
Sometimes i think this is the boat to keep for decades. I think only the beercooler Made it over a decade. Scarborough conclusion....