Good canoe option for 2, lake fishing

[Cboat2]

Looking for some help on what type of canoe to look for. My wife and I are just entering our 60's, and want a stable canoe for fishing small lakes and small rivers/streams. We are in Nebraska, and not planning on any whitewater or fast moving water. I'm 6', 250, wife is 5'9", 140. Would be just us two. We have a Mackinaw 156 canoe, cheap plastic with the built in seats and middle cooler. And a new to us, mint Lund 17' amuminum canoe. I got it for the length and durability, but wife does not like how tippy it feels. It feels as though it will roll over at the slightest movement. She likes the stability feel better of the cheap plastic canoe. I have a new outrigger set, that we have not used, and was thinking of using to make things more stable for her. Would a Mitchicraft DE-17 be more stable then the Lund 17'? I have a chance to grab one of those cheap, like new, but no way to try before i buy. We are not concerned with weight of canoe, as we have a trailer to haul. Not a huge selection of used "quality" canoes around me. Alot of cheap box store plastics, some old town discoverys, Osagian aluminums, ect. What type of canoe should we be looking for to have a stable canoe for fishing and floating around? If i find a nice stable one, i can always add the outriggers for even more stability if wife wants. She loves being in the canoe, and we want to get a good used one. Any help would be great!
Thanks.

 

[Alan Gage]

From what you describe and from what's available I think aluminum will probably be your best bet.

Width will make a big difference when it comes to stability. It looks like the Mackinaw is 42" wide. I'm not sure how wide your Lund is.

Most people would find a 36" wide aluminum canoe to be very stable, which is probably what your Lund is. But some hull designs, even if the same width, will feel tippier than others.

Take the Lund out to small pond when it's 90 degrees and intentionally capsize in shallow water. You might find that while it initially feels tippy that it really firms up once heeled over a little and is actually difficult to capsize. If that's the case it might be all that you really need is a little more time in the boat to get comfortable with the feel.

Boat trim can make a difference as well. If you're sitting in the stern then the stern might be squatting quite a bit due to the weight discrepancy, which can make a hull feel tippy. Try adding 75 pounds right behind your wife's seat and see if that helps.

Alan

 

[Cboat2]

From what you describe and from what's available I think aluminum will probably be your best bet.

Width will make a big difference when it comes to stability. It looks like the Mackinaw is 42" wide. I'm not sure how wide your Lund is.

Most people would find a 36" wide aluminum canoe to be very stable, which is probably what your Lund is. But some hull designs, even if the same width, will feel tippier than others.

Take the Lund out to small pond when it's 90 degrees and intentionally capsize in shallow water. You might find that while it initially feels tippy that it really firms up once heeled over a little and is actually difficult to capsize. If that's the case it might be all that you really need is a little more time in the boat to get comfortable with the feel.

Boat trim can make a difference as well. If you're sitting in the stern then the stern might be squatting quite a bit due to the weight discrepancy, which can make a hull feel tippy. Try adding 75 pounds right behind your wife's seat and see if that helps.

Alan

Thank you for the information.
Will try it this weekend and see how much it takes to tip over, and see about trim as well.
We only had out once, so maybe its just more time to get comfortable is all we need.
Thanks again!

 

[BobMills]

A really good question, and great answer and suggestion. This is the sort of stuff that makes this forum great.

 

[lowangle al]

Even if the Lund has does good secondary stability, which you would find out with Alan's test recommended above, it may not relieve the uneasy feeling caused by the tipsiness problem. It may also not prevent a capsize if things go bad. I was out in one of my large tandems with a partner in the bow recently and experienced that tippy feeling. Although this boat has excellent secondary stability it didn't ease my mind or give me the confidence that it wouldn't tip over.

If you get a chance to check out the Michicraft look at the shape of the bottom. If it appears to be flatter than the Lund it will probably be more stable. I don't know anything about the Lund you have but it sounds like it may have a roundish bottom.
This is an example of a round bottom canoe with that tippy feeling. Check out your Lund and compare to the Michicraft.

 

[ppine]

This is a canoe site, but I would suggest an aluminum fishing boat with a small motor on a trailer. An electric trolling motor is all you need. Very stable, easy to launch, room to move around and room for a dog. They can be had used for $1000. No loading on top of the car.