If you could take one boat on a Western road trip...

[Glenn MacGrady]

The van arrived. Looks like a winner so far. I'd like to get back into traveling more and a minivan is the best way I've found for myself.

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Hope the van and trip work out for you. Especially if they include paddling trips. You have two significant advantages over me: You can fix both cars and boats expertly. I could never do either. If you are planning on customizing the van for boat travel and the interior as a living space, that could make for an interesting thread.

 

[Black_Fly]

Ah, those were the days. Young. Strong. Time. Cross-continent travel. Base camping. Day paddles. No plan.

Pictured several times before, this was my "travel kit" for many years: My 1997 Dodge van conversion, in which I'd travel, sleep and cook, and on top of which semi-permanently resided my Lotus Caper canoe, Surge sea kayak and Huki V1-B outrigger (now living in Nantucket).

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Oh . . . just ONE boat? (You mean aside from the surf ski I wouldn't mention on this site.)

Well, that's easy. Because a canoe that can paddle anywhere, in any kind of water, with more than reasonable speed and maneuverability, and with a tough but light-enough SK layup, is exactly why I bought my omnicompetent, and almost omnipotent, Hemlock SRT.

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But now I'm less young, less strong, don't paddle significant whitewater, and don't take many gear-laden or overnight trips anymore.

So, for my day tripping month in the PNW next year, I'd now take a much lighter and liftable solo canoe that is pretty fast, pretty stable and quite competent in flat, quiet, quick and windy waters all—joining @gumpus in a Swift Keewaydin 15, which in my case is a 29 lb. Carbon Fusion laminate.

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All the featured foci in the last picture above plan on being, not in the PNW, but at the WCHA Assembly in Paul Smiths, NY, next week.

That rack looks more narrow than my wife’s Outback. I’ve only hauled a few miles with the Outback. Did you travel by interstate?

 

[Punkinhead]

I agree with @SouthernKevlar - bring your most versatile canoe. I'm about a month and a half into a trip from the Midwest through Colorado then dropping south, crossing to southern California and north up the coast. I'm currently in Oregon and will cross into Idaho in the morning. No real plan other then I'd like to be in Wisconsin later this month or early August to see my kids and grandson. I'm in an RV towing a small SUV with my Northstar Phoenix on top. So far it's run the gamut from lakes & reservoirs to mild class 2 rivers. The only thing I've avoided is saltwater paddling because I'd rather be in a kayak when off shore.

 

[Punkinhead]

I also wanted to address your concern about paddling a lot less than you thought. That's been the case for me. I'm carrying a bicycle in the back of my towed car and having the canoe on top makes it a little more of a pain to get it in and out of the back hatch. I've used the bike much more than the canoe so I don't think I'd have missed the canoe much if I hadn't brought it. I've also been hiking a lot. Still, it costs me nothing to bring the canoe along so why not? In my case I'm getting about 8.5 mpg in the motorhome and the canoe is back on the towed vehicle so I don't need to listen to the extra wind noise from the racks. If I had it on top of the vehicle I was driving I might feel different because of the wind noise and mpg. There have been a couple campsites where the extra few feet of the canoe sticking off the back has made parking a bit more challenging but nothing I couldn't deal with.

 

[dogbrain]

Alan, I wouldn't bother bringing a canoe on a trip like you describe. From my experience, you'll wish you didn't have the boat more than wish you did in the end. When you go for day hikes, bike rides or a backpacking trip somewhere what will you do with the boat? I don't like worrying about things like that. I have found that having less makes road trips more interesting than having lots of stuff, "just in case".

Mark

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Alan, I wouldn't bother bringing a canoe on a trip like you describe. From my experience, you'll wish you didn't have the boat more than wish you did in the end. When you go for day hikes, bike rides or a backpacking trip somewhere what will you do with the boat? I don't like worrying about things like that. I have found that having less makes road trips more interesting than having lots of stuff, "just in case".

Mark

A valid perspective. And I might add that rental canoes may be available in some cases (not nearly as many as Minnesota though), and if you play your cards right, you might find locals willing to lend a boat for the pleasure of your company.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

So, for my day tripping month in the PNW next year, I'd now take a much lighter and liftable solo canoe that is pretty fast, pretty stable and quite competent in flat, quiet, quick and windy waters all—joining @gumpus in a Swift Keewaydin 15, which in my case is a 29 lb. Carbon Fusion laminate.

That rack looks more narrow than my wife’s Outback. I’ve only hauled a few miles with the Outback. Did you travel by interstate?

It's a removable Mercedes factory rack that screws into bolt holes in the roof. I believe it's made by Thule. The functional crossbar width is 34 inches.

That's wide enough to have carried three different 15' canoes on the rack. Yes, on interstates too.

First, here's a head-on shot of the Keewaydin 15, which has a gunwale width of 25.5".



Second, here's a head-on shot of my Morris w/c, which has an outside gunwale width of about 32".



Third, here's my widest canoe at the gunwales, 35", a Nova Craft Bob Special. It "just" fits on the 34" rack because the gunwale width narrows to a bit less than 34" where the crossbars are.

 

[Black_Fly]

This is the critical distance Im referring to.

 

[Alan Gage]

I also wanted to address your concern about paddling a lot less than you thought. That's been the case for me. I'm carrying a bicycle in the back of my towed car and having the canoe on top makes it a little more of a pain to get it in and out of the back hatch. I've used the bike much more than the canoe so I don't think I'd have missed the canoe much if I hadn't brought it. I've also been hiking a lot.

Alan, I wouldn't bother bringing a canoe on a trip like you describe. From my experience, you'll wish you didn't have the boat more than wish you did in the end.

This is what I keep wrestling with too. About 20 years ago I sold my house and almost everything I owned and spent 6 months living out of my car while traveling the country. I took a kayak with me to the PNW for the summer and while I did get in a couple very memorable paddles I was surprised how little I used it. When I went to the East coast in the fall I did not bring a boat.

Maybe 10 years ago I did a 2 week trip to the PNW and along the way picked up a new to me Bell Northstar in Nebraska. Again, I had a very memorable paddle but, otherwise, spent most of my time biking and walking.

Traveling with a canoe on top of the car definitely causes some hassle due to not being able to fully open the rear hatch, low clearances on some brushy back roads, and just extra stuff that needs to be packed along. Sometimes when the mood to paddle strikes there is no water and other times, when there is paddleable water, the mood to paddle isn't there. But when the two overlap (desire and availability) it can be magical and have given me some great memories.

I think, as the time draws nearer, I'll evaluate my interests and make my decision. My desire to paddle has been very low the past few years but I'm trying to revive it. If it remains low next summer then I'll likely leave the boat behind. If it's been rejuvenated then I'll pick one to drag along.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

This is the critical distance Im referring to.View attachment 147738

30 inches center-to-center of aero bars. With 15' canoes, solid as a rock with two belly straps and front and rear V lines. Never tried it with any longer boats but don't see why a 16' canoe would make much difference.

I drove the Nova Craft Bob Special from West Virginia to Connecticut and then from Connecticut to Florida. That was more than 2000 miles, most on interstate 65-70 mph. Here I am in the Smokey Mountains.