OT Saranac question

[Microtus]

I'm still looking for my first canoe. There are not a lot of choices available on the used market here in the Michigan Eastern U. P. There is an Old Town Saranac 14'6" for sale up in the Soo for 5 bills. Research shows new ones run 800-1000. The main thing that catches my eye is it weighs 79lbs. Are the molded seats structural to the canoe and if removed, how much weight savings might I expect? I currently fish with a sot kayak but would like a canoe for some 1-2 night river fishing trips. At 60yo with a jacked right shoulder I'm a little leery of weight for portages.

 

[yellowcanoe]

the seats are structural.. 79 lbs is not a weight I would enjoy.

Remove the seats and you will have to add thwarts to maintain the boats integrity.. Will you want to haul that up a bank?

As is it is not set up for portages..You may want to get a cart.

 

[pblanc]

If you look carefully at those seats and that essentially useless center console you will see that the have extensions that go all the way down to the hull floor. That is because the single-layer polyethylene hull lacks stiffness. The "footers" on the seats and console serve to stiffen the hull floor so that is does not flop and balloon up. If you remove the seats and console not only would you have to install thwarts, you would have to fashion some sort of vertical extensions that stiffen the hull bottom.

If you anticipate having to portage a canoe more than a few paces at most, look elsewhere. You may well require assistance just loading and unloading it for cartopping.

 

[Microtus]

Thats the kind of feedback I was hoping for. Looks like that canoe will get a hard pass. Thank you.