Hello. Shoulder injury from portaging mishap forces me into a lighter canoe. Looking for a quality tandem tripper no heavier than 55 lbs. Not too interested in kevlar ultralights so possibly a hybrid layup of sorts? Would love an old MR Sunrunner, Sundance, Malecite, or ?? but possibly wishful thinking. I live in Northern MN and would travel a few hundred miles to get. Thanxsomuch!
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WTB Mid-Weight Tandem Tripper
- Thread starter mwaalen
- Start date
NorthStar Polaris. Pretty spendy in black lite carbon Kevlar but an excellent 17 foot tripper can be paddled tandem or solo.
weighs under 45 pound I believe, tougher than woodpecker lips! Pretty fast, maneuverable-all around good tripper.
www.northstarcanoes.com
Bob
weighs under 45 pound I believe, tougher than woodpecker lips! Pretty fast, maneuverable-all around good tripper.
POLARIS
Polaris The Polaris accelerates quickly and offers a lively paddling experience. Skilled paddlers raved about the performance of its predecessor and we named our company after it. The Polaris is the narrowest of our tandems, making it an ideal canoe to paddle solo from a center seat.
www.northstarcanoes.com
Bob
Thanks Bob. I will keep that one in mind if I can find it used as trying not to spend more than $1,500. There was a hybrid MR Sunrunner for sale last fall however it was on the other side of the continent. Just now found a MR Sunrunner on CL here in MN however it is fiberglass which is the same boat I currently own & love aside from the weight. Darn...
I found a used Souris River Quetico on the North American Canoe Trader Facebook Page. It needs some work but it’s the right price and weight.
I’m not a member on Facebook anymore so if the link doesn’t work you could probably find it yourself.
I believe this is located in Michigan.
I’m not a member on Facebook anymore so if the link doesn’t work you could probably find it yourself.
I believe this is located in Michigan.
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The souris river quetico might be the one. Good all around canoe, depending on the layup, some are around 44 pounds. Lots of outfitters were using them, so might be a good second hand market.
Just looked at the one posted above, looks like it might have seen a fair amount of sun. I must qualify my opinion above too, I never liked the 16 footers, but for some odd reason, the 17 footers were a completely different animal.
Just looked at the one posted above, looks like it might have seen a fair amount of sun. I must qualify my opinion above too, I never liked the 16 footers, but for some odd reason, the 17 footers were a completely different animal.
Thanks everyone for the leads and suggestions. Looks as if canoe's are starting to sell given the weather is concerningly nice for this time of year. Just checked the interweb on two of them I had my eyes on and both were sold. One being a OldTown Canadienne Kevlar & the other a beautiful kevlar Malecite.
Off topic went for a hike yesterday near the headwaters of the Mississippi and from the overlook could see it was mostly free of ice towards the middle which you can kinda see in the photo. Last year this time we were still buried under 3' of snow with another month of it still to come.
Back on topic I am wondering about a shorter (16'-ish as in a Malecite) for my purposes as have never paddled one that I can recall. The reason I am contemplating a shorter tandem is because my new tripping partner is my girlfriend who is (tough as heck but...) all of 5' tall weighing 100lbs when well fed & we are working through the worst-case scenarios if I were to get hurt (again) and she needed to muscle the thing through a couple portages and a canoe 1' shorter sure would be nice when bumping along the portage through congested trees.
Better get to work...
Off topic went for a hike yesterday near the headwaters of the Mississippi and from the overlook could see it was mostly free of ice towards the middle which you can kinda see in the photo. Last year this time we were still buried under 3' of snow with another month of it still to come.
Back on topic I am wondering about a shorter (16'-ish as in a Malecite) for my purposes as have never paddled one that I can recall. The reason I am contemplating a shorter tandem is because my new tripping partner is my girlfriend who is (tough as heck but...) all of 5' tall weighing 100lbs when well fed & we are working through the worst-case scenarios if I were to get hurt (again) and she needed to muscle the thing through a couple portages and a canoe 1' shorter sure would be nice when bumping along the portage through congested trees.
Better get to work...
Attachments
Northstar Seliga StarLite Kevlar Canoe #090 - Sawbill Canoe Outfitters
2021 Northstar Seliga StarLite Kevlar #090 *We do not ship canoes. Canoes can be purchased and stored at Sawbill until your next visit. Your satisfaction is guaranteed - if you don't like the canoe when you see it, you get your money back with no questions. Indicate in purchase notes the...
sawbill.com
might want to call and see if this boat is still around?
That Seliga sure looks like a nice boat and a nice weekend drive to go get. To get to the heart of the discussion does anyone have thoughts as to the best hull layup for "dragging" through portages excluding aluminum or Royalex due to weight.
I have both, a kevlar Malecite and an ultra light Seliga. They are both good hulls with the Seliga being more maneuverable and it can carry a heavier load. The Malecite weighs almost 55 lbs. and the Seliga is about 40. The Seliga seemed to me to be much more fragile at first due to it's lightness, but it may or may not be. At any rate I would use both boats for the same use scenario pretty much. The Seliga would be better in moving water and the Maecite might be a straighter tracker. The Seliga is a better tripping hull. That one for 1600.00 would probably have enough life left in it to be worthwhile.
Lots to think about with this next boat & probably won't be able to check all the boxes of wants & needs. Imagine not to many in the market for a canoe factoring in "dragability" but that is an honest consideration. As careful as one can be each trip generates deep gouges in gel-coat even with wet-footing. I agree about feeling a bit exposed with the presumed fragility of an UL & like having some sort of sacrificial skin.
I've dragged my cedar strip canoes over rocks on portages. I've also loaded them on the rocks, pushed them lower on the rocks, and then climbed in while still touching rocks, and shoving myself off. I went over plenty of rocks in a UL Kevlar Bell Magic I used to have.
The gel coat gets all scratched to heck but that's about it. I'm confident in my repair abilities so I think I'm less concerned than many about canoe abuse and that's definitely a consideration.
I've read a lot of forum posts over the years and structural problems with UL kevlar boats are almost unheard of. Not that it can't happen but look at all the people using them and look at the number of complaints.
Alan
The gel coat gets all scratched to heck but that's about it. I'm confident in my repair abilities so I think I'm less concerned than many about canoe abuse and that's definitely a consideration.
I've read a lot of forum posts over the years and structural problems with UL kevlar boats are almost unheard of. Not that it can't happen but look at all the people using them and look at the number of complaints.
Alan
Thanks all for the feedback. I think I'll open up my search to include a UL and pack a bit more repair tape & epoxy in case of a mishap and the canoe needs to be dragged (drug? drugded?). Seems each & every rock in Quetico is what I refer to as a "Hull Ripper" being sharp & jagged.
Is the Seliga gone?
There is this. I see Explorer's all over and have never considered them to be a tripper however it does check a number of my initial boxes. How much paddling efficiency would I loose compared to my fiberglass MR Sunrunner. We load for 10 nights as follows...100 lb bowwoman, 60 lb gear pack behind her, 55 lb food pack behind that with me in the back at 160.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts. I could probably talk the price down a couple hundred and go get it tomorrow.
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/boa/d/big-lake-mad-river-explorer-kv-canoe/7725769220.html
Thanks in advance for any thoughts. I could probably talk the price down a couple hundred and go get it tomorrow.
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/boa/d/big-lake-mad-river-explorer-kv-canoe/7725769220.html
Well...I guess this thing was calling my name. Specs & reviews seem to indicate it is a great tripper not excelling at anything in particular but good at everything. It is lighter, wider, deeper, than my current ride so a step in the right direction when it comes to safety. The scratches are all superficial and the brightwork is pristine being well-oiled over the years. Thanks everyone for the conversation.
Micah
Micah
Attachments
Nice find. The Explorer is a great canoe because it is good enough for just about anything.
Enjoy
Mad River Canoe's version of a "Prospector".
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