Canoe/Kayak/Ducker packing for river trip

Are there certain brands I should be looking at? Or lengths?

A local facebook search pulls these ones up for sale.

14' Rogue River, 14' Wilderness Explorer, 15.5 Pelican, 14'7" Old Town Guide, 16' Mad River
 
The 16 Mad river would be a good canoe to own if I was buying one canoe. Explorer is there tripping model I have an old 16 that tracks nice solo. I like big , have a few 17 fters and a 18' 6" Wenonah sundowner
 
As much as I like Old Town, if the canoe is for two people and gear, I would be looking at the Mad River 16'.
 
Again, Thanks for everyone's input! This is great info along with all of the stuff i'm reading online! I really appreciate it guys! Also some interesting info, the river i'm looking at which is normally flowing around 100-150 as a 22yr average is currently sitting at 4000cfs on the way down from a seasonal high for 2019 at 6800cfs, spring flooding in 2015 had the river at just under 20,000CFS on a river that is usually 150CFS!!! Thing was ripping!
 
Troy Fields said:
As much as I like Old Town, if the canoe is for two people and gear, I would be looking at the Mad River 16'.
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And two more dead passengers! I'm not familiar with canoes as you would sink where I run but any boat loaded to capacity is not ideal in any water. By the picture you sent....you could row about anything down the stream.
 
One thing you can do with canoes is lash them together for stability. Or get a matched pair and fasten them together with 2x4s to make a pontoon. Something you can take apart easily to use canoes individually or as a pontoon. Mount a motor on a cross brace if you want. I saw a pair of kayaks they made a pontoon out of with a motor mount. They call it a Ponty-ak.
 
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noweil Mike said:
One thing you can do with canoes is lash them together for stability. Or get a matched pair and fasten them together with 2x4s to make a pontoon. Something you can take apart easily to use canoes individually or as a pontoon. Mount a motor on a cross brace if you want. I saw a pair of kayaks they made a pontoon out of with a motor mount. The call it a Ponty-ak.
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[huh] That is interesting and amusing at the same time. Probably the most hunting redneck ingenuity ever. That will be something I look at during my scouting trips. After scouring OnX maps yesterday I believe I found a way for my dad to bring a 4 wheeler up to the edge of the river within 1/2 or so of camp so that will be a big help and eliminate at least one or 2 watercraft and weight for a majority of the journey. So that's definitely something to consider during my scouting trips.
 
Sounds like you got options with the quad. Maybe a pack raft if you need to cross and base camp where the quad is? That would save some money as well for other gear.

Depending on access maybe having the access to the quad would help with plan b plans. 4 guys from a dedicated camp walking out each morning can be hit and miss from my experience after day 2.

I can't recommend enough having a good size tent that time of year. There is just not a lot of daylight hours and weather might keep you in depending on your area.
 
I would look for a Grumman Sport Boat. Two different stations to row from, very stable with generous payload. Floating the current you could treat it like a trip in a drift boat.
 
I called my physician at home under the pretext of checking on how well his surgery went to remove the pins from his femur; broken in a bad fall while out telemark skiing in BC. He said his group paddles Mad River Outrage or MR Outrage Xs, as well as Dagger solo canoes. Fred mentioned that the Outrage is a wide boat, so if you are not very tall, cross strokes will be more difficult... He is 6'4" .
 
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For paddling a stream like that I would go with a hand laid fiberglass, royalex or T-Formex canoe 16 or 17 in length. Shorter than 16 feet usually isn't as stable as the longer length and you can haul more with the longer length. Fiberglass canoes can slide over rocks easier where aluminum canoes just grab the rock and you come to a stop in a hurry. Check out Wenonah Canoes website they have a FAQ section that explains the different designs of canoes. My choice would be a 17" Wenonah Spirit II it can haul a load, easy to turn and it's stable. The 16' Wenonah Aurora is another good choice. There are several makers of Prospector canoes and they are good design for paddling streams. Wenonah ships canoe all over the US so you may be able to find a used Wenonah or a dealer close by.
 
Wenonahbcanoes are made right here in Winona Minnesota. Its not too far out of you way to the western side of SD if you are coming from the east. They sometimes have used canoes or factory seconds as well. I?ve heard this second hand, not personal experience.

Mark
 
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Wenonah's are excellent boats, I have a Sundowner from the late 80's ,although long (18'6) You can really pack them and handle nicely
 
Kyle, this is a Grumman 15' whitewater canoe. Absolutely bombproof. They track well, even with the non-bulbed keel in the whitewater models, respond on the first paddle stroke for course correction, and will hold up to any rock rash. If you remove the thwart behind the bow seat you can slide a buck in with its legs cut off at the knee joint for quick transport from bank to bank. I have used mine to skid deer across below the Horse Race rapids on the Paint River in the UP numerous times to an Forest Service access site rather than haul them uphill a mile or more to a skidder or woods road, even with ice forming in the shallows in November.

I put a closed cell neoprene pad down on the deck for knee insulation and padding to paddle, as well as one for the dog to lie on.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1972-Aluminum-15-grumman-G-15-canoe/183771873496?hash=item2ac9a840d8:g:1SgAAOSwcrdcsMWP

All you need to focus on is transport west....to your location. And purchase won't break your budget.
 
Lot of people have summed up the trip with a canoe. Would definitely recommend a canoe. Spent many of years (20+) trekking the Provincial parks in Ontario via a canoe. Portage potential as well as the possibility of using a tarp as a tent can come in handy as well which reduces having to bring a tent. By flipping the canoe over on the stern and bow and wrapping a tarp over the bottoms and extending to any length and even raising the open end up depending on weather. You could probably look into a larger 18 footer and two people could ride high and dry. The 18 footer would increase your carrying capacity..

Starting out with the old 16 foot, 90 lb. aluminum canoes two guys (180 to 225 lbs. plus 150 lbs. of gear could trek for 12 to 18 days in the Quetico.
Moved up to a Holy Cow 16 footer Kevlar, 45 lbs same two guys 20 lbs. heavier apiece still can trek 12 to 18 days in the Quetico with 150 to 175 lbs. worth of gear.

One caveat is that we never carried out 150 lbs. worth of deer but it would be very possible and hunt worthy if we took on that style of trip. Surely do not know your experience with building canoes but there are plenty of kits out on the market for Okume wood based stich and glue kits which are beginner friendly that can handle many conditions you are explaining in your new hunting journey. An you have the added benefit of trekking down river in your own boat.

Another option would be to build yourself an Ozark Jon Boat which could easily handle 2 men, gear and two deer while taking on very shallow water. Research Ozark Jon Boat, they are about 20 foot long...Only need a push pole to propel down river...

Good luck with future hunt and for what ever you decide!
 
Just curious on what type of or class rapids you guys run canoes in? I am not familiar with canoes and honestly never seen anyone use on the rivers here in oregon unless it was turd water.

Looks like a good option at a good price if the water allows it or you could maneuver it loaded down.
 
Buddy said:
Troy Fields said:
As much as I like Old Town, if the canoe is for two people and gear, I would be looking at the Mad River 16'.
Click to expand...

And two more dead passengers! I'm not familiar with canoes as you would sink where I run but any boat loaded to capacity is not ideal in any water. By the picture you sent....you could row about anything down the stream.
Click to expand...

Loaded to "capacity" in a Mad River Explorer would be around 1000 pounds. That's two people and a whole lot of gear. And I consider those manufacturer's numbers, which are usually based on maintaining 6" of freeboard, to be overloaded.

But more realistically, I've had 500 pounds of paddlers and 200 pounds of gear on my Explorer many times, and it does just fine.

Not all 16" canoes are created equal, but the Explorer was designed to handle big water on lakes, whitewater, and carry a load. A Dagger Legend or Old Town Tripper or Nova Craft Prospector would also be fine. (This is like the Ford/Chevy/Toyota/Dodge discussion of canoes. Any truck will do the job. Which one do you like?)

Don't try the same in a 16" solo racing canoe with a 29" beam. And for the sake of all that is holy, don't even leave shore in one of those god-awful Coleman "canoes" . . . .
 
Capacity and current don't go together. Its a point and go show on any vessel.

However our experiences with "white" water are different and I have limited experience outside of Oregon. I am sure you could run some of the tamer rivers here in a canoe. I never seen it and there are better options for out here and safer.
 
It all depends on the right canoe and a paddler with the right skills. On one of my favorite salmonnrivers there is a class 4-5 drop that nobody I know would run in a drift boat. Rafting outfitters put 2 guides per boat to run it. Every year i watch people run it in open canoes, but these are specialized boats with float bags, thigh straps and huge rocker. If I tried it in my canoe, there is a good chance I?d die.
 
It's always hard to figure the right boat, that's why I have 5. I know it's a sickness. But yesterday I ordered a sea eagle 465ft, inflatable kayak. I did alot of research and spoke to a guy who has one. He said it's great. On May 1st I head out for North Dakota. The plan is fish along the way. Start red fishing along the southern coast states. Then head north thru Texas and switch to fresh water. This is the pre scouting trip of my bucket list, following the migration south from Rugby ND. Hopefully this inflatable will workout,I'll let you know
 
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