canoeing while camping

[gettinaway]

Does anyone take a canoe along with them when they go camping? If so, any tips for beginners? I am interested in purchasing a Old Town Discovery 119 solo canoe. Seems like a quiet way to observe nature and to be able to extend areas to fish. Not so much rivers but lakes. The option of using either a canoe paddle or a kayak paddle is a plus. Thanks

[05Kingquad700]

Re: canoeing while camping

I had one of those. I felt more comfortable in a Kayak, so I sold it. I currently use an Old Town Predator 13. The Old Town Predator's are a fishing line of kayaks, they even have ones you peddle like a bicycle. Mine isn't a peddle drive, so I still use my kayak paddles. I think you would be better going with a traditional canoe paddle, because you sit higher in the canoe, than in a kayak. If you want, buy a kayak paddle and try it out. Just make sure you can return it, if you don't like it.
As far as tips for begginers.......get a kayak cart off amazon. Makes moving from truck to lake much easier. You can get them for about $38. Don't take your expesive fishing gear for a while. Tie everything off to your canoe. It's not IF you will tip, but WHEN. Make sure to have a pfd. Look on meetup.com and see if there are any canoe/kayaking meetups in your area. We do full moon paddles in the warmer months.
Canoeing/Kayaking is an awesome way to kill a weekend.

[MacGyver]

Re: canoeing while camping

If you're going to fish from a canoe, I strongly recommend getting one with a flat bottom. I'm partial to the Coleman Scanoes for just that reason. They're flat, wide and have no rocker (that's the curve to the hull from bow to stern). They're not as maneuverable as the more traditional canoes, like the Olde Town you're talking about, but for lakes, you don't need to be able to turn on a dime. I stand up and fish from mine. If I ever did somehow manage to tip it, it would be because I did something extraordinarily stupid. On lakes, I'm motorized - on rivers, it's mostly a double ended paddle.

[James.]

Re: canoeing while camping

Does anyone take a canoe along with them when they go camping? If so, any tips for beginners? I am interested in purchasing a Old Town Discovery 119 solo canoe. Seems like a quiet way to observe nature and to be able to extend areas to fish. Not so much rivers but lakes. The option of using either a canoe paddle or a kayak paddle is a plus. Thanks

I don't have a lot to add other then my brother has a canoe and a couple kayaks (I don't know what ones) and I have been in both. Tons of fun. They are definitely on my wish list.

[toedtoes]

Re: canoeing while camping

I agree with James!

That flat bottom looks nice. I'd like one that the dogs can be in without dumping me over with every movement. I'll have to start checking them out.

[MacGyver]

Re: canoeing while camping

If anyone does go looking for a Scanoe, try to find the older models with the internal frame made out of aluminum. They're getting rare but, being used, they're cheaper than the newer models that have a weird ribbed, all plastic floor and bulky seat pedestals.

[Irate Mormon]

Re: canoeing while camping

I want to do it the other way around: camping while canoeing. I have been flip-flopping between a canoe and a kayak.

[actad]

Re: canoeing while camping

We bring a little aluminum jon boat.

[James.]

Re: canoeing while camping

We bring a little aluminum jon boat.

Looks like fun.

[JoeN]

Re: canoeing while camping

I inherited a 10' jon boat and trolling motor about like the one Actad posted. I have had it for a couple of years now, and due to work, I have never put it in the water. I am not a fisherman but I intend to take the boat with me for photography. I want to ease around small ponds/lakes and take some wildlife pictures from the water. I may be out of work this summer so I may finally get to register the boat and put it in the water. The problem with the jon boat is it weighs almost 100# so it is hard for me to handle alone because I have a bad back, and I am getting older so I can't handle things like I used to. Also I think the jon boat will be a little hard to paddle for one person because the bow is square, the bottom is flat, and the boat is wide. It should be stable though and with the trolling motor I can ease around the lake. For what it sounds like you want to do, either a canoe or scanoe would work great.

In my younger days I did some camping and canoeing. I took a couple of boys from my church on a 3 day canoeing, camping trip up in North Arkansas and we had a great time on the Buffalo River, the nations first National River. A canoe is a great way to enjoy the water and once you get used to it they are not too tippy but you have to load them properly but when you add other people or animals they can turn upside down in a heartbeat. On another excursion, one of the men brought some white water kayaks for the boys to try. Well, I had to try one also and it didn't make any difference whether I was on a river or lake, I spent more time upside down than right side up.

[Charley]

Re: canoeing while camping

I've always wanted a canoe but every one that I've gotten in felt really sketchy, like ready to roll at any minute and the aquatic life where I fish is not all that nice, even in February. So, I bought a boat 10 years ago :mdr:. I must say though, I've never gotten in a Scanoe...that sounds (and looks) like the ticket MacGyver... for non-reptilian infested waters that is.

[howl]

Re: canoeing while camping

We did a good bit of river camping out of Grumman and Coleman canoes back in the day. The first thing you had to learn was how to recover a swamped canoe. Somebody flipped, swamped and spent a day drying gear every trip.

Nowadays, people who really go for camping by canoe have the option of the Radisson and Sportspal canoes. Those foam sponsons make them nearly impossible to flip. You can sure fall out, though. Falling out isn't because the canoe tips, it's because it moves out from under you. I've used mine off beaches in the Atlantic and in light duty whitewater rivers with never a flip.

[Tjc76]

Re: canoeing while camping

You will want a longer canoe for camping. That 119 is going to fill up with gear quick, unless you are going very minimalist.

[dennis b]

Re: canoeing while camping

Hi,
My camping trips always included a boat or canoe. Now that the mid seventies are approaching I wanted to decrease the things brought along. I use an old Wenonah 16.5 canoe with a wingman outfitter system strapped on. Stability and being able to move around makes this system great. Besides the old canoe, I use an old Early Winters gore tex tent from the 70's. Nothing better than getting up when you're camping right on the water! Zip the tent closed, lock the basement! and get out there ….

[Charley]

Re: canoeing while camping

Well, this thread got me thinking... then it got me to spend more money. About a month back, I decided to got to one of these kayak "demo" days. Wow is all I can say. Remember what I said about the sketchy feeling canoes? Not so in these kayaks that I test paddled. I did not paddle any "sit in" styles, only the "sit on tops". I was quickly struck by how much more peaceful of a feeling it was sitting that close to the water and the quietness of its movement over the water. I was sooo impressed, that a couple of weeks later I got my Wilderness Systems ATAK 120. Love this thing! Easy to paddle, tracks well, I even installed my extra depth finder I had. Also, very stable and comfortable to stand in. It was raining the whole time home from work so I just put her in the pool for a quick spin. I can't wait for the weather to cool down enough for me to get back out there and do some camping. This will do well in a lot of backwater areas and lakes, in our only national forest, that do not allow motorized vessels.