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What was your first canoe like?

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BearBrown

02/23/2011 12:41AM

I am just curious what everyone's first canoe they owned was like and what they remember about it.

Here are a couple of things you might want to talk about:
How did you come to own it? How old were you at the time?
What was the material/design like?
What did you like or dislike about it?
What special memories was this canoe a part of?
And where is this canoe now?

Richard "Bear" Brown----- "I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous

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tony

02/23/2011 01:42AM

The canoe I started with was similar to this one except ours did not have the bench seats in it. It had these foam seats that sat on the floor and stowed in the bow and stern ends when not in use. It was 14 foot and weight about 50 pounds.

When I was a teenager I would throw the canoe over my shoulder and walk about 1/2 mile down to the Black River. I didn't know what a portage yoke was at that time. My best memories in that were fishing northern's and musky's from that canoe with my Grandpa in northern wisconsin. The other memories from that time period was bow fishing carp in the with my brother in the black river. Super stable plat form, didn't track well, and slower that heck but we had a lot of fun with it.

tony

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BWPaddler

02/23/2011 01:59AM

My family owned 1/2 of a fiberglass canoe, as my dad and his brother bought it way back when. Canoe spent most of its life on Green Lake in MN (by Spicer) where my dad's family rented a cabin in the summers. My very first memory ever was paddling away from shore in that canoe with my parents as my infant sister cried on shore with my grandmother.

Finally my father either bought out my uncle or my uncle gave up paddling and our family took the canoe to our homes and it moved with us.

That canoe raced the Kanawha River in WV during the Sternwheel Regatta, and paddled a bit wherever we lived. I never paid attention to how much it weighed or what it was made of - I was a kid!!

My dad was always in the stern, and I never really learned how to paddle because he'd always compensate for whoever else was paddling and somehow we always went where we were supposed to go. I remember my father standing in the stern with his bow, shooting arrows into fish. He killed a carp that was bigger than my 4 year old neighbor - the poor kid had a frightened look on his face in the comparison picture.

Funniest memory was putting that over top of a tandem bicycle to get it about 1/2 mile to the local lake. Have an old pic that looks hilarious. Another funny memory was coming home after an all night party senior year of HS to paddle the sunrise, and my very square mother (who surely didn't approve of me being out all night) making breakfast for me and my friend when I got back - how cool was that?

That canoe is now on the lake where my parents live in Missouri. It's been fiberglass patched too many times to count. It still floats and my parents paddle it on occasion. The seats are fiberglass too, and I can feel the glass on my legs, so I won't paddle it unless I have to any more.
=========================
First canoe I owned as an adult (age 29) was the famous Coleman RamX 15. Someone nearby won it in a lottery and had no use for it. Got it for $200 out of the Thrift Ads in 1994 when I moved to a home on a lake. Made my own portage pads because of the funky metal frame/thwart. First BW trip 2 years later.

Canoe is currently buried under the snow down by the lake. It made 2 BWCA trips in 2010 and it still floats and is indestructible. I now have three other canoes and am debating whether to pass this one on somehow, or keep it around for the kids to destroy. It's been well worth the $200 despite how ugly it is!

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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The Lorax

02/23/2011 04:05AM

17 ft aluminum. We got it when I was around 11 or so. When I was 15, it was stolen. I went to a rowboat that was given to me for a few years and then went back to the canoe. That one was a Ram-x.
Used it for trips for many years.
In this time I was playing with kayaks and started building them. This was back when nobody even knew what a touring or sea kayak was. Nobody was doing it and there were very few on the market. Mostly overseas companies until rotomolding began.

Anyway, I used them exclusively until I came out to the midwest and gravitated back towards the canoe mostly, kayak second.

I love the smell of silnylon in the morning. It smells like........victory!

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TomT

02/23/2011 06:27AM

I was 23 and m girlfriend (now wife) bought me a Grumman Eagle for my birthday. It was 17 feet and around 70 lbs. I used it for three BW trips, some car camping at Devils Lake State park in WI, Ran the Sugar River in WI., and the 12 Point River in Mo. before trading it in.

I was thrilled to have it. It was a beast compared to todays canoes, I got it in 1983. It popped a rivet once and was a little creaky but I have many good memories of it.

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Beaverjack

02/23/2011 06:54AM

In '74, I bought a used 12' Verity fiberglass tandem, that I mostly used as a solo (not counting m dog). Took that boat to the Everglades twice. It fit perfect on top of my VW Beetle. I don't remember what happened to it, although I must have sold it when I joined the army. I wish I still had it. I paid $100 for it. My boats cost 10 to 20 times that much now, but I don't think I've had 10-20 times the fun.

Tony

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Craig K

02/23/2011 07:13AM

Bought my first canoe last February, after going with others or borrowing one for several years now.
Found it on CL, it is an old 1977 16' fiberglass "Explorer" model made by St Paul fiberglass Ind - I believe they went out of business over 30 years ago! Anyway the canoe was in excellent condition with hardly a scratch on it. Didn't really have a gunwale on it so I made one. it's a little on the heavy side but it is very solid and maneuverable. Perfect size for me and my two boys.
Been to the BWCA twice with it last year and planning on two trips with it this year also.

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BWPaddler

02/23/2011 07:21AM

quote Beaverjack: "I paid $100 for it. My boats cost 10 to 20 times that much now, but I don't think I've had 10-20 times the fun."
Sad but true :)

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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Longpaddler

02/23/2011 07:24AM

My first canoe was a Blue Hole OCA (royalex). I bought it used from Nantahala Outdoor Center in NC. I was heavy into whitewater at that time. I paddled it for 4 or more years before trading it in for more and more radical whitewater boats....That was in the pinnacle years of canoeing...most whitewater boaters now are into kayaks...

..there is nothing- absolute nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats - Wind in the Willows

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Longpaddler

02/23/2011 07:30AM

quote Longpaddler: "My first canoe was a Blue Hole OCA (royalex). I bought it used from Nantahala Outdoor Center in NC. I was heavy into whitewater at that time. I paddled it for 4 or more years before trading it in for more and more radical whitewater boats....That was in the pinnacle years of canoeing...most whitewater boaters now are into kayaks..."

Forgot to mention...that was in 1981...very fond memories of that boat as I was traveling every weekend to rivers all over W Va, NC, Tenn Ga etc. Obviously my wild & single days....Thank God I lived thru them.

..there is nothing- absolute nothing- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats - Wind in the Willows

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02/23/2011 07:32AM

My first canoe was my dad's. I grew up in Kanabic County MN where the annual Snake River Canoe Race takes place. My dad and a buddy of his did the race every year in his 15' Alumacraft. The best finish time they ever got was 2nd place for the class. I grew up paddling that heavy beast around and eventually did the canoe race myself (ironiclly coming in 2nd for the class).

Fast forward to the start of the BW trips for my buddies and I. First we rented from an outfitter; then we borrowed canoes from friends; finally, last year, I broke down and bought a Wenonah Escape because I did not want to rent and felt like a bum borrowing.

So, long story short, the first canoe I personally owned is my Wenonah; but I concider my first canoe that old 15' Alumacraft.

"Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!" - Calvin & Hobbes

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mooseplums

02/23/2011 07:53AM

In 1986 I bought a 17' Osagian aluminum canoe, and were talking heavy gauge aluminum here, not the thin stuff they have these days.
I weighed about 90 lbs, and was a real treat on portages. I was in a lot better shape in those days so no big deal.
It truly was indestructible. I was driving down a deserted highway one afternoon when my rack came loose from my car, and the whole works went flying through the air. The canoe bounced and bounced down the road behind me, I thought for sure it was hurt. When I finally came to a stop, I got to the canoe, and to my surprise there was only one small dent on the stern and some scratches.

The canoe is now owned by my brother in law and it's buried in high grass near one of his out buildings.

"I am haunted by waters"~Norman Maclean "A River Runs Through It"

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Winemaker

02/23/2011 08:02AM

I was newly married in 1983 in Fort Wayne (IN) and my spouse and i were looking for a cheap hobby. I recalled sitting in the middle of my Dad's 17-foot Michicraft aluminum canoe paddling around Indian Lake near Wapakoneta, Ohio. I thought a canoe sounded like fun, so I began stalking the local Coleman Camper dealer, looking for a bargain canoe.

Every couple of weeks, I would check in (stalking) with the owner, who seemed displeased that I described myself as a "tent camper" rather then wanting a real "camper" he could sell me. One day I walked in and he took me out back and showed me a 14-foot Smokercraft aluminum canoe he had taken in on trade and wanted $200 for it. I bought it and hit Sears for lifejackets and Mohawk paddles.

We'd always wanted to canoe Sugar Creek, near Crawfordsville (IN), having read it was a great river to paddle. So we found Clement's Canoes did both rent canoes and did private shuttles for their 30 mile "overnighter" and had a campground in the middle at Deer's Mill covered bridge.

When we got to their base in Crawfordsville, we loaded the canoe as it sat next to the car, about 100 feet from the creek. We loaded it to the gunnels and was dismayed to find we could not pick it up! Three local jocks helped us get the boat to the bank. It slid into the water and we crawled in with what I now know is less then optimum freeboard.

We paddled the 15 miles down this beautiful creek and arrived exhausted at the campground, Wood's Canyon Resort. There we discovered we could have DRIVEN our camping gear and set up camp PRIOR to the canoe trip. We set up the tent and crawled in for a nap. The next day was a joy, paddling through two state parks and another great 15-mile stretch of creek. As we went downstream, we were passed by numerous Old Town and Wenonah canoes, and we said, "We will never own expensive canoes like those!".

Shortly after our return, I began stalking Jack Root, owner of a local outdoor shop, looking for a deal on a better canoe. Within a year, Jack decided to sell me his personal canoe, an Old Town Camper in ABS, to get me out of his hair, I think. But thats another story.

hummm?

"Opening a bottle of wine in a canoe is a desirable, but irrational act."

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Basspro69

02/23/2011 08:09AM

My first canoe could probably survive a nuclear strike, coleman 17 footer.

" I want to know Gods thoughts , The rest are details " Albert Einstein.

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talusman

02/23/2011 08:27AM

Never owned a canoe when I was young. My father had a fishing boat and uncle had a canoe we could use at his cabin. I initially rented when i started to go to the BW. When I knew I had the "bug" I decided that I wanted a really nice canoe. So I contacted a local builder and took a class and built a cedar/canvas canoe. So far that is my only canoe, although this summer I'm buying a WeNoNah kevlar Escape.

He's a rolling stone, and it's bred in the bone; He's a man who won't fit in.

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Buster

02/23/2011 08:36AM

I too owned the Coleman barge. 70 lbs of true delight. (1981)

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solotrek

02/23/2011 09:00AM

Another Coleman owner here. I bought it used in the mid-eighties. 93 pounds of bulletproof shoulder tearing Ram-X. It served us well as we were learning to canoe.

"It is in solitude, in quiet communication with nature that we reach most deeply into truth." Sam Campbell

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forestmaven

02/23/2011 09:19AM

My first canoe - if you can call it that - was a Sevylor inflatable with which I moved along at glacial speeds for several happy years during my childhood. Later I "upgraded" to an AeroCraft 17' aircraft carrier which later suffered from mouse infestation in the styrofoam flotation chambers at the bow and stern.

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forestmaven

02/23/2011 09:19AM

My first canoe, if you can call it that, was a Sevylor inflatable with which I moved along at glacial speeds for several happy years during my childhood. Later I "upgraded" to an AeroCraft 17' aircraft carrier which later suffered from mouse infestation in the styrofoam flotation chambers at the bow and stern.

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grampgramp

02/23/2011 10:08AM

A 17 foot Coleman canoe {tank} Very heavy, but my wife and I had some great trips with it, and it was great for when the kids started. Lots of great memories with that old canoe, bought sometime around 1980. Just give it to my oldest son a few years ago, he is now starting to make his own memories with his family in that canoe.

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Amok

02/23/2011 12:00PM

Fall of 2009. Clearanced "kaynoe" (old town pack) at Dick's sporting goods. Just a little solo for me, but here's a pic of me and my youngest son in it :)

Trust, but verify. The Lord will provide !!!!

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BWPaddler

02/23/2011 12:34PM

quote Winemaker: "When we got to their base in Crawfordsville, we loaded the canoe as it sat next to the car, about 100 feet from the creek. We loaded it to the gunnels and was dismayed to find we could not pick it up! Three local jocks helped us get the boat to the bank. It slid into the water and we crawled in with what I now know is less then optimum freeboard."
That is one hilarious story Winemaker!! The part above still has be laughing. I'd love to hear the next installment.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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BWPaddler

02/23/2011 12:38PM

@basspro, @buster, @solotrek - where are those indestructible Colemans now?

@grampgramp - love it, multi-generational Coleman!

@talusman - wow, your first canoe was a handmade cedar/canvas canoe? Impressive.

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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snakecharmer

02/23/2011 01:03PM

Coleman. RamX. Orange. 17 footer. Bought new for $200. Sold some 10 years later for $200. They hold their value :)

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after"
~ Henry David Thoreau

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Winsum45

02/23/2011 01:08PM

This one! OT Canadienne 17 w/ mahogany and ash and brass trim. :-D

Just bought.

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BWPaddler

02/23/2011 01:40PM

Winsum - it's gorgeous. I hope you enjoy paddling it soon!

Wherever there is a channel for water, there is a road for the canoe. -Thoreau

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oldgentleman

02/23/2011 02:14PM

I bought a 17 ft MichiCraft aluminum canoe back in '76. It weighed 86 pounds and hasn't gotten any lighter. I still use it. Here it is on Grandpas Old Truck with my grandson, waiting to go fishing.

It's been down dozens of rivers in northern Michigan, and still gets called out for rough duty, like dragging over beaver dams or taking grandchildren fishing.

Here it is in the distant past, with my son standing in the bow fending off sweepers on the Au Sable.

He's 35 now, so you can see it's an old pic.

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Dennisal

02/23/2011 03:20PM

Still looking for that first one. Want it to be special...

NEVER LOST. ALL PORTAGES AND ROADS GO SOMEWHERE OR THEY WOULD NOT BE THERE.

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overthehill

02/23/2011 04:06PM

A lead sled. Still got it. Grum 19 Freighter.

Not to Hurry-Not to Worry

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shoreviewswede

02/23/2011 04:17PM

14' Mad River adventure. Poly... with seat backs and cup holders. Paddled great, but not made for the BW; took it anyway.

Be Nice -Swede

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kanoes

02/23/2011 04:47PM

an OT Disco 174. it was the *very collectible grey color. :)

i think bigfoot is blurry. (mitch hedberg)

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bellolake

02/23/2011 05:14PM

A 16 foot fiberglass barge that we bought just a couple years after we were married. It has taken us on many adventures, in and out of the BW. Though it has suffered from too much sun, too much snow (stored behind a friends garage when snow came off the roof, causing multiple fractures), and neglect brought on by its longer and much lighter cousin, it still hangs in my garage where I see it every day.

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Winsum45

02/23/2011 05:23PM

quote BWPaddler: "Winsum - it's gorgeous. I hope you enjoy paddling it soon!"
Thanx BWP. Can't wait til' it warms up a bit and the water becomes less hard. :-/

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inspector13

02/23/2011 05:26PM

An 80lb fiberglass Oswego brand canoe from Hallberg Marine. They use to work with the Scouts. I pitched in some money to get this second canoe for the family in 1978, when I was 17. We used it mostly for river tripping. And yes, it was used for a trip to the North Kawishiwi using entry point 29. Never again. It is now stored unlicensed in my sister’s back yard.

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Unas10

02/23/2011 05:29PM

17' Herters fiberglass 125# square stern. It was my dad's, so that is what I had as a kid. It was used for fishing everywhere, Governor Dodge State Park, Mississippi River, Bois Brule, Lake Superior and every little podunk stream that would float it. My dad had a bum hip and had problems walking the banks of rivers in his later years but refused to give up fishing. One trip was launched with a herd of Holsteins watching as we had Mom drop us off in some farmer's pasture. The river was barely wide enough for the canoe. We(I) dragged it over gravel bars and scootched it under barbwire fences on that trip.

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maxxbhp

02/23/2011 06:37PM

I bought a Coleman about 30 years ago, did about 90% river floating. On the plus side, it was dam near indestructable. If you hit a rock, you could literally watch the hull conform to the shape of the rock then go right back. Seat location wasn't great but that's a minor fix. On the minus side, for a river guy, it had about a 2" keel, and if you didn't set for a turn just right and hit the seam perfectly, very shortly you were pryin' yourself off the outside bank. Made me learn that skill, though. At that point in my life I loved it because it was MY canoe. Put those foam gunwhale pads on it, throw it on my Bronco, and I was gone.

"Old Nashville still has a song and dance, and the Florida girls still wear no underpants. And we all get drunk at the football game, yeh the new south, thank God is still the same" Hank Williams, jr

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Bannock

02/23/2011 07:03PM

We had a family canoe - 17' Alumacraft. It not only was a canoe but a diving platform, fishing boat, and many other things. I might have been 10 when Dad bought it. It's been on many canoe camping trips. My brother owns it now. It's behind his garage.

The first canoe I owned was shortly after college - a Sears, 15', chopper-gun fiberglass, with painted on birch bark pattern. It was a heavy, crappy canoe, but I didn't know it at the time, so I had GREAT fun with it!!!!! :)

Bannock

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Spartan2

02/23/2011 07:20PM

It was a 17-foot Grumman. We bought it new with the help of a friend of my dad's who worked as a salesman for Grumman (it was supposedly "blemished" but we never found anything wrong with it.) We got a "deal" on it.

We bought it in 1973, so we must have been 28 years old. We loved it then and we love it now.

We purchased a Bell Northwind in 1999, but the Grumman has gone on a couple of BWCA trips since then when I was having knee problems and it was easier for me to handle the landings with it. This photo was taken on its last BWCA trip in spring of '04.

Special memories? Lots of canoe trips, in the BWCA, in Quetico, Temagami, Algonquin. Trips on the Big Manistee River in Michigan, and day paddles on some little lakes near our home. Introducing our children to canoeing, and then our grandchildren. Having it fly off the car-top-carrier (a brand-new Oldsmobile, by the way) and bump alongside for fifty yards or so while still attached by the front tie rope, putting a nasty dent in the car before crashing down the road--hardly damaging the canoe at all! :-) Boy, I'm glad there wasn't anyone traveling close behind us!

Currently it resides at our lake cottage in Michigan and we enjoy using it there.

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Boppa

02/23/2011 07:43PM

We likewise have a Grumman 17 footer as our first canoe. We purchased it used from a YMCA camp in 1970. It continues to serve us faithfully on some particular river runs (rock strewed) that we do as well as get me to a section of river for my annual duck hunting trip. I am sure it is a pound or two lighter from the chosen rocky paths I have taken. It will never be sold though, it has a permanent home and many memories for us to recall.
Boppa

"Yesterday is the past, Tomorrow is the future, Today is a GIFT, that is why it is called the present".

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maxxbhp

02/23/2011 08:44PM

Boppa, I like that. I sold my Coleman to a young couple who I personally knew. When they loaded it up, it was like "...we promise to take care of it..." , like it was a dog or something. I couldn't have let it go any other way. I guess that's weird, but in a good way

"Old Nashville still has a song and dance, and the Florida girls still wear no underpants. And we all get drunk at the football game, yeh the new south, thank God is still the same" Hank Williams, jr

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Basspro69

02/23/2011 10:16PM

quote BWPaddler: "@basspro, @buster, @solotrek - where are those indestructible Colemans now?

@grampgramp - love it, multi-generational Coleman!

@talusman - wow, your first canoe was a handmade cedar/canvas canoe? Impressive." Passed down to a cousin .

" I want to know Gods thoughts , The rest are details " Albert Einstein.

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Jeriatric

02/24/2011 04:26AM

To see what my first canoe was like, I just need to walk into the garage and look at it. An Old Town Pack, it gets the most use of the 3 canoes I have owned and will likely be the last canoe I own too.

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solotrek

02/24/2011 08:12AM

"It is in solitude, in quiet communication with nature that we reach most deeply into truth." Sam Campbell

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lazypaw

02/24/2011 04:58PM

State of the Art Aluminium....

Loved it but sadly it did not make the move south with me. I am sure it still in action somewhere.

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Kevlar

02/24/2011 08:07PM

Grumman 17' River Canoe...a .050 skin (thick and heavy) with extra ribs and a shoe keel (short and wide so not to hang up on rocks) Weighed about 80 lbs. before I jacked out the broken rib and put an aluminum door frame over it.

I told an experienced canoeist that I wanted to buy a canoe, but couldn't afford new. He found this one at a United Store in Hopkins, one of a number there from a resort in Wisconsin. That was in 1974 and I think I paid $65.00. I used that canoe on my first BW trip in 1975, again in 1976...I had put the usual Grumman yoke over the center thwart. These had no adjustment for the portage pad width, and were designed for 220 lb. linebacker types, not 165 lb. runners. Those pads hit the outer part of my shoulders and by the end of a 160 rod portage I think my shoulders angled downward. After my second BW trip I sold it for a 17' Alumacraft Quetico ltwt. I think it cost $350 new and weighed about 20 lbs less (63 to 65 lbs).

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gutmon

02/24/2011 09:11PM

17' Grumman lightweight (about 65 lbs.). It was shiny. Got crushed by a big maple tree while on sawhorses in my backyard.

"The trouble with the world isn't that people know too little, but that they know so much that just ain't so." Mark Twain

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mr.barley

02/24/2011 09:46PM

Early on in my canoe tripping days I always was in someone else's canoe. When it came time for me to buy my first, I went brand new. My first canoe was a bright shiney UL kevlar MN II back in 1996.

Because I'm wearing one and I just did....

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SINCE1975

03/03/2011 09:19PM

a 1977 17ft.aluminum beast,sea nymph.It weighs 90lbs and is built to last 3 life times.I bought it brand new for a hundred and fifty bucks and was/is a great investment.I haven't had it in the bwca since my son went into the service 3 years ago.(90lbs is more than this old man wants to lug anymore)he will be home to do a trip this summer so maybe it goes on one more voyage...

"I am happiest here"

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BearBrown

03/03/2011 09:47PM

quote SINCE1975: "a 1977 17ft.aluminum beast,sea nymph.It weighs 90lbs and is built to last 3 life times.I bought it brand new for a hundred and fifty bucks and was/is a great investment.I haven't had it in the bwca since my son went into the service 3 years ago.(90lbs is more than this old man wants to lug anymore)he will be home to do a trip this summer so maybe it goes on one more voyage..."

That's awesome. My first trip to the BWCA was in an old, beastly sea nymph canoe. We nicknamed it the sea beast and had a hell of a time portaging it from Sawbill to Cherokee because it didn't have a portage yoke. In fact, neither of the canoes we brought (the other one was similar in weight and size) had a portage yoke. HUGE newbie mistake, but we made it to cherokee eventually by two-man-carrying it all of the way. I detailed this journey in my trip report if you care to read it.

Just thought it was neat that you owned a sea nymph.

Richard "Bear" Brown----- "I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous

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Banksiana

03/03/2011 10:47PM

Just after college a roommate and I bought a Sawyer 222 in "Goldenglass". Eighteen and a half feet of solid fiberglass (no foam core or ribs). A beast on the portages (over 80#), but the finest tandem I've paddled on the water- fast, stable, seaworthy and capable of carrying huge loads. She's been all over the B-dub and Q, has toured Wabakimi and Woodland Caribou, down the Bloodvein, Steele, Seal and Gods Rivers. She's bruised and battered but still sound- waiting in the garage for another big water trip

Steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.

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DuluthPak

03/03/2011 11:20PM

It was 1977 and I was 5 years old. My dad came home from a business trip in Asia. He brought us kids an inflatable Budweiser canoe that I am pretty sure he packed all the way from Asia but maybe he picked it up on the way home from the airport. I can't be sure. I was only five years old but I remember paddling the St.Croix river through O'Brien State Park with this baby. My brothers and I paddled on Lake Michigan with that thing. Remember, this was long before portable electric air pumps that plugged into the cigarette lighter of your car. We had to blow that thing up everywhere we wanted to use it. We had a crappy foot pump but it didn't work very well. Yeah, we never traveled the BWCAW or Quetico with that thing. And thank the good Lord for that. But that Budweiser canoe planted the seed for canoeing (and drinking beer). I graduated to a 1979 Alumacraft a few years later and more recently to that fancy Kevlar (and Vodka). But nothing brings back more fond memories than my old Budweiser canoe.

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jwartman59

03/04/2011 12:45AM

my first canoe was an alumacraft that i fussed and whined for until my dad finally bought one. my argument was that we were the only people in minnesota without a boat. hard to argue with that kind of logic.

that canoe is long dead. my brother killed it on the winisk river.

then my brother bought a Wenonah whitewater II. a killer jensen designed racing / touring canoe. faster than any canoe has the right to be. we paddled that canoe to within an inch of it's life. in spite of that canoes name it was anything but a whitewater canoe. it needed hundreds of rods to respond to the most furious paddle strokes.

but because we didn't care, we paddled it down the many wonderful whitewater rivers of Wisconsin and ontario. it sucked in rapids, many rocks were pushed and scratched. the canoe battered but still very usable. with many a patch, this fiberglass beast is still a boat that gets considered anytime we plan a trip.

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Spartan2

03/04/2011 06:34AM

DuluthPaK--that photo is priceless! :-)

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Banksiana

03/04/2011 09:05AM

jwartman- The Minnesota II is the same hull as the Whitewater II, it was rechristened due to the popularity of the hull for tripping in lake country.

Steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.

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BearBrown

03/04/2011 02:47PM

@ duluthpack

That is a great story and photo. Thanks for sharing.

Everyone has contributed some really neat memories so far.

Some themes I have noticed are that a lot of us started out with heavy canoes made of aluminum or fiberglass. Most everyone called these canoes indestructable and many of them are still seaworthy or believed to be.

Richard "Bear" Brown----- "I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous

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Dbldppr1250

03/04/2011 04:18PM

My first canoe is going to be a Wenonah Boundary Waters. I'm buying it from LaTourell's and will pick it up this summer when I trip up there. 17' and 42 lbs.

Walking School Bus

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ozarkpaddler

03/04/2011 06:05PM

Old 17' Lowe aluminum. Made in Lebanon, MO. Stable enough to stand up to cast or read your line going downriver weighed a ton, maybe a ton and a half. TW

"Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." Mark Twain

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Ho Ho

03/04/2011 09:38PM

quote BWPaddler: "My family owned 1/2 of a fiberglass canoe, as my dad and his brother bought it way back when. Canoe spent most of its life on Green Lake in MN (by Spicer) where my dad's family rented a cabin in the summers. My very first memory ever was paddling away from shore in that canoe with my parents as my infant sister cried on shore with my grandmother.

Wow, my first canoe was also stationed on Green Lake (by Spicer)! Well, that was the first one I owned part of. Before that I paddled a lot of Grummans up at camp in Ontario, and I still consider those the Ur-Canoe. I wish I had one.

But years later David and I, together with David's brother and his wife, bought an Alumacraft Quetico for David's family's cabin on Green Lake. I didn't think a cabin in Minnesota was complete without a canoe. David and I still have the Alumacraft up at our cabin outside Ely. We don't use it as much any more now that we have the Wenonah Kevlars, but it's there when the teenagers come to visit. I do wish I had one of those Grummans though . . .

BWPaddler, where was the cabin you all rented on Green Lake? David's family's place is on Indian Beach Road, about a quarter mile south of where the Indian Beach resort used to be, on the east side of the lake.

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mocha

03/04/2011 09:48PM

quote BearBrown: "I am just curious what everyone's first canoe they owned was like and what they remember about it.

Here are a couple of things you might want to talk about:
How did you come to own it? How old were you at the time?
What was the material/design like?
What did you like or dislike about it?
What special memories was this canoe a part of?
And where is this canoe now?
"

my brother owned the canoe, i was around 12 years old. it was a sleek silver bathtub. I liked that i didn't have to carry it, disliked that the seat was very hot; special memory? hmmm...surprised i could tip it over (accidentally, of course).
The canoe is stored in my brothers garage.

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BearBrown

03/04/2011 10:47PM

quote Dbldppr1250: "My first canoe is going to be a Wenonah Boundary Waters. I'm buying it from LaTourell's and will pick it up this summer when I trip up there. 17' and 42 lbs. "

That's the canoe I usually rent. Pretty damn nice if you ask me. I don't have a lot to compare it to though. I'd definitely be happy owning one though.

Richard "Bear" Brown----- "I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous

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Captn Tony

03/05/2011 06:56AM

My Mom gave me the family 80 lb. monarch and it had a busted rib and was twisted so it wouldn't track straight. Went down a lot of North East Iowa Rivers & creeks. Had alot of great memories in that twisted beast. Gave it to my nephew becasue I hadn't used it for about 5 years.

You're going to HELL and you're going to drag me with ya!! -Gunsmoke

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Jackfish

Moderator

03/05/2011 07:57AM

quote Winsum45: "This one! OT Canadienne 17 w/ mahogany and ash and brass trim. :-D

Just bought."
That's purdy. :-) Congrats on the purchase!

It's only a spot on the map... until you go there.

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Jackfish

Moderator

03/05/2011 08:01AM

My first canoe was an Old Town Discovery 164 bought used around 2001. I still own it today and it gets used when I'm on rivers where I don't want to paddle my kevlar canoe. It weighs about 74#.

This photo was taken maybe four years ago and is of my son (in the stern) and his buddy on the Oconto River north of Green Bay.

It's only a spot on the map... until you go there.

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rlhedlund

03/05/2011 08:20AM

Another Grumman "Silver Streak" owner here.

17' Alumninum with four coats of paint (paint not made for aluminum canoes). I took it to a shop that my father-in-law had. There was a sandblasting booth about 8' wide. I blasted each end of the canoe and ended up with a 1' band of paint around the middle of the hull.

I bought it in high school from a friend for I think $50. He got it for free from a family that moved. I kept it through college and regretably sold it for something like $100 after our second child was born to make ends meets.

I was without a canoe for many years, and thought of that old one many times.

Life is good, living is better. Everlasting Life is Best! Pray for Us Amok.

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BearBrown

03/05/2011 03:55PM

quote rlhedlund: "Another Grumman "Silver Streak" owner here.

17' Alumninum with four coats of paint (paint not made for aluminum canoes). I took it to a shop that my father-in-law had. There was a sandblasting booth about 8' wide. I blasted each end of the canoe and ended up with a 1' band of paint around the middle of the hull.

I bought it in high school from a friend for I think $50. He got it for free from a family that moved. I kept it through college and regretably sold it for something like $100 after our second child was born to make ends meets.

I was without a canoe for many years, and thought of that old one many times.
"

I wonder if it is still out there, increasing in value. It's a shame you had to get rid of it, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to in life. Glad you found your way back into canoeing though. How many years went by before you got back into it?

Richard "Bear" Brown----- "I would rather give someone one photograph they can't live without than one hundred they can live with." anonymous

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