Has anyone paddled the Northstar Seliga model? I’m curious about how it paddles, tracking versus maneuverability, and initial versus secondary stability. I’m particularly interested in how it paddles with just a light load for day trips. Thanks!

I paddled one in 2021. I found that it was highly stable and turned easily. The higher ends seemed to catch wind. Out of the three canoes I rented, I enjoyed the Seliga the best.

Thanks Dan. Other than the high ends it sounds like a good choice for the particular use we have for it.

The Seliga is a really interesting boat. The classic hull shape and beautiful recurved stems make it instantly recognizable. I've only paddled one once, but in terms of handling the closest cousin in the Northstar line is the B Series of canoes. Both the Seliga and B Series have symmetrical rocker in a prospector style so they're fairly maneuverable with good primary and secondary stability. Good at a lot, but not great. The optimal load is between 350–650 lbs so definitely will do better with some gear in it as opposed to paddling unloaded. One cool quirk of the Seliga is that because the mold was made from one of Joe Seliga's boats you can see little dimples in the epoxy resin every so often. Those are the nail heads from the original.

We like our Seliga. I can only imagine the originals, with a keel, track really well. It is true that this boat handles better loaded vs. empty. It is versatile, so not an A+ necessarily - but certainly a passing grade in all BW type applications. It is reasonably stable, and seems more maneuverable than some others we've had. If I was day tripping in any kind of weather/wind, I'd add some weight. Loaded, you are A-OK.

We bought one used last year from an outfitter. I like the look of it (classic lines) and we have been happy with the handling. We did raise the seats up about an inch and moved the bow seat back some. I think a lot of outfitters must have the bow seat really far forward to help trim the canoe if the bow paddler is very lightweight and the stern is heavy. But that doesn't work well for us.

Feels plenty stable to me loaded or unloaded, but I may not be the best judge of that since I haven't accidentally swamped any type of canoe in decades.

Thanks for all of the comments. Seeing the nail dimples is cool. I’d rather not need to add weight for a day trip but it’s not out of the question if we feel it needs it. Overall, it does sound like it would work for us.

Unfortunately, the used one I’ve seen advertised is several hours away and so I’m trying to decide whether I can find time for the trip.

Sawbill outfitters has a number of Seligas in their fleet, maybe you could rent one for half a day and try it out. I rented one for a 6-day trip in August and I thought it was great. We did have some issues with front-back trim (sluggish handling), given that we were two women so not real heavy, and the more skilled but smaller person took the stern but this led to the bow being heavy. We shifted the packs as far back as we could and this helped with handling but cut the legroom a bit. If it was my canoe and Jen was my usual paddling companion (no and no....) I might move the seats to finetune the trim.

For carrying, the balance was great, the weight was good too. Handled fine for us in quartering wind, tracked well, turned well. I wouldn't mind owning one if I needed a tandem.

Thanks for the insights from your trip. If I was near MN, I would find one to try. One forum member even invited me to come try his. But I’m near San Francisco and the one for sale is in northern Oregon.

Never, never buy a canoe without trying it out first. Only you can decide if you and the boat are a good fit. If possible, do it in the wind to see how it tracks. Having said that a Seliga is great. Many years ago spent days in Joe's garage watching and learning and listening to a great story-teller as he worked on one of my canoes. His knowledge was incredible and his classic Seliga design is still the best for the BWCA. That's why places like Widji and Somers had so many of them.

Great story. I agree with trying before you buy. I’ve only broken that for really good deals. For now, I’m waiting because I don’t have time for this drive. But it hasn’t sold yet and so it may still happen.

We've rented them twice out of Sawbill in the last few years (usually use the Northwind 18 when we spend much time on big lakes). These two, who had never soloed by themselves before, got tired of waiting for the old farts to finish their coffee and took off by themselves. Both very good swimmers and very intrepid but it was a big deal for them to do this. Beth Lake, 2018. We spent many hours there cliff-jumping. Classic touring canoe design by Joe Seliga.

Springer2, looks like the Seligas worked well for you and a great time for the kids going out by themselves. Thanks for info.