Canoe advice, please

Hi boys and g... man, I miss Cyli.

On the way home from my bike ride today, a neighbor has his barely-
used We No Nah Adirondak canoe sitting in the front yard with a for
sale sign on it. Thing looks like it's barely been wet. I've never
owned a canoe, but am a pretty decent paddler. Is this a good rig?
It sure looks sweet. I've looked at the corp web site and new these
things are pretty spendy (to my eyes) and I have no idea how much the
owner is asking for it. Just looking for input from our resident
canoe guys, Ken, Myron (if you are out there) and any others. I
suppose I could ask over on a paddling newsgroup, but I don't know
those guys :-) and I know a few of you here will likely have
opinions. Even if they are unfounded. :-)

I would use it for still water, taking the kids out, fish from it,
unlikely to do any overnights but you never know.

Opinions welcome.

Bill

wrote:
Hi boys and g... man, I miss Cyli.

On the way home from my bike ride today, a neighbor has his barely-
used We No Nah Adirondak canoe sitting in the front yard with a for
sale sign on it. ...

I would use it for still water, taking the kids out, fish from it,
unlikely to do any overnights but you never know.

Opinions welcome.

The Wenonah Adirondack is one of the best solo/tandem canoes
on the market. I have recommended it here several times in
the past. It is truly symmetrical so you can sit in the bow
seat facing backwards and paddle this tandem solo, great for
solo fly fishing. You mention kids but you better make that
kid, this one won't comfortably carry a threesome.

This boat has great final stability, it tracks well and it's
even fairly fast and that's why it's so beloved by canoe
people who know their canoes. But, and you knew there had to
be a but, the initial stability can feel tipsy and unstable
to newbies and kids. Remember, poor initial stability is not
a problem but a feature, it's one of the reasons this canoe
paddles so well and you'll soon think nothing of it.

The Adirondack comes in all three layups, royalex, fiberglas
and kevlar. These are in order, heavier to lighter and least
to more expensive. For a knockaround boat like you describe
the royalex would be fine, even preferable in my opinion but
don't pass up a really good deal on a fiberglas or a kevlar
if that's what your neighbor has.

As for what constitutes a really good deal, I haven't a clue.
If it were me I'd search through craigslist and similar to
find ballpark pricing for used canoes.

Good luck, that's a nice boat.

--
Ken Fortenberry

typed:
Hi boys and g... man, I miss Cyli.

Yeah - me, too.

On the way home from my bike ride today, a neighbor has his barely-
used We No Nah Adirondak canoe sitting in the front yard with a for
sale sign on it. Thing looks like it's barely been wet. I've never
owned a canoe, but am a pretty decent paddler. Is this a good rig?
It sure looks sweet. I've looked at the corp web site and new these
things are pretty spendy (to my eyes) and I have no idea how much the
owner is asking for it. Just looking for input from our resident
canoe guys, Ken, Myron (if you are out there) and any others. I
suppose I could ask over on a paddling newsgroup, but I don't know
those guys :-) and I know a few of you here will likely have
opinions. Even if they are unfounded. :-)

I would use it for still water, taking the kids out, fish from it,
unlikely to do any overnights but you never know.

I think that's the model of Wenonah Stan Gula has, and he loves it. I wish I
had saved my nickels and purchased one instead of the heavy-as-heck thing I
bought.
--
TL,
Tim
-------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Base model is $1100 usd. Great canoe for 1 or 2 people.

I think having any kind of water craft is great to get people out "on the
water".

Nice thing about a canoe or kayak is that you can have them for years and
they don't cost too uch or take up too much room.

They are always read to go too.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi boys and g... man, I miss Cyli.

On the way home from my bike ride today, a neighbor has his barely-
used We No Nah Adirondak canoe sitting in the front yard with a for
sale sign on it. Thing looks like it's barely been wet. I've never
owned a canoe, but am a pretty decent paddler. Is this a good rig?
It sure looks sweet. I've looked at the corp web site and new these
things are pretty spendy (to my eyes) and I have no idea how much the
owner is asking for it. Just looking for input from our resident
canoe guys, Ken, Myron (if you are out there) and any others. I
suppose I could ask over on a paddling newsgroup, but I don't know
those guys :-) and I know a few of you here will likely have
opinions. Even if they are unfounded. :-)

I would use it for still water, taking the kids out, fish from it,
unlikely to do any overnights but you never know.

Opinions welcome.

Bill

wrote in message
oups.com...
On the way home from my bike ride today, a neighbor has his barely-
used We No Nah Adirondak canoe sitting in the front yard with a for
sale sign on it.

Buy it ASAP.

I don't have an Adirondak (Solo+, Tim, and we need to get out on the big Q
before the season closes - I have a couple of free days coming up), but I
love WeNoNah and that model is an excellent hull for tandem and solo use. I
have been watching for used WeNoNah tandem boats for a couple of years.
Check their web site for current retail before buying to make sure you're
getting a good used price. Look through the hull with a strong backlight to
look for weak spots where it's been stressed, look for rotting wooden parts,
etc.

--
Stan

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 21:01:07 -0000, wrote:

Hi boys and g... man, I miss Cyli.

On the way home from my bike ride today, a neighbor has his barely-
used We No Nah Adirondak canoe sitting in the front yard with a for
sale sign on it. Thing looks like it's barely been wet. I've never
owned a canoe, but am a pretty decent paddler. Is this a good rig?
It sure looks sweet. I've looked at the corp web site and new these
things are pretty spendy (to my eyes) and I have no idea how much the
owner is asking for it. Just looking for input from our resident
canoe guys, Ken, Myron (if you are out there) and any others. I
suppose I could ask over on a paddling newsgroup, but I don't know
those guys :-) and I know a few of you here will likely have
opinions. Even if they are unfounded. :-)

I would use it for still water, taking the kids out, fish from it,
unlikely to do any overnights but you never know.

Opinions welcome.

Bill

What's with the Wenonahs for sale lately? There are a couple down here
(the Gulf Coast) on the market. One is the Fisherman, which is great
(single or tandem) canoe for, well, fishing - stable, reasonably
well-handled, and great for kids, too. IMO, your "deal" would depend on
the deal - at a coupla-three hundred US or so, it'd be hard to go wrong.
At 10-20% off of regular ol' day-in, day-out retail, I'd pass.

If you're got the canoe itch, decide what features are really important
for your intended usage, and look for one that fits them. A shorter
tandem designed to be as maneuverable and speedy as possible really
isn't the ticket for a stillwater fishing/family usage canoe, especially
if kids will be using it alone, IMO.

If you just want an inexpensive, usable "family" canoe, look around for
a good-condition Coleman Ram-X - I've seen 'em well under $500.00 with a
rack, paddles, etc. in good condition. I have one, and while it ain't
anything special, it's a darned decent, surprisingly tough boat for the
money (mine was a "couldn't pass it up" deal - I found it "like new" for
something like $200USD). Pelican makes them, and so, they are probably
available under other names.

TC,
R