Canoe advice

savagelh

savagelh

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Saskatoon Saskatchewan
I'm a total noob when it comes to watercraft. Me and my hunting partner would like to try a canoe this year for easier access to some good mule deer areas. We would be looking at 2 people with bows, packs, and possibly a shotgun. Total weight would be around 600# with the possibility of having a big buck in it as well on the way back. I wouldnt plan on putting a small outboard on it. Paddles only. What size, material, shape, brands should I be looking at? Keeping in mind it will likely be a lengthy Portage to where we can launch.
 
Around here they use 18’ with a flat back and a 4hp outboard. It also has a fairly deep keel. These are used on rivers. Gotta really know your stuff if your in moving water. Myself I just have a 14’ flat bottom, I take it really easy with it because I’m not very experienced.
 
Step one is what's your budget? Lots of nice canoes plenty capable of doing what you want, if you wanna spend a few grand. The more you spend, the lighter you can get, some are under 40lbs for a 17 or 18 footer they'll hold 800+lbs, but they also run $3000+...
 
The cheapest crappy old garage sale canoe you can find that will still float. Play with that one for the summer, it will give you a good feel for what you want and teach you a lot of skills without being out a bunch of cash. A bonus is you can drag that sucker through some nasty territory without worrying about it. I did this a few years ago and still use that old piece of junk, and when I will be going back to an area often it stays under a tree. If someone steals it the most expensive thing I'm out is a paddle haha.
 
Lengthy? 10Km's? Or, can't park the truck right next to the water? Rivers, or lakes? Rocks, or mud?

As far as I am concerned, if I cannot pretty much pee into the water from where I can park, I don't take a canoe there. You may still be young and dumb, but I went through that stuff years back and learned there are easier ways! :)

2, 200 pound dudes, and 200 more worth of gear, then a carcass on top of that, is a REALLY long slog, on the way out, while tired and sore.

Find a way to get closer to the water!

Hunt down a 17 foot Coleman. Not a fast, or light weight boat, but wide and stable, and tough as old boots.

I have a 2hp Mariner two stroke, mounted on the gunwale of mine (ie: it is NOT a square back canoe), which is positioned so I can sit on the rear seat and the tiller falls directly to hand comfortably beside me as I sit facing forward. 1/2 throttle gets me about 8kmh by my GPS, with a pretty decent load in. Full throttle gets me more noise, poorer gas mileage, and not an appreciable addition of speed.

If you have to ask.... You probably don't want to be learning about Canoes, while on your hunting trip. Rent a few canoes, borrow them, whatever you must do, and start making some trips this year, to work out some of the kinks. Like, learn to pack lighter than you were planning. 200 pounds of gear, is a LOT of stuff. And I can assure you, you will hate your life, a few stumbles and falls in to a long portage, in crappy weather esp.
You, and your potential hunting/boating partner, really need to spend some time shaking things out, before you end up hating each other for the rest of your lives. :)
 
You will want a 16' or 17' "Trapper" or "Prospector" style canoe... I have been remote wilderness tripping and hunting out of canoes for over 40 years. We have made two week expeditions, both river and flat water and taken many bull moose out with us. It is a lot of work, but it is also rewarding... and spending time in untouched wilderness with no other humans for miles is it's own reward... the fishing is usually good too, so don't forget a rod and some jigs.
 
Decent hunting canoes are the same as decent canoes for any serious canoe trip. I have done a lot of hunting by canoe, it is a great way to get into remote places and is relatively cheap, compared to ATV or renting a bush plane. You have a good plan to access mule deer areas in SK, there are plenty of wonderful opportunities along the SK river system. I've been there, done that. But learn how to paddle and camp from a canoe first. Don't go hunting with all your gear and no canoe skills your first time out. You are planning to take way too much gear. Think backpacking gear, with a small amount of luxury for heavier / bulkier items. You're in Saskatoon, so join the Saskatoon Canoe club and try out their club canoes, learn some skills, ask lots of questions about canoe camping. Do some summer canoe camping to shake out the kinks in your skills and gear.
 
How much do you want to spend? A good light canoe is going to run you north of 3g’s
For the weights you are planning on having in the canoe I would go with a 17.5’ to 18.5’ prospector style in Kevlar. You will be sub 60lbs.
Look at swift, h2o, and souris river canoes for a start.
A good example wood be the 18.5 swift keewaydin
 
Thanks for the replies so far. My hunting partner does have some canoe experience in I've used one once about 15 years ago. It didn't go well but I learned lots :) the area we are going is basically a slough. It was dry about 10 years ago but is now a body of water almost 12 miles long. We set up the camper on one side of the lake and the good hunting is on the other side (of course) the plan would be to paddle across the lake about a mile in the am hunt all day and return in the evening. It will be a pretty easy paddle as far as canoe rides go but if I like doing it I plan on more adventures along the south SK river in the future.
 
savagelh said:
Thanks for the replies so far. My hunting partner does have some canoe experience in I've used one once about 15 years ago. It didn't go well but I learned lots :) the area we are going is basically a slough. It was dry about 10 years ago but is now a body of water almost 12 miles long. We set up the camper on one side of the lake and the good hunting is on the other side (of course) the plan would be to paddle across the lake about a mile in the am hunt all day and return in the evening. It will be a pretty easy paddle as far as canoe rides go but if I like doing it I plan on more adventures along the south SK river in the future.
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That is more barging than canoe tripping... you can always have a cache across the lake to leave some gear so that you don't have to transport both ways every day, but you really only need your daypack and bow.
 
Well I've owned a lot of canoes in my day. Whatever you do don't buy a Canadian tire canoe. They always seem to top over sooner or later. Unless you have a good reason your canoe needs flipping.
 
Longwalker said:
Decent hunting canoes are the same as decent canoes for any serious canoe trip. I have done a lot of hunting by canoe, it is a great way to get into remote places and is relatively cheap, compared to ATV or renting a bush plane. You have a good plan to access mule deer areas in SK, there are plenty of wonderful opportunities along the SK river system. I've been there, done that. But learn how to paddle and camp from a canoe first. Don't go hunting with all your gear and no canoe skills your first time out. You are planning to take way too much gear. Think backpacking gear, with a small amount of luxury for heavier / bulkier items. You're in Saskatoon, so join the Saskatoon Canoe club and try out their club canoes, learn some skills, ask lots of questions about canoe camping. Do some summer canoe camping to shake out the kinks in your skills and gear.
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Which will cost you $55 each for the year. Renting one canoe for one day from the local market will typically cost around $50. Our members have access to eighteen canoes of various design and materials from different manufacturers which they can take out on the river to paddle for up to day. They typically retail from c. $1k up to $3k and several would be suitable for your intended purpose (not that you can use ours on your hunting trip, but it will be the best way to compare a bunch of different boats.) P.M. me and I can show you around and if you don't join even just having looked them over will be useful for comparison.

There are several qualified instructors in business locally who will give discounts to our members for their training and both Classic Outdoors and Eb's Source for Adventure give discounts to our members.
 
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