I have been searching through the archives and haven't had much luck finding a consolidated discussion on this subject, so I'm going to start a thread here and hopefully get some solid discussion on the subject of canoe weight.

I pose the following questions to all who are willing to offer their advice:

-What kind of canoe do you have?
-What is the layup?
-What do you use it for?
-How much does it weigh?
-Are you happy with the durability of your boat?
-Do you wish you had a more durable boat?
-Do you wish you had a lighter boat?

Also feel free to offer any other information that you feel is relevant to this conversation.

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We Belong to it

I have 13
From 23 to 65 lbs
All have a different use
You’re posing a really broad question
My newest boat is from 2011
Oldest 1987

All are fixable. Almost all are Kevlar and glass or Kev and carbon and glass
I pay a lot of attention to the layup schedule
One river boat that is Royalex.

Every canoe design has trade offs. If cost is not a variable for you then you can buy layups that reduce the trade offs a little bit. In my experience you want a canoe that is light enough that you can easily load it and get it to the water...so you never miss out on paddling because you don't want to mess with a heavy boat. Personally I prefer solos under 40 pounds and tandems under 50 and for me a few pounds over these bogeys is OK too. I do not need a solo under 30 pounds or a tandem under 40...there is no benefit FOR MY NEEDS. Your needs cannot be the same as mine. As LRC said canoes are repairable so when in doubt get the lighter boat and go use it.

I think it's best to start by getting as specific as you can about what you want in a boat, otherwise it's like trying to figure out the best car for someone based on what cars weigh.

The weights can fool you too. I had a royalex 17 foot canoe that was really heavily built front and rear. It weighed the listed 58 pounds, which I checked many times as I was in doubt. All agreed it felt very heavy to carry.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/TheNorthwoodsman1

A 17' Royalex that only weighs 58lbs?
Sure that's not a typo?... maybe 68?

Echo Paddles Starlight
Composite - Kevlar/carbon/inegra? mix
River tripping
55lbs fully outfitted
Durability - Only had it for a year, so far so good
Loving the weight of it compared to the Royalex boats I've paddled

LRC, 13? Wow storage would be an issue for me and many others

Depends on the thickness of ABS the canoe maker specified... Though that does seem thin.....

We have a new boat.. Yellowstone tandem in Royalex. It is all of its listed 63 lbs. We have to teach it to walk.

I also have multple boats depending on purpose, what I feel like doing, where I am going, and who I am paddling with. The most common is:

-What kind of canoe do you have? - Bluewater Prospector
-What is the layup? - Kevlar and (s-glass or nylon it was a long time ago)
-What do you use it for? - lake, river, poling, mucking about - some tripping, lots of day tripping, style.
-How much does it weigh? - 45lb (I think was the original weight advertised, I have not weighed it directly)
-Are you happy with the durability of your boat? - over 20 years and no repairs, lots of scratches but not through gel coat, hull is still flexible.
-Do you wish you had a more durable boat? - it would probably weight more or cost more - 20+ years seems pretty good, and it still has lots of life left unless I do something stupid.
-Do you wish you had a lighter boat? - only when I am getting to the 2km mark on a portage (although I expect that will start to get shorter as I get older).

In hindsight I might have wanted a boat with a little more rocker but I have been pretty happy so far.

What kind of canoe do you have? Several
-What is the layup? Various
-What do you use it for? Mostly river paddling
-How much does it weigh? Too much
-Are you happy with the durability of your boat? Could always use more durability
-Do you wish you had a more durable boat? Of course
-Do you wish you had a lighter boat? Of course

Not really sure what information you want to get out of asking your question....

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Brian
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca

 

The general idea is to ascertain which philosophy I will follow when I buy a boat. I think I have a good idea about what I would like when it comes to the specifications, I'm just trying to get some perspective from others regarding the weight question. Obviously lighter is better, but how light is too light and how heavy is too heavy? The people on this forum are probably the best suited to answer such a broad question because as some have noted; a lot of you have owned (or currently own) more than one boat and can offer an informed opinion.

I'm glad that I asked though because after canvassing this forum, I was introduced to a different philosophy than the one I had in my head which has put my mind at ease somewhat when it comes to the lighter boats.

As littleredcanoe was saying above, "all canoes are fixable." This was a very useful insight and has made me realise that you don't necessarily need bomb proof. Early on, I was advised by someone who I trust that Souris River makes a high quality light boat (the best in the biz according to this person), but I was a little uneasy about investing in such an expensive toy that I`m not sure that I trust myself with. That`s why I started looking at other options like the Tuffstuff Nova Craft boats. After reading littleredcanoe`s response, a lot of other options open up and now it`s just a matter of finding the right make and model while going with the lightest layup I can find in my price point.

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We Belong to it

I have 7, ranging from a 10.5 foot carbon/kevlar Hornbeck to a 32 foot woodstrip voyageur. Weights are from 16 pounds up to a hundred or so for the voyageur. My earliest is a 1973 (lightweight thin skin) aluminum Grumman. My latest is a kevlar Wenonah Monarch. All boats in between are kevlar or woodstrip. I use the Hornbeck for ultralight pond hopping while bushwhacking in the Adirondacks. The Grumman is mostly retired, but may find use at my new cabin on a private no-motors lake. My woodstrip tandem is for playing around. My two kevlar tandems are for racing. The voyageur is also for racing, but is semi-retired at the moment. My carbon/kevlear Rapidfire is for solo training when I am not with others in my crew to train, also doubles as my go-to boat for daily use. My cedarstrip guideboat will see use at the cabin on the lake. If I am not paddling in one of my boats, I am likely with friends training or racing in their carbon C4s or voyageurs

Light or heavy is of course relative and also subjective: if you can not lift a canoe, it is too heavy for you, whatever the weight of the canoe. As a starting point, however, you can state that for example a canoe with a volume capacity of about 400 kg / 880 lb can be called heavy if it weighs more than 30 kg / 70 lb.

I cannot think of a realistic situation where a canoe can be too light, other then when racing rules are applied. But indeed one has to be more careful with a lightweight canoe on land, as they get blown away easy with strong winds. But that is hardly a reason to prefer a heavy canoe -- although I remember the Peake brothers at a LL Bean symposium saying they did on their kind of trips

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now a.k.a. "Guest" on this forum

5 different ones for different jobs.
The least expensive for the job it needs to do.
It's intended use for the design.
From 36lbs to 61lbs.
Yes.
No, unless the extra durability came with no weight penalty.
Of course!

I'm also a preacher for the epoxy boats, though I don't have any at this time.

The Swift layups have changed over time and there weren't as many choices when I bought my Kevlar Temagami as there are today. With that caveat, I had no hesitation in picking the Expedition Kevlar over the ultralight layup. I also had not hesitation getting one with skid plates installed. The Kevlar model still had a clear weight advantage over the fibreglass layup and I was happy to take on a couple extra lbs for the increased durability of the Expedition layup.

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No, your other left!
Loon Island Outdoors
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This is something that I've been grappling with and it's the main reason why I posted this thread. I'm convinced that light weight = more breakable. I know myself well enough to know that I'm pretty hard on my things. It's not something I'm proud of, but when you are angling to make a major purchase like a new canoe, it's something that you want to get right.

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We Belong to it