Thinking about getting a canoe-suggestions?

[Bullsnake]

Good morning all! I currently have an Old Town Loon (138T? it's in storage right now as it is -5 and snowy!) and with the addition of three kids, a dog, and all that goes with them I am seriously looking for a "family" sized canoe. Most of my paddling will be rivers in Iowa and surrounding states, and I am curious as to what some of you inland paddlers thought would make a great family platform. Cost is not a paramount concern-I am most concerned with portability (must be able to go on the roof of my truck), and durability (I'll be doing some late summer paddling and the rivers get really low here in August-there WILL be some bottoming out and beaching while we are paddling.)

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, as well as any paddle suggestions. I haven't been in anything other than a kayak since the late 90's, so this will be an entirely new adventure!

Thanks!

 

[Squatchout]

For family all around canoes the Old Town Discovery series are hard to beat. I've been using a Disco 174(now called Penobscot 174) for over 20 years. It's quiet even with kids stomping in it. Handles well and has good stability. It'll haul over 1000lbs. There is room for a small child to stand in front of the bow seat. It's a stretched version of the 169. It's done everything I've ever asked of it including running some small micro streams that were at flood after a rain. Not the best use for a 17'4" canoe! On one of these we took it over a 3 ft drop and landed upright and kept on going. The one disadvantage of the Discos is weight. Mine weighs about 85 lbs. Other than that they are as close to indistructable as you can get. Not a WW boat but does ok in class2. Mine also does well fishng with a motor mount and a 50lb thrust trolling motor. The 169 is also a great all around boat. Both show up from time to time on CL and also at outfitter auctions. Disco's are livery favorites. I bought my 1st one from a livery auction.

There are a lot of great family tandems out there. Different materials for different purposes.

 

[NOCIBUR]

Check out the Wenonah Spirit 2.

 

[kerry]

There are a zillion possibilities. The most durable materials are probably Royalex or Polyethelyne with poly being heavier but cheaper than Royalex. Aluminum is hot in hot weather and cold in cold weather. Fiberglass is typically lighter but not as durable. Design is another big issue. You're paying for a shape. There are vastly different kinds of canoes in those materials. For instance, the Discovery 174 and 169 are quite different in design with the 174 resembling the Royalex Penobscot line and the 169 the Royalex Tripper. They perform differently. You'll probably want at least a 17' canoe but if you're looking for speed over manoeverability an 18 or 18 1/2' boat is better.
If you can find a dealer who has an open house where you can try out a lot of different designs, paddling them one after another in a short time period gives a good feel for the different features of each design.