Good morning,
Lord willing, I will be heading north 4th of July week with my brother and dad for a 3 night, 4 day canoe trip into the BWCAW. Can't wait! I was wondering if a 20' canoe will be a good size for 3 adults to fit comfortable with all of our gear or is that too big?

Thanks Randy

No, not too big. I wouldn't want to be 3 people in a smaller one.

Do you have plans to fish out of the canoe? If so, then 20' is fine. A little tough on portages with sharp corners, but you'll figure that out.

If you're not into fishing and just want to paddle, you can be fine in a 17' canoe assuming that everyone in the canoe is of average size. The duffer can even help with paddling. Just bring a couple square seat cushions - one to sit on and one for a back rest. You'll also have to pack efficiently so there is room to sit.

quote rmacm13: "Good morning,
Lord willing, I will be heading north 4th of July week with my brother and dad for a 3 night, 4 day canoe trip into the BWCAW. Can't wait! I was wondering if a 20' canoe will be a good size for 3 adults to fit comfortable with all of our gear or is that too big?

Thanks Randy
"

The Wenonah Minnesota 3 is a 20ft canoe that I have rented several times. It works very well almost everywhere in the BW. There have only been a couple of times on very short corners on portages where we've had to do a "Y" turn to get around a corner. More problematic have been the winding streams where we've been end to end on a stream bank in a corner. We have never been hung up though. The Minn2 and Minn3 have no rocker in them. They paddle straight and fast, but they are battleships to turn.

I have a Bell Northwoods that is 18.5ft that I have put a drop-in 3rd seat in. There is also a Souris River 18.5 with a built in 3rd seat. The 18.5 worked well and had enough room. The drop in 3rd seat was a bit high and we had to work to keep center of gravity over the center of the canoe. There is still enough freeboard and distance between paddlers for the 3rd person to help paddle.

With all due respect to Jackfish, I have seen 17ft canoes with 3 adult sized people and gear in them. The gear usually gets piled pretty tall. There is not much freeboard left above the waterline. And, usually, the person in the middle seat is not doing a whole lot of paddling. Whether they are not paddling due to trim issues or not enough room between them and the 2 other paddlers, I don't know. Just my observation over the years. I have not paddled a 17 footer loaded like that.

"It's not the size of your boat, it's the motion of the ocean" I seem to remember this, but we may have been talking about something else ;)

quote Jackfish: "Do you have plans to fish out of the canoe? If so, then 20' is fine. A little tough on portages with sharp corners, but you'll figure that out.


If you're not into fishing and just want to paddle, you can be fine in a 17' canoe assuming that everyone in the canoe is of average size. The duffer can even help with paddling. Just bring a couple square seat cushions - one to sit on and one for a back rest. You'll also have to pack efficiently so there is room to sit."

I remember it was not difficult to fit 3 in a 17 footer, even with external frame packs.


That was 30 years ago though.

butthead

Three adults in a Wenonah MNII with packs can still be a tight fit, with the middle person short on leg room and some difficulty paddling. The MNIII offers better leg room and more room for packs. I would highly recommend it.

I Don't know how much lake paddling you guys have done but safety and comfort should be big factors. Height and weights? Many people are not minimalists at packing as well. I would look at canoes designated for three people. We have done 3 a time or two. Once was a Wenonah Seneca which is 19'+ I think. Once an Itasca. I would search "3- Person Canoe" and check it out.
Min 3, Seneca, and Souris River 18.5 seem to be in many rental fleets. A Bell 3-seater would be nice if you find one.
20 ft. Is not too long.

Bottom line answer is yes you will be okay. Posts have pointed out things to consider such as cornering on portages and smaller streams. My add is more to how you will pack and sit in the canoe. Bigger boats weigh more and carry more so there will be more to portage; sometimes going smaller helps trim the unnecessary from the packs. Balance and being limber are two important canoe tripping abilities. Having a seat for the third person can make getting in and out and everything else much easier unless you are young contortionists or fit old folks like many who post here. In the end the boat should have good trim; balance from right to left and tilt from front to back. Proper trim can make and break a paddling experience. So in the end it is not just size, it is how you use it. Keep good trim.
When I was younger I took up less space and was far more limber and stronger. I recall three of us all weighing about 175# doing 8 days in Quetico out of a 16'6" aluminum canoe. We sat really low in the water and fortunately had no big winds and there are lots of other reasons my more experienced brain would today say that was the wrong boat for us.

17.5 doable but difficult,uncomfortable and slow in the water.
18.5 no problem,comfortable unless fishing or bringing tons of gear(or larger paddlers), fairly fast on the water, and decent to portage, not too bad turning.
20 easy to load, room to fish and spread out a little, fast on the water, trickier and heavier to portage, and tricky on winding creeks.
I would prefer the 20 as most time is spent on the water for most people. If your route has frequent and difficult portages, or a lot of winding creeks, the 18.5 might be a good compromise.

Our family of 5 fit in a 18.5 Quetico although the kids are around age 10. We did an 11 day trip and it was snug but doable with lots of freeboard. Trim was tricky since gear plus one kid was loaded behind the bow paddler. It would have easily handled 3 adults unless they are packing all sorts of crazy stuff. I like how it handles.

I like the Souris Quetico 18.5 ' myself. Turns decent, Moves fast enough and enough room for our gear. The MN III tracks well & is fast but it's like turning a barge.

One other thing about the 20ft canoes is that some portage ends are more difficult to pull up to. Often there are submerged rocks or logs that make parallel parking impossible and sometimes 15-16 feet from shore can get pretty deep for the person at the outside end.

quote Michwall2: "One other thing about the 20ft canoes is that some portage ends are more difficult to pull up to. Often there are submerged rocks or logs that make parallel parking impossible and sometimes 15-16 feet from shore can get pretty deep for the person at the outside end. "

Very true.

One time I saw a crew leaving from the scout camp at Moose lake... way windy day... 3 BIG guys with gear were in a17' alumacraft. There was not a whole lot of freeboard.... I don't think that was a good idea.. I hope they made it. Go longer and safer.

dr bob

I would much rather have a canoe that was too big than too small.

All good comments. In my opinion, sitting on a pack or using a drop-in seat is find for kids, but adults may prefer a "real" seat for the middle position. Admittedly, I have not tried a drop-in seat, so others may have some more helpful insight on this. I don't think you could go wrong with either the MN3 or the SR 18.5. Every canoe design is a trade off, and in the end, it comes down to experience and personal preference.