BWCA Should I buy this canoe? Boundary Waters Listening Point - General Discussion
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OpenPikeNite
member (9)member
  
07/05/2017 12:10PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I've been looking for the past six months to buy a lightweight canoe for my annual canoe camping trip to the BWCA, Adirondacks or Algonquin. I recently came across an older Wenonah Jensen 17'. It's $225. Seller says its fiberglass and weighs around 65 pounds. Is it worth buying or should I wait for a tandem kevlar for $800 or less (highly doubting to find kevlar under $1000 though). Trying to not spend a fortune.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
-OPN

 
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07/05/2017 12:49PM  
I think I would wait until I found one lighter in weight. My old Grumman weighed in at 64# and it got to be too heavy. That's when I made the switch to Kevlar. Amazing what a difference it made!
 
redbeardcanoeworks
member (47)member
  
07/05/2017 01:00PM  
If it's in any kind of shape to use right away, I'd buy it. For that price that's renting one for less than a week. You'd have it for your trip, for weekend trips, to loan out to others, to paddle stuff that you'd not want to wreck a new canoe on, for a spare , for taking more people or loaner when you do get the one you really want. I've found that if you have one that works, then you can wait for the one you really want at the best deal. And with a little bit of clean up you can sell if for what you bought it for. 65 lbs is not that bad. This is actually a really good old school canoe. All the "modern" designs started there. It will paddle pretty fast. A lot of cedar strip canoes that length are in the 55 to 65 lbs class.
 
07/05/2017 03:06PM  
65lbs on the weight might be a guess. I see some info around the web saying 55lbs for the fiberglass version of the 17. I think you could get your money out of it if its solid and you end up not liking it.

Daniel
 
07/05/2017 09:25PM  
Check it out to make sure it's structurally sound, then grab it! It looks like it is a1981, so it is older, but if it is still sound age doesn't matter. Make sure the fiberglass is good, not cracked or brittle. If it was stored inside, it's probably fine.
 
kona
distinguished member (273)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
07/06/2017 06:35AM  
Can you paddle it first to try it. 2/3 times when I did not paddle a boat first I later wished I would have.

If it paddles well and is a dry hole in the water, as Charlie Wilson has said here and elsewhere, it's worth that price and possibly more.

Likely any first boat will not be your last, and this gives you something to gnaw on while the grail search continues.

Other hand if you can't use it locally and will only use for long portage oriented trips, a light boat would be night and day.
 
07/06/2017 09:45AM  
A man can't own too many canoes.
 
07/06/2017 11:40AM  
Looks like a good deal from my standpoint.
 
07/07/2017 07:45PM  

quote awbrown: "A man can't own too many canoes."


I couldn't agree more AW!

Regarding the Jensen 17, it's a great canoe, but it has its limitations. It's essentially a "cruising" class canoe, akin to its big brother the Jensen 18 and Sawyer's Cruiser, both canoes I own and I'm very familiar with. Additionally I sold and rented many Jensen 17's when I worked at Rutabaga in the 80's.

The problem with these cruising class canoes is that they are low volume and do not have much freeboard, especially with a heavy load. Additionally, the sharp entry lines and the lack of bow flare makes these cruising canoes a wet ride in big waves. The sharp bow lines don't ride over the waves well, but instead slice through the waves dropping a lot of water in the bow paddlers lap and in the hull. It has some limitations for big water use due to its entry lines, depth, freeboard and volume.

Case in point, my wife and a girlfriend used one of the Rutabaga's rental Jensen 17's for a BWCAW trip in the Summer of 1986. They didn't make a reservation and decided they would put-in at whatever entry point was available. They had very few EP choices and acquired a permit for Brule Lake. Although Brule is a beautiful lake, it can develop rather large waves. The first day they paddled to a small island on Brule Lake under calm conditions and decided to camp. The next day they planned to continue on, but due to high winds and waves, they stayed an additional day to wait for calmer conditions.

Day three came and the wind and waves didn't let up. With only a few days left, they decided to go for it despite the winds and waves. They didn't make it far when they started to take on water. Fortunately they made it close to shore before they totally "submarined" the Jensen 17.

My wife and her girlfriend were experienced paddlers, and not large women. They also did not pack heavy, because they only had five-days for their trip. Had they taken their trip on smaller lakes that were less susceptible to wind and waves, they would have fared better.

I have taken many BWCAW trips in my Jensen 18, and throughout the 80's the Sawyer Cruiser was my "go to" tripping canoe. That said, I added the Wenonah Odyssey to my livery in 1988, because I wanted a larger volume tripping canoe that could handle big water and big waves better than my "cruising" canoes.

That's not to say you can't use a Jensen 17 for a BWCAW tripping canoe, but if you're large paddlers, pack heavy, and like to paddle the large lakes of canoe country, (i.e., Saganaga, Basswood, Pickerel Lake, Sturgeon, etc.), there are better choices. Then again, for $225.00 it's a great deal and a steal at $225.00, even for a 1981 fiberglass canoe.

If you stick to the smaller lakes, or stay off the big lakes when the waves are running, you'd be fine. But as noted, you could be wind bound when the Minnesota II's , Northwind's, or other deeper, drier canoes are paddling away. I've often considered adding a CCS canoe cover to extend the seaworthiness of my Jensen 18.

We probably use our Jensen 18 more than any other tandem canoe in our livery, but that's usually on the lower Wisconsin River, Kickapoo River, the Namekagen and St. Croix rivers and several small rivers and lakes near our home here in Wisconsin. It's also a great canoe for paddling the Ozark rivers too in my opinion.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from purchasing the Jensen 17. The J17 is a great canoe for what it is and it paddles well. That said, it wasn't designed or intended for "heavy" tripping on big water.

Hans Solo



 
QueticoMike
distinguished member(5280)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished memberpower member
  
07/09/2017 08:09AM  
If it is in good shape, grab it, looks like a good deal.
 
OpenPikeNite
member (9)member
  
07/09/2017 03:43PM  
Well Folks, I appreciate all the comments. For several reasons I ended up letting her pass. Here were my reasons. Feel free to make anymore comments but you dont need too. I will be posting again asking the same question sometime and will consider many of what youve said.

1.) A mix of comments didnt make me feel comfortable purchaising it or not purchasing it.
2.) Still on the heavier side and there are boats closer to home at that weight.
3.) Im not a canoe "quality". With it being an old boat I didnt want to take a chance. I will however, take someone who does know what their looking for with me if I ever come across that perfect boat.

Thanks again, OPN
 
07/10/2017 12:29AM  
Sound reasons for not purchasing it.
I would have snatched it up quick.
 
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