We are running into the possibility of an odd man group this year and are contemplating the use of a 3-man canoe. On past trips, one of us would solo in an odd man situation, but we are trying to limit the number of boats we will be using this year. Interested on people's thoughts and experiences using a 3-man boat. Thanks.

It works great. Don't assume the middle person is a passenger; three paddlers makes for a fast and easy paddle.

Get a canoe designed to be a 3 man. We have tried to drop a seat in. sit on a pack, sit on the floor.....it works, but not as well. The 3rd person paddling works best in the canoes designed for 3 people. Not so well in the undesigned IMO. We've done quite well in a Mn3 but prefer the SR Quetico 18.5 that I borrow from a friend. Nice volume, paddling stations, stable, yet still has decent speed and tracking.
I've always wanted to try a Seneca but have not had the chance yet.
You should do a pre-trip check to see where all the packs will fit and still leave comfortable room for paddlers.

It is ok, but my experience is limited to using a Wenonah MN 3. Because the middle seat in that canoe is set low, my back and legs start aching after awhile. I have to cross my legs and use a Crazy Creek seat with a back. Since the middle seat is located close to the widest portion of the boat, the paddle stroke is less efficient and rather awkward.

I have had a bit of experience with Three man Canoes. I have rented mostly a Wenonah MN 3 . I have also been the one in a three man canoe or a Two man where I sat on a Pack. But Mostly I have observed. I echo what has been said prior regarding the awkward paddling position . But you can make some good speed and it is easier with three paddlers . Once you figure all that out it is not a problem. I have had people have a rough time with wind because they never figured out the load balance or figured out who should sit where.

I have taken my Souris River 18.5 footer on several trips with 3 people. It works just fine. Fishing 3 out it is fine as long as everybody is conscious of where their lines are , and are careful with their casts.

I have taken several trips in a three man situation. And here is a disclaimer: I love the 3 man boat.

Most of my 3 person trips have been in a MN3, but the last was in a Bell Northwind with a drop in 3rd seat.

The MN3 is a battleship at 20' long. It is sleek and fast. With 3 people paddling, you can cover a lot of territory in a hurry. Some people think it is less stable than other platforms, but I have not had that experience. There is no rocker. So it is substantially less maneuverable than other canoes. Your bow paddler will need to help with pry or draw strokes in tight situations. The front seat can offer less leg room than wider boats, especially if the front paddler needs to move forward for trim purposes. With 3 people we travelled with 4 packs, there was plenty of room for gear. With 5 objects to carry, it always gave one person a chance to wait out a trip (or 2) over the portage. We used that option to always have one person with the food pack, especially at ends of portages.

The Northwind with the drop in seat worked well once the person in the drop in learned that they were raising the center of gravity of the canoe and had to remain more centered to keep the canoe level. The drop in was substantially higher than the other seats. Trimming the canoe was more problematic. Especially once the food barrel became lighter. The shorter length(18.5') meant that the person riding in the drop in had less leg room than optimal. However, the rocker in the Northwind helped make the canoe more maneuverable and was much better for all the river paddling we were doing that year. The Northwind is a wider platform and did not have the speed the MN3 has. It took a little longer and more paddle strokes to cover the same distance.

The last couple of 3 man trips have been with a tandem and a solo. My companions have grown into men, have gotten larger, and wanted to try the solo option. Some observations: The tandem can travel substantially faster than the solo with a single blade paddle. A kayak paddle can almost keep up with the tandem, but not over the long haul. (Your experience may vary due to paddling experience.) Portaging the extra canoe has not really slowed us, but it did mean leaving the food barrel alone at the end of portages. And everyone has to walk all three portage trips instead of one person getting a rest.

Longer canoes have some other issues:
Portage put ins and take outs are usually "designed" with the shorter canoe lengths in mind. (16-17') . The stern paddler is often getting out into deeper water (perpendicular landing) or into brush (horizontal landing). The same can occur to the bow paddler when leaving a portage.

A very few portages may have corners that will require a "Y" turn to get around with a longer canoe.

Somehow that extra 2-3 feet can make it tougher to communicate with each other, especially in windy conditions.

On the other hand having three paddlers in the wind makes for a much better scenario: The bow and center paddlers can provide the power and the stern paddler can just concentrate on keeping the canoe on line.

I hope these thoughts help. Given all that I have said, I am still an advocate of the 3 man canoe. Mostly because of its paddling efficiency and for not having the extra portage carry.

Hope you have a great trip!

One other thing to add.....that "extra person" lends itself to being able to single portage much easier if you pack right. If that's something you're interested in.....

I have to give a strong vote to the SR Q18.5.
My group has been taking one for about 10 years, maybe more. We love it. I even paddle it solo when everyone else is done fishing (with some rocks in the front).

With three men in a canoe we fly by other 2 person canoes. We do not pack light and we have plenty of free board. We also learned to troll with three people without tangles. The trick is the front person has to have on a deeper diving lure than the guy in back.

I have never envied a 3 person group split between a 2 person and a solo. Especially if the weather is bad and everyone is moving at the speed of the solo.

SR 18.6 was used by us. I vote this way for all the positive reasons offered. If you are reduced to only 2 people, you will travel faster than a 16 foot version and have more space. Especially nice if base camping with lots of stuff.

I will never forget being on south lake camped and 3 guys in a rather ordinary sized canoe with a pile of gear heaped up slowly slid along the shoreline. I watched them with some interest. Their exceeding slow pace amongst the lily pads kept me wondering. I finally concluded that they might be bird watching until I seen the fishing rods come out and then I realized they didn't have so much as a clue.

Always ready to help ;-) I paddled out to them. I could tell they were quite nervous about tipping and rightfully so. I have never seen so much stuff in a canoe plus an additional person.

Anyways, I sent them to West lake where they could pound the bass and suggested they be careful.

Some of my points have been mentioned. With a 3 person you basically get an extra portager, making single portaging even easier.

We've rented a Seneca the 2 trips we used one, no real complaints. Wider and a bit slower than the MNIII but more stable. Kevlar 2 person vs 3 person isn't usually more than 10 lbs in weight.

I agree that the SR 18.5 is more stable than the MNIII, especially without gear.

Thank you all for the great feedback, it really helps!

Disclaimer I own the Quetico 18.5...so it is my favorite.

I have done 3 person trips at least 7 times and they all went well, advantages covered by others. The fishing was fine with three people but you do have to be a little more aware.

T

We did a 3-man trip with one of our nephews in an SR Q18.5. We had a great time and he paddled plenty in the middle seat (fully an adult, just out of the Israeli army). Also sort of nice trading off canoe versus food pack duties each portage.

We also did a 9-person trip with a bunch of other nephews that had my brother-in-law and two of his sons in a MNIII. Also worked well and they were fast once they figured out how to make it go straight (which had nothing to do with the canoe). I prefer the SR Q18.5 just because we don't move camp every day and do some day trips. For me, the better stability unloaded tips the balance in favor of the SR Q18.5.

I also prefer 3-person for an odd group. Only times we’ve single portaged. Have rented SRQ18.5 and Seneca. Prefer the SR. Fishing in an unloaded three person canoe with only two people is when I first REALLY learned the value of a loaded and trimmed canoe for stability. Never tipped, but it can feel unstable. Can also catch a lot of wind. Can be fast. We had the Q18.5 briefly at 7mph based on the gps speedometer.

Youngest brother also learned not to use the gunnels for support when getting into the canoe, but him going in the drink wasn’t the canoe’s fault.

Have used 3 man Seneca canoe twice. Once was with my family of 4 and the kids sat in the middle seat. Totally stuffed the canoe with equipment. The other time was with 3 actual men. We fished a lot but the 3rd man sat in the middle and red a book and did not fish. We had no problems and the camaraderie with the 3 of us together was great.

I have done a lot ot fishing with 3 in a canoe with minimal problems.
Used a MnIII and a Quetico Souris 3. Although Winona was faster the Quetico was more stable and had more leg room for the front person. Also it has more rocker and turns easier which when trying to stay on a fishing hole is important to me. I prefer three man canoes, one less boat to portage and with 3 paddlers you can make excellent time.
Finally bit the bullet and purchased a used kevlar Quetico and will use it for 2 and 3 person trips. Nuff said.

Used 3 different 3-mans. Favorite was a Northwoods Bell. Close second was the Wen Itasca. Last was the Wen Seneca just because it seemed slower. Yet to try Min3 or SR 18.5

The only additional piece of information I'd add that I haven't seen offered up yet regarding three man canoes regards some of the rivers in the BW. There are areas that are simply too narrow and/or winding to accommodate them without problems. Parts of the Frost and Louse rivers come to mind first. As long as you're sticking to lakes or wider rivers, you shouldn't have issues. We have found that fishing from them safely requires having at least one of the three people sit it out.

We paddled the bear trap river in a mn3, no problems at all, as a matter of fact because the mn3 has a small amount of rocker it is easier to maneuver than the mn2.

I have and I use a SR Q18.5. It’s very roomy and packs a lot of gear. A small envelope pack can fit under the middle seat. It’s a slightly wider boat which on one hand is really good for stability, but it does make efficient paddling in the middle seat a bit awkward because he/she needs to sit close to the gunnel and balance can be somewhat difficult. I also have a Swift Keewaydin 15 which with a kayak paddle I can keep up with any tandem boat and holds plenty of gear for a solo. It is also so light that portaging is practically a non-issue. That said, I’m bringing the triple on a 9 day Quetico trip with my 2 strong adult sons, so I give a slight nod to the triple.

We fish out of a 3 person just fine, just takes a little coordination and communication

My favorite trip was three guys in three solos. My least favorite trip was three guys in a MN lll. The owner of the boat packed heavier than you could imagine which I believe contributed to the crappy experiance. A solo with a kayak paddle isn't much slower if at all depending on paddler. The solo boat to me is the best creation of all time. That said, there is many times the three man would be the way to go for reasons stated. They all have their plus and minuses. One thing I didn't like is being stuck in the stern and the middle paddler having to paddle my strong side and hitting each other's paddles.

No one has mentioned the 4 man canoes...so I feel obligated.

I own one of the Bell Northshore canoes (Now the Northwind 20). I bought it for my wife and two small kids. I double portage. Everyone else single portages.

We can all four fish from it, so three adults would do even better. If you own it, you can set-up one seat to be removable, allowing for an excess of space.

I once did the Crooked loop with just myself and another adult-same boat. (We had a guy back out, and decided to be cheap).We managed, but were very slow on travel days, due to difference in paddler size. When fishing, we were fine. We floated out through Moosecamp river, and found that turning was a team effort, but not a problem in the slow water.

If you're considering, a choice between a tandem+solo or 3-person...also consider a 4-person with three people. My kevlar 4 person, is as light as any royalex tandem. Three adults should be single portaging...and speed on the water with two adults pulling and one steering...ahh, one of these days. You will have all the space you need in the boat to pack gear and fish.

Concerns above about "y" turns and landings on portages apply here too.

If you are going to be fishing a lot, 3 ppl fishing in one boat, especially if casting artificial baits is going to be tricky.

I would personally do one tandem and the odd person solo canoe. This way it can be rotated if you so chose and if someone wants to solo fish at any time there is a canoe for them. This is assuming the all members know what they are doing in a solo. Also the solo needs to use a kayak paddle to keep up but be sure to bring a proper canoe paddle with as a backup. I also find the canoe paddle is more useful fishing than the kayak paddle.

As long as the solo can portage the canoe and carry a pack at the same time, I think this is the way to go.

On all of our 5 man trips we have always done 2-2 person canoes and one solo canoe. It has worked so great we have never even brought up the idea of doing 3 in one canoe.

I also bring an 80lb dog so 3 in my canoe is never gonna work.