I'm trying to decide what size of canoe to rent for a 4 day BW trip (my first time in the BW). There will be 6 of us to two canoes. One of the group is bringing his own canoe, so I'm just needing to figure out what to get for the second canoe. The options I'm looking at are a 17' two-seater, 18.5' two-seater, and a 19' three-seater. We won't be doing much fishing, and it will be me (6', 185 lb) and two smaller females (maybe 130-135 lbs each). Will it be miserable or dangerous getting a two seat canoe for 3 people, or is it doable? There's quite a bit of cost increase for stepping up to the 3 seat rental, and I'm thinking we'll be able to pack pretty light since it will only be 4 days in August. Thoughts?

If the cost is a factor, then choose the 18.5' tandem, but you will still have to provide something for the 3rd person to sit on. You could try borrowing a drop-in seat.

Get the three seater it will be much more comfortable. I checked one of the outfitters web sites and it was only three dollars more per day for the larger canoe. We rented a Wenonah Seneca several years ago and it was great. Kind of wished I had one for my own.

Tony

Get a three-seat canoe, it makes it much more comfortable. Also, if it's your first time you'll almost certainly overpack, so get something on the bigger side.

19' - 3 seater. There are 3 of us going this fall and we are getting a 4 seater. 2 of us are larger guys and we also want to be able to trim the canoe easier by being able able to strategically place packs.

I think everyone will enjoy the canoe trip more if you rent two canoes and travel two to a canoe.

You will not have adequate room in a 17' for 3 adults. I can put me and two kids (12/10 now) in a 17 with one on the bottom, but I would not do that to an adult. I am an lite weight packer with good gear and food systems and we are still pressed for space.

I also have a MN 3 and prefer that 100% of the time if there is another adult, kids can share the seat. Way morte room for gear.

You want packs to ride on the bottom, not piled up. It can be done, but it increases risk. The ride is not as pleasant.

Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.


John

Canoes are meant for 2 people. A 3rd doesn't really help when paddling, and they usually aren't very comfortable. I would go with 3 canoes total and just pair off.

If you do decide to stick with 3 to a canoe, then go with a 3 person canoe. It can be risky to overload a canoe, so go with one that is big enough and won't make you too tippy.

As for packing light... We all try to pack light, but that doesn't mean we always achieve that. 4 days is not just a weekend trip so you will have a fair amount of gear. It sounds like you are not the only first timer too. You can assume that if you are here asking for advice that you are probably going to be one of the most prepared for the trip. That means over packing, overweight, not the best gear, and no system in place to make things easier.

You have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 3 canoes to haul everything and everyone, and a route that does not push you too far. I suggest avoiding loops and expect to not cover as much ground as easily later in the trip when you are sore and tired.

Stay safe.

Thanks for the input. I'll plan to go with the three-seater. For future trips, we may try two people to a canoe if we have the same size group.

A1t2o: "Canoes are meant for 2 people. A 3rd doesn't really help when paddling, and they usually aren't very comfortable. I would go with 3 canoes total and just pair off.


If you do decide to stick with 3 to a canoe, then go with a 3 person canoe. It can be risky to overload a canoe, so go with one that is big enough and won't make you too tippy.


As for packing light... We all try to pack light, but that doesn't mean we always achieve that. 4 days is not just a weekend trip so you will have a fair amount of gear. It sounds like you are not the only first timer too. You can assume that if you are here asking for advice that you are probably going to be one of the most prepared for the trip. That means over packing, overweight, not the best gear, and no system in place to make things easier.


You have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 3 canoes to haul everything and everyone, and a route that does not push you too far. I suggest avoiding loops and expect to not cover as much ground as easily later in the trip when you are sore and tired.


Stay safe."

I like the idea of two canoes so that we can do portages in one shot. Maybe with 6 people we could with 3 canoes anyway. If we do two canoes, I'll do the three-seater. If we don't like this method, there's always next time to try something different.

Two in our group have been doing BW since they were kids. This will be their first time doing it as adults with friends. My wife and I are backpackers and perhaps more aware of modern (aka lightweight, fast drying) equipment that wasn't available when their parent's were buying gear in the 60s and 70s. I'm trying to balance deferring to their experience with doing my own research and applying what I know from backpacking. Packing for a group like this seems to be a totally different way of packing than "your pack" and "my pack" like I'm used to. I'm glad to have their experience in route planning - they have a much better idea how far we can realistically travel than I would.

As for overpacking...that will likely be me. I'm always the guy with the backup gear for the backup gear...just in case. But then I've been glad I did that several times.

I'm hoping we learn a lot and plan many more trips in the future.

Thanks for the input!

A1t2o: "Canoes are meant for 2 people. A 3rd doesn't really help when paddling, and they usually aren't very comfortable. I would go with 3 canoes total and just pair off.
"

I disagree. Tandem canoes are meant for 2 people, but well designed three-person canoes paddle efficiently with three paddlers and are significantly faster than tandem canoes in my opinion. Two MN3s will be faster and easier than three tandems.

When we have our family of 5 in our mn3 and our oldest kids have their kayak paddles and my husband has his double bladed canoe paddle our canoe flies very fast over the water.

jfinn: "You will not have adequate room in a 17' for 3 adults.

Though I'm sure a three seater would be more comforable, this simply isn't true. We took my buddy's 17' Old Town on an eight day tour through a PMA with three people & it went just fine. It's ultimately about trade-offs - weight, cost, who has to portage what, what gear you're bringing, etc. Either way I'm sure it will be fine.