Plan to get a new canoe for my son and wife with two younger children (4 & 6).

General smaller water lake/ponds along with river use.

Has anyone paddled the NorthStar B17?

I'd appreciated any input, comparisons with other brands, models.

I'm curious too - I saw one in person at Piragis this August, but it was a blacklight layup. I do more river paddling and think I'd be more interested in the IXP. I liked what I saw of the shape!

I haven't paddled this boat, but I can't help but wonder if they'd be better suited with a larger boat, like the Wenonah MN3, or Souris River's Q18 with a center seat? The kids will get bigger quickly, and the extra space will be handy.

For what it's worth, I have an MN3, and it is great with kids in it, but also paddles and handles well on tandem trips.

i know someone who has paddled this boat - he's off the grid on a trip right now (in fact, maybe paddling that boat now), maybe he'll reply when he returns in ten days or so... sent him a note.

Howard, look forward to your buddy's B17 report when he's back online. User0317, thanks for the suggestions.

Our son and family canoe the many small lakes, ponds and twisty rivers in the Adirondacks. Few straight runs with lots of portaging: weight matters.

MNII, MN3, Savage Susquehanna, Jensen 18 type boats are efficient, fast. But they think like my old math teacher - the shortest distance between two points is always a straight line.

For small waters and lots of twisting 17' with rocker is needed for agility.

Along with the B17 the Souris River Q17, 17 Wenonah, Northwoods 17 or perhaps a light 17' Prospector (Swift, Souris River) are in the mix.

Other suggestions are welcome.

I have heard only so much about the B17 (all good for what it's designed to do), and all from a couple of the folks who went down the Rio Grande with the Northstar Canoes crew.

While the capacity is there, I think physical space should something to think about if kids AND gear are needed. Comfortable kids will be happier and want to go out more, if they have to sit on packs, or are crammed in with them, they may not enjoy it much. That being said, much to my parents annoyance, my brother and I loved clambering on and off of packs!

I would take a good look at the Northwind 18 or even Northwind 20. While the length sounds long, the rocker makes them quite a bit easier for some to manuever than something like the MNII / MNIII. I know someone who added the 18 to their fleet as their kids outgrew the space in their 17, the parents have found it remarkably similar in handling, but also more seaworthy when they are on bigger water.

I also know someone with a MNIII, they paddle more open water with 2 kids (around age 8-10 now I think), and he is feeling quite squeezed for space. I would agree that thinking about growth is important.

I'd vote for the Q18.5 or the NW20. I am partial to the SR, but I rented a NW20 last year and it handled our crew (2 adults, a 13 y.o., and a 9 y.o.) extremely well. The weight is about the same at just under 50#, the additional length was not bad on portages, and I appreciated the seaworthiness as we dealt with whitecaps on Snowbank, Parent, and Disappointment. As ChrisM mentioned, the rocker made handling quite manageable. For the times they [all] took a break, I was pleased with the maneuverability of the craft from the stern. While 4 and 6 year-olds may not mind sitting on the floor or on a pack, the older kids really liked having a seat and being able to help paddle, and yes, they do grow up fast. A drop-in seat for the fourth would work well in the Q18.5 (I frequently use the SpringCreek version in my Q17). To me, the decision would come down to the frequency that all four would be in the canoe, and whether they were tripping with gear, or just out for a paddle. The size of the lakes, ponds, and rivers would also obviously factor in. 20' is still 20', even when you're on small or moving water.

All that said...I've successfully taken two younger kids and another adult in my Q17 many times.

If those Adirondack rivers are really twisty, I liked your consideration of the SR Prospector 17.5. 4" of rocker on that one.

A Wilderness 18 by Souris River might be worth considering as well. They've been the workhorse of the Wabakimi Project, so should be suitable on more or less any water they come across.

Another option might be to have 2 smaller boats, each with 1 adult and 1 kid. Inevitably, if they canoe a lot, this is likely how their paddling arrangement would end up in the long run. The days that you can squeeze a couple of kids into a tandem boat are short lived.

Here's a picture of my family in our Esquif Prospecteur 17. The kids are 6 and 8 here. There is a good amount of room for them and gear for a day trip, but packing for a multi day trip with food, tent, sleeping outfit, etc would be crowded.


We rented a Mn 4 (23 feet) for our trip to BWCA this year. Plenty of room for four of us and gear for a multi-day trip. Efficient for flatwater travel but does not turn easily or quickly.

I'm the one "off the grid" that HS was talking about and also one of the folks that paddled the B17 on the Rio Grande last February. There were 6 B17s on the trip and they handled exceptionally well. They are a bit wider than the Northwind to handle gear as the B17 is intended to be more of an expedition canoe that can take a beating. And it most defintely can take a beating! We rammed it into rocks and shoreline thru some somewhat challenging rapids and sweepers and it bounced off those like a champ and was VERY stable.

We were on the river for 6 nights/7 days and they all handled exceptionally well.

I want one.

That being said, it weighs 64 pounds and considering your description of lake and pond use, it may be more than you need unless you are looking for a stable and strong boat to paddle. If you will have a tendency to lift it a lot, I'd consider the Northwind 17. At 42 lbs it is also very stable and takes the bumps pretty darn good.

If you have any more questions, please ask away. Or even better, call Bear Paulsen at the Northstar Factory. He is more that happy to answer any question you might have and he knows those boats better than anyone (except maybe Ted Bell) 763-631-2231

I have no experience with the NS B17.

But this year, similar to Othello, I rented a Northwind 20 for my family BWCA trip.

We are a family of four similar to your son’s family with two boys who are 6 and 14. The boys appreciated having their owns seats. We had plenty of room for gear (60L food barrel, 2 CCS Pioneer packs, and 2 CCS rucksacks). We had food for 5 days and easily could have fit in a couple more days. The handling of the 20+ foot canoe was surprisingly good on both narrow, twisty streams and bigger lakes. The portaging was fine. I carried the canoe and one of the rucksacks pretty easily. Had to watch the wind on high, exposed sections of the portage trails but it was manageable.

We tried a MNIII the year before and it was a tight fit for the four of us and gear/food for four days. The 5 year old sat on the floor on a float cushion but he much preferred being up higher and able to help paddle once in a while on his own seat in the NW20.

If your son has a way to store a 20 foot canoe I would consider the NW20. He could probably sell it in 6 years or so when his kids are able to paddle tandem canoes.

Welcome back, thanks for the report!
Your experience confirms the toughness of the IXP layup.
I'd get the BlackLite (43 lbs.) for my son's family to keep weight down.
How would you rate tracking vs. turning for the B17?
Guessing easy turning from the rocker specs but personal experience tells more.

olwaterhound: "Welcome back, thanks for the report!
Your experience confirms the toughness of the IXP layup.
I'd get the BlackLite (43 lbs.) for my son's family to keep weight down.
How would you rate tracking vs. turning for the B17?
Guessing easy turning from the rocker specs but personal experience tells more.
"

Tracking and turning for the B17 were great. We moved thru currents and rapid and sweeper turns easily. There were several still water places that were an ease to paddle. It's a great boat.

By the way, here is a really cool slide show of that Rio Grande trip that Northstar posted and played at Canoecopia. Brian Hansel of Grand Marais took the awesome photos.

Northstar B17 Rio Grande trip