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Listening Point - General Discussion

Three in a canoe?

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Whichwaysnorth

08/06/2012 05:39PM

I am just wondering what you all have to say about three 19 year olds around 170 and 200 pounds in a canoe and on a week long trip!is three going to be difficult?

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serenityseeker

08/06/2012 05:48PM

What canoe? every model is different. but it is not unheard of for 3 people in a canoe. some models are even made for 3 people.

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blutofish1

08/06/2012 05:48PM

What kind of canoe?

blutofish

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LuvMyBell

08/06/2012 05:48PM

It can be done but..... you're gonna need a bigger boat.

A MN IV or SR Quetico 18.5.

Unless you guys are just plain strapped for cash I'd really recommend that you rent two tandems. To save money this way you could rent two aluminums. Young bucks should be able to handle the extra weight.

Paddle Faster....I hear banjo music

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blutofish1

08/06/2012 05:49PM

I've done 2 at 200 and 1 at 140 on a trip in the Q. It was a 19 ft. alumacraft. Very heavy but stable.

blutofish

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Scout64

08/06/2012 07:54PM

Just finished a trip with 3. We used an Wenonah MNIII. Worked well with 4 canoe packs.

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit."

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boonie

08/06/2012 08:14PM

If it's designed for three it should work fine; if it's not it could be awkward at best and dangerous at worst.

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timatkn

08/06/2012 08:16PM

I saw a few groups in Quetico this year, 3 in a canoe using the old aluminums. Looked like they all did fine.

T

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butthead

08/06/2012 08:21PM

can do just a matter of room.

butthead

“There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.” ? Frank Zappa

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mutz

08/06/2012 11:37PM

we did a three person week long a couple of years ago when a fourth cancelled just before the trip. We took two canoes one 3 man and one 2 man. On the trip in and out the big canoe with two paddlers took the bulk of the gear, I had the smaller canoe with gear needed to even ot the load, worked very well. regular fishing we just used the two canoes, on our two day trips from our base camp we used the big canoe, three people paddling you can move right along so the day trips were longer, but fishing three even from a bigger canoe is not the best option. If it happened again we would take both canoes on the day trips.

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fitgers1

08/06/2012 11:42PM

Yea, what kind of boat? You will not have a lot of gear room.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson...and...“Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".

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bhouse46

08/06/2012 11:51PM

Did it a number of times, mostly into the Q in the 80's when young and very poor. 17 foot aluminum boat. Three full Duluth packs plus. Not much room, but we made it work. We drove up in a Datsun pickup so being crowded was just part of the trip. If I had my options I would get a bigger boat made for three or look at a tandem and solo. In an upcoming trip I plan to take my son and nephew in a rental tandum and bring my kayak. Saying this to get you to think outside the box. Think of options and try them out at home. Once in the wilderness changes are harder to make.
Have fun and all our wishes are for your trip to be as good as ours have been and will yet to be.

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jwartman59

08/07/2012 12:29AM

depends on the canoe. if the paddlers and gear fit in the canoe, go for it. just be careful on larger lakes and expect difficulties in small rivers. i've done many trips with three in a canoe, with the right canoe, including aluminum canoes, this can be a nice way to trip. the duffer gets to take a nice break basking in the sun, this is almost heaven. i highly recommend it unless you are paddling a cheap, short, economy canoe such as the old town discoveries or the crap that mad river is now making.

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strom2127

08/07/2012 03:55AM

Last year two buddies and myself took a Wenonah MnIII on a nice four day tour. Worked really well. jwartman hit the nail on the head regarding the duffer. A little slice of heaven there!! We were about 180lbs, 230 lbs, and about 250 lbs. Lots of gear too. The gunnels weren't even close to the water.

"Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more."

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chipaddler

08/07/2012 07:56AM

I've done 3 in an SR 18.5 a couple times. Stability is fine. Paddling is fine. Good amount of room. Fishing is awkward for the two toward the back.

"Not all those who wander are lost" - Tolkien

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john 800

08/07/2012 08:14AM

In the group of guys I go with, we rented a three man on year because one guy had a broken colorbone and we still wanted him to come with. We actually really liked it, one less to portage and more people to paddle. the last trip we went on we put 6 guys in two three man canoes. I prefer the souris river q18.5 to the mn3 more stability, and it turns better, the mn3 is very slightly if any faster and tracks straighter, both are good in rough water but the sr is better.
Note our guys were from 150 to 225 probobly aboput the same weight as you guys in total

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DayDreamin

08/07/2012 11:56AM

I've done 3 200lb guys+a 60lb dog in a MN3. worked just fine

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Sierra1

08/07/2012 12:10PM

I used to paddle BWCA routes quite often with three people in my Alumacraft QT 17. We never had an issue with freeboard or balance. Part of that was also because the three of us had learned to pack light and how to set up the canoe trim.

Watch out for that rock!!!........ Oooo.... That's going to leave a mark...

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Whichwaysnorth

08/07/2012 10:40PM

we will be in an Alumacraft Quetico 17 footer as well. we are going in at moose lake and up to new found lake and possibly a loop to snowbank lake and back to Ep 25. That isn't HUGE water but its fairly large, is it TOO open?

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jwartman59

08/07/2012 11:05PM

you should be fine if you use common sense. in large waves learn how to quarter into the waves, same goes with following waves. this takes a bit of skill, but it is not rocket science, you should be able to figure it out. your canoe is more than adequate for this task.

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tnthekids

08/08/2012 03:56PM

With Girl Scouts we have done 3 in a canoe for years. Balance the weight out with appropriate size/weight packs and it works fine. We have been using alumicraft canoes though.

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rockinrod12

08/09/2012 11:30AM

I just did a trip with my 2 boys in a SR Quetico 18.5 and it worked out fine.

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bwcadan

08/09/2012 05:11PM

SR 18.5 did very well for a week in the Q with 700 lbs of people weight and probably 250 ls of gear. We had rollers as well as flat traveling that week. Stern man better know how to handle it and other 2 paddled hard in the rollers.

SR people told me that my 490 Lb son in law would not stress the boat beyond its specs if he was centered. Went with him and his wife a year later when he was down to about 360. He was top heavy and we had to ask him to bend down to reduce height top heavy issues in heavy water, Total weight was well over 960 lbs on that trip. All 3 of us have lost weight since then too. Son in law has now become a cop and looks the part. Congrats to him.

the greatest come backs are reserved for those with the greatest deficits.

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bstrege

08/10/2012 11:18AM

We do it in a MN III a lot. My dad, his brother, and their friend used to go in an aluminum canoe back in the day. I also did this a couple of times before moving up to a MN III. The person in the middle would sit on a pack. They made it work. It was better than having two canoes for three people. But, of course, the feasibility of this depends on the canoe, how you pack, etc. Try it out before going on the trip.

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