As some of you know from earlier posts, the SO has decided that we need our own canoe after her first trip to the BW. So here I am looking. We want to keep it reasonably priced, which I know is a relative term.

Found one on Facebook Marketplace and am curious of the experts thoughts. It's a Royalex model, about 60 lbs which doesn't excite me, but the price has me interested.

Any info, reviews or thoughts would be great.

Resist the temptation to buy based on price alone. Will you use your new-to-you boat primarily for day trips on rocky rivers? If so, maybe a 15' tandem Prospector would be OK for you. If you intend the primary purpose to be multi-day trips in the BWCA or similar, this is the wrong boat for you: it is too short and too heavy.

I'd encourage you to think through what you need the boat to do and only then start looking and comparing. Be patient.

From your earlier posts, I assume you want a tandem canoe for tripping in the boundary waters. If that is correct a 15 foot boat will probably be too small. If you take short trips and pack light, a 16 foot canoe might work. Canoes in the 17 foot range are popular tripping canoes. You will also see longer canoes used.

These longer boats tend to be narrow, fast, and track well (go straight) but can be harder to turn, have less leg room for the bow paddler, are bit more tippy and cut through waves rather than riding up and over them. If you have the skills they can be great boats. The Wenonah MN II is a popular boat in this class.

However, I think most average paddlers are better served with a 17 foot or so all around tripper. They are a bit more stable than the long and narrow boats, but that makes them a bit slower. If you like to fish, the extra width and stability is an advantage. They also widen faster (flare) from the ends and that gives the bow paddler more room and allows the canoe to climb over waves rather than cutting through the wave. If your canoe is less than two feet high at the bow and you hit a three foot wave, you might want to go over it rather than through it. The entry line at the water will also effect this. Two popular canoes of this type are the Souris River Q17 and the Northwind 17. I am sure there are lots of others too.

Now let's talk about Royalex. It is no longer made but was legendary for its toughness. Compared to Kevlar it is much tougher. It is also much heavier than Kevlar.

The prospector is a classic canoe design. Many companies make boats based on the classic design. One of the design elements is a lot of rocker (curving up of the bottom of the boat from bow to stern). That makes the canoe easy to turn but requires you to make more steering correction to go in a straight line (track well).

So, as Ausable noted, a 15 foot Royalex prospector is a great choice for doing short trips on rocky rivers. It's strong and turns well. For the boundary waters it's too small and heavy for lake paddling and portaging.

Lots of outfitters have all round tripping canoes and sell them at the end of the season. You might look there.

15 is ok at best for solo. the prospector has more rocker [think smily face] it s a river runner canoe , not a straight tracker. [ ithink that is what maddie the goose is running now, on utube]

i have a 16 ft penobscot. its 88 pounds of royalex, i can handle it solo, just not on big water. it still isn't long enough for open water and 2 tall paddlers. it's fine for kids learning on small water.

if i bought again, i want more width and length. maybe a wenonah 17 foot boundary water, for tandom.

If you are within reach of Madison have a look at the Wenonah Boundary Water that just appeared in the classified on this site. A nice canoe for a real decent price.

If it's anything like my prospector, you don't want it. Not a good lake canoe more of a river/stream canoe as others have stated.

We used 16’ prospectors on a 350 mile, 28 day trip that circled wabakimi and included crossing lake nipigon. It was as close to the perfect canoe as I can imagine. Lake nipigon is a big lake, we were out in some very large waves, often we lost sight of each other even though we were never more than twenty feet apart, never once did I feel we were in danger as those canoes rode the waves like magic. Had we been in wenonahs we would have been wind bound half the trip.

We have a Wenonah Prospector 15. While the longer canoes certainly have advantages on lakes I wouldn't hesitate to take it to the Boundary Waters. Yes as our is Royalex its about 58lbs. We use the Prospector on lakes in central MN and on lakes and rivers around the Twin Cities. Matter of fact my wife does not like our Souris River Quetico 17, she says not enough leg room up front. I think were going to sell it. I see a Nova Craft Prospector in our future perhaps. I have also spent time in the BWCA with a 15 foot Grumman, was a fine canoe for two people. Really enjoyed the difference in weight and length when portaging as compared to a 17ft Grumman. Are there better designs and materials for specific applications, sure..........but yea paddle what yea got......

What company made the Prospector that you saw on Facebook? I ask because many canoe makers have a canoe that they call Prospector that has little relationship to the Lines of the original Chestnut Prospector. Heck even Bill Mason tended to call many of his canoes Prospectors when they were really Pals.

A true Prospector is wide and deep with tons of rocker and tumble home and responds nimbly with two paddles and a heavy load. I can’t imagine a better canoe for a long wilderness trip that involves rivers and lakes. But they can be squirrelly unloaded and in a stiff wind. If you and your wife are competent paddlers that know how to sweep, draw, pry, side-ferry, J-stoke, etc. you could make that canoe dance.

I have a 1970’s vintage 18’ chestnut prospector, wood/canvas. Too heavy for bwca use, I use it mostly for river trips including up to class three rapids. It was trash when I got it, I restored it and am in the process of turning it back into trash. Maybe has 2 1/2” inches of rocker, no tumblehome at all. I also have a Peterborough Champlain cruiser, essentially a pal. No tumblehome and maybe 2” rocker. The design feature of these canoes that I find effects the performance is the rounded hull. To a novice paddler these boats will feel very tippy, yet the round bottom gives these boats great agility and also speed. Some of the modern designs of these canoes have flattened the bottom slightly so as to be More user friendly.

I have a 16'6' bell carbon fiber prospector I am willing to sell.

send me a email if interisted