my canoe (madriver guide royalex) is about 75lb. Just wondering how many other guys carry a heavy load over the portages? Do you plan your trip so you can avoid long portages?

36# bell magic (gel coat).

i double portage and do not plan trips to avoid any of them.

I have a Bell Rockstar in Royalex at 49 lbs. I take pretty much any portage as a double portage with the small pack and canoe on one trip and the rest of the stuff on the second pass...

yes, that is a heavy canoe to portage. If I had to carry that weight it would probably make me think twice on routes with lots of portages or long portages. My kevlar Mad River weighs in at 55 lbs and I'm feeling some strain after a 120 rod portage. Seems like 5 lbs in weight makes a noticable difference when portaging. No offense, but if you, Jan, and I were tripping together, I'd be offering to carry Jan's boat. Unless you two gave me an extra slab of bacon for breakfast:)

Ineligible. Own all. But not a guy.

I would leave my Royalex solo at home. Its a river runner anyway.

I actually enjoy the 33 lbs of my carbon fiber/kevlar solo. And I have an even lighter one(23 lbs) but its a pack canoe and I don't like sitting on the bottom as much as kneeling or sitting higher.

I am near 70 and prefer not to have too many killers in a day. I give up at five portages or a thousand rods total. The number is as important as the distance. I hate unloading and loading.

my 16' wood/canvas canoe is my solo boat. it paddles like a dream, it can handle any of the crap that the north can throw at you. it is the same boat that bill mason paddled (not the prospector, the pal). it is heavy. 65 lbs dry. more as it soaks up water. it is actually a very small canoe, 33" at the midsection, that and the round bottom makes for a very exciting ride. and it is fast, paddling solo i can keep a reasonable pace with many tandem canoes.

as far as portaging goes. i am 52, i am on ss disability due to a supposedly fatal, parkinsonism type disease. my goal, my entire life, was to be able to portage anywhere in the BWCA without giving it much thought. i've experienced three day portages in the artic, the bw is supposed to be easy. last summer it was not. the pine to canoe lake portage was a nightmare. if i was a sissy i would have cried. instead i have decided that i have to up my game. i am actually working out and such shizzle. skiing on fake snow.

my point is, if you have a canoe, any canoe, but not a coleman or one of those 1960s feux indian canoes, it doesn't matter what you are paddling, just that you are paddling. and have fun.

Bell Magic....and love it

wenonah solo plus kevlar gel coat about 50 lbs.

tony

My go to canoe is a kevlar Wenonah Encounter solo. It was 38#, but I should weigh it now as I've added a few things, so it's a bit heavier... Like maybe 42# with chair.

My 33# Mad River Independence makes single portaging possible. I do prefer paddling my wood-canvas, though.

I'm lazy, clumsy, and on vacation, so I carry a 35lb main pack on one trip, and a 34lb canoe with an 18lb daypack on the second trip.
With those loads and attitude, the portage length does not matter!
Pre-kevlar, I would break 200 rod portages into parts and leapfrog, or find an open space off the portage to set gear down for a break.
Never planned to avoid long carries.

butthead

wenonah wilderness 32lbs and very stable

Blackhawk Starship fiberglass about 46 lbs.

Do I need to say any thing?

I own 32# Kevlar solo and a 45# Black Gold Tandem, Oh and then the Heavier boat is a 69# Royalex Tandem, primarily a river boat.
It is now has a trip in to the BWCA...but oh I like the kevlar boats for BWCA tripping.
SunCatcher

30 lb Bell Merlin II

Hay Magic Paddler,
Are your gear in the canoe too?

RD

Rambler
Na I carry it in my left hand when I portage.

Bell CJ 33# for a solo. SR Q 17 44# for a tandem. Beats the heck out of the 85# Old Town Disco. Still don't care for portages loading and unloading sucks.


JB

quote MagicPaddler: "
Do I need to say any thing?"

Magic - Paddler....Hhhhhmmmmmmmm.....Helium bags strapped in there?

This post made me realize that my canoe weighs more than two time most canoes. I am depressed!

That is a Placid Rapidfire and that is a pack canoe similar to what yellowcanoe spoke of. This one was 27Lb new. You do set very near the bottom. I spent about 20 days last year tripping out of it and loved it.

Wenonah Moccasin..about 35#. Wenonah Solitude....about 47# (it's an older kevlar that must have some fg in it somewhere. I need to call in it's # to wenonah and see what is in the layup)

Bell Merlin II, black gold. I think its 34lbs. I could hold it up with one arm if I was coordinated. Alas, I am not.

quote MagicPaddler: "That is a Placid Rapidfire and that is a pack canoe similar to what yellowcanoe spoke of. This one was 27Lb new. You do set very near the bottom. I spent about 20 days last year tripping out of it and loved it."

Uncle! Uncle! Okay my friend, I will give you credit for hefting that feather of a boat. A very nice looking canoe as well.

my canoe weight changed with my age..in my 30's 85 pounds of fiberglass that i only took on the St Croix or Lac La Croix.in my 40's and 50's a Old Town Pathfinder in Royalex that i went all over the Q in.now at 65 i'm using a Bell Prospector,37 pounds or so in kevlar and i can take that anywhere.

There was a canoe at Copia last year - I think a Savage River pack canoe - 12 pounds. It was amazing to just lift it.

quote MagicPaddler: "That is a Placid Rapidfire and that is a pack canoe similar to what yellowcanoe spoke of. This one was 27Lb new. You do set very near the bottom. I spent about 20 days last year tripping out of it and loved it."

You can get a drop in high seat that fits over the low seat..and paddle with a single blade.

Mie RF is 23 lbs..hee hee. Mine is way more bashed up looking than yours.

Helium would be a nice touch but RF tends to fly away anyhow. If there was a downside to light boats you have to always tie them. Otherwise they are flighty and temperamental.

Will Ruch wood/dacron 15' Tandem with kneeling thwart for solo paddling, 45#. Purchased late fall 2011. Will be doing my first solo trip with it this spring. Hope to keep my total weight under 100# to allow single portaging. 21 day solo, so getting the weight down will be a challenge, but I've been dehydrating and vacuum packing.

quote shsylvester: "Will Ruch wood/dacron 15' Tandem with kneeling thwart for solo paddling, 45#. Purchased late fall 2011. Will be doing my first solo trip with it this spring. Hope to keep my total weight under 100# to allow single portaging. 21 day solo, so getting the weight down will be a challenge, but I've been dehydrating and vacuum packing. "

Sure is pretty.

I've got a 17.5 foot cedar strip canoe that I bought well used. Its a tandem boat but I've paddled it around solo a number of times while kneeling behind the yoke. Nice boat in general. About 60 pounds or so...

Im actually looking for a solo canoe, if someone is interested in selling. I have a wanted post in the buying/selling page.

Tom t, how do you you like your starship?

kevlar UL prism for the BW

37# Wenonah Advantage and a 34# Bell Magic

quote BearBrown: Tom t, how do you you like your starship?"

I really like it. It's not the lightest solo boat but it tracks well and has a nice low profile. I'll keep it till I'm an old codger and will probably give this to my son and upgrade to a boat under 30 lbs.

both here, royalex for the rivers, kevlar for lakes.
souris river el tegre 17, mad river 16 royalex, soon to own a kevlar ul prism.

16 ft 38 special cedar strip I built in 2005 weighed 39lbs when done... now after some use & a few extra coats of epoxy, guessing its closer to 45 lbs.

Always carry it with a pack, no issues.

Another Placid Rapidfire similar to Magic and Yellowcanoe. With the carbon/Kevlar gunnels, around 25#. I also use it weekly here in town just to get out and enjoy, be it on the river or the lakes. Hey, at 62 it keeps me out there. Great picture Magic!
Don

quote Woods Walker: "16 ft 38 special cedar strip I built in 2005 weighed 39lbs when done... now after some use & a few extra coats of epoxy, guessing its closer to 45 lbs.


Always carry it with a pack, no issues.


"

Troy, you look so young in that picture. :)

I've had royalex, aluminum, wood/canvas, and strip canoes. I currently have two kevlar solos and three kevlar tandem canoes. Less weight is nice.

both, royalex for the rivers here in ne iowa, and anywhere else, kevlar for lakes. mad river 16 ft. tandem, sriver quetico tandem, prism kev ul solo.

Well I thought all the Voyagers were short or maybe I'm a Hobbit...LOL... or maybe thats my little helper, my 9 year old son showing that he could lift it up... where does the time go hes bigger than me now!

Wenonah Voyager in ultralight kevlar. . .17 1/2 feet but only 38 lbs.