Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: 3 man canoe options
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OHPaddler |
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Bushman |
Three guys and a lot of gear. Paddle well but tight turns are tough. Moose River North entry was kind of a pain but that's a tight little river for anything. Three men with respective weights of 230, 210 and 180. Two full Granite Gear Superiors and a full 60L food barrel plus three personal size backpacks. 5 fishing rods, a small tackle box, 4 paddles as well as 3 seat back chair frames. |
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buz |
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PikePetersen |
- Northstar B19 (19’6”) - Northstar Northwind 20 (20’6”) - Wenonah MNIII (20’) We will be basecamping and fishing for a few days. Wondering if anyone has experience/advice they’d be willing to share. I was leaning towards the longest option just to have a little extra space while fishing hopefully. |
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Porkeater |
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Captn Tony |
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Michwall2 |
The Minn3 are great traveling boats. They track like a dream and are faster than anything else out there. BUT: As noted before, they are a battleship to turn. There is no rocker in them at all. In addition, the feet of the bow man will be cramped. The front seat slides to help with trim, but, even with that, the bow of the canoe is quite narrow and makes for an uncomfortable seated position. The Minn3 also is a lot narrower (think speed)with a more rounded bottom. It can make the boat feel jittery. Tougher to fish from. The 19'6" or the 20'6" Northwind? Several factors to consider: These are wider canoes and give a more stable platform to fish from. However, they are not as fast as the Minn3 and will not track as straight because they have some rocker in them. How much gear? Weight of the paddlers. Big Lakes or smaller lakes? Any river paddling? Longer canoes catch more wind and are tougher to control in windy conditions. Longer canoes can give more space between middle person and both ends. Longer canoes are tougher to pass the worms, etc. from one end to the other. I paddle an 18'6" Bell Northwoods (a progenitor to the Northstar Northwinds). We sometimes put a third in to trip with, but our trips are more traveling than fishing. It is very stable and has a lot of space. I think the 19'6" will do nicely for your trip. |
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Gaidin53 |
I’m doing a 3 person trip but 14 days so more food and gear this July. I went with the Northwind 20 with 3 seats for that trip. We’re also covering serious distance and the Northwind should be better at that. I’m also doing another shorter trip with 2 buddies later August but we’re all big guys. I chose the Northwind 20 for that as well. The wenonah Champlain I paddled at Northern tier is a really nice canoe. They tended at least the one I had was super tail heavy with the added 3rd seat. I eventually strapped an under seat bag below the front seat with all the fishing gear and some other items to balance the canoe. Our NT guide said he’d had to tape a big rock in below the front seat on a few trips. A Souris River Quetico 18 with 3 seats wouldn’t have enough weight capacity. Ryan |
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cmanimal |
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sns |
timatkn: "Another option is the Souris River Quetico 18.5, hauls a ton…not sure why a precious poster said it didn’t have the weight capacity? You could haul a moose in that thing :)" True - SR's are load-haulers and stable for fishing. I've rented them several times including last week in the Q. But they always bring up the rear when paddling with Wenonahs and/or Northstars, and it's not very close. |
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Gaidin53 |
Souris River Quetico 18 is 18.5 feet long. Width 36.5 inches Northwind 18 is 18.9 feet long. Width 36 inches optimal load is 400 to 700 lbs. I’m going to assume the Souris River is going to be pretty similar to the Northwind 18 Northwind 20 is 600 to 1000 lbs. with a 36 inch max width. B19 is 650 to 1100 lbs length of 19.6 feet and max width of 38 inches. That added width might make it a little more comfortable to paddle but I’d assume a little slower. Ryan |
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timatkn |
I’d favor the Northstar 20. Just because I have used it before for 3 and 4 people and it did well. Another option is the Souris River Quetico 18.5, hauls a ton…not sure why a previous poster said it didn’t have the weight capacity? You could haul a moose in that thing :) T |
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YetiJedi |
Based on this thread, we are renting a Northstar b-19 this summer for a trip with 6+ people. Excited to try out a new model! |
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Nomadmusky |
I'm amazed at the water it can handle and the load it can carry. Nomad |