Picked up another whitewater canoe today
 

Dagger Dimension. The best big whitewater tandem tripping canoe ever made. Not manufactured any more and I'd had my eye open for one for a couple of years. Low and behold, one turns up on Craigslist today just 10 blocks from my house. Great condition, fully outfitted, although I'll have to modify the outfitting to fit my tastes. I love Steve Scarborough designs.

Sweet!

Nice! That's a serious canoe!

I'm looing for a nice lake/river canoe to take camping and use for fishing with a kid or two. I don't know anything about canoes but my grandfather used to buy Old Town's. Are they a decent canoe?

Old Town's are good canoes. I own an Old Town Tripper, a 17' wilderness tripper. They make lots of different designs, some of which would not be appropriate for your use. The Camper or the Tripper would do fine. Those are made in Royalex. They also make some Polyethylene boats that would fit your purpose. They are heavier. The Penobscot (16 and 17' versions) should also work but it has lower sides than the Camper or Tripper models so would be less suitable in open water. There are lots of used canoes on the market in good shape for reasonable prices. The one I just bought cost me about 1/3 or less of the new price.
Dagger, Mad River, Old Town, Wenonah, Sawyer, are all good canoes.

Thanks, kerry! It sounds like the Camper and Tripper would suit us just fine, I'll keep an eye out for one of those.

You can get a poly roto molded Mad River Adventure 16 for about 1/2 of the Old Town and I like mine better. Made in Trinity, NC and you can order direct and have it shipped to your business for $100. (they charge more for home deliveries, I think).

May as well be a row boat!! They use those on the Snake River in WY for trout guided trips. I could do circles around it in my Blue Hole (albeit not tandem):D:D

I've got a Blue Hole Starburst, tandem whitewater tripper (also designed by Scarborough). It's a great boat and I'd prefer it for a lot of trips because it's faster than the Dimension (way faster). But the Dimension is a lot drier, more stable and turns quicker. So if the river has pretty continuous rapids with little flat water, the Dimension is better. My immediate plans for the Dimension is to have my 14 yr old daughter and her friend paddle it in a River Canoeing class next week. The boat is so good for that kind of paddling that it will virtually guarantee they will conclude the class with their self-confidence at the max.

I haven't paddled a Mad River Adventurer but they seem to be a popular boat and Mad River has always made good boats.
I forgot to add that Mohawk Canoes is now back in business again. They have a website and I think will ship directly from the factory. They have really good prices for new boats and lots of different designs. I still paddle one of their Whitewater III fiberglass boats built in the 1970's for downriver racing.

Nice canoe! I picked up a tandem kayak last year and we have yet to get it wet... I need to do that. Maybe we'll plan a trip up to Lake Superior and try the Apostle Islands this summer. That would make a nice summer vacation!

Nice looking canoe Kerry. I'm certain your daughter will have a blast in it.

I'm a fan of both Old Town and Mad River. I thought Mad Rivers came outta Vermont? Old Town outta Maine? I have a nice little Old Town kayak that is great for fishing, and a Prijon boat for bigger water, but alas, no canoe. Maybe this summer I can borrow Swamp's.:D

The plot thickens! Dammit, now I have to think. :D I am a cheap SOB...


You will soon come to learn that I overthink, lose the thought, rethink, second guess, lose the thought and second guess again. WHEN I finally get around to making some decision, now that JD had to go throw his Mad River input into the mix :), you are more than welcome to it!

That's OK, take your time deciding, because canoes can be fun in the snow too.:D

You laugh...:D

The Apostle's are really nice. I've sea kayaked up there the last couple of years. Make sure you take wetsuits or drysuits. The crossings are long and the water is cold enough that 20 minutes will kill you without some protection. The sea caves are cool there.

Mad River used to be a family company in Vermont. It was bought up by a huge corporation a few years ago that I think now includes both the old Perception and Dagger if I'm not mistaken. Old Town was bought by a huge corporation back in the late 70's but the boats are still built in Maine.
We have a couple of Prijon SeaYaks and like them a lot.