How many of you still use aluminum canoes for your BW trips?  I'm probably going to be buying a used 17' Alumacraft canoe tomorrow.  It will get plenty of use around here (central Iowa).  I also thought I would be able to save some money on BW trips as I've had to rent in the past.  But I'm 42 now and spend more time at a desk than anywhere else.  Am I crazy to consider portaging the Alumacraft?  I know the outfitters still use them, but I don't see that many posts from board members hauling them across portages.   :)

Well, we still use them; rented from an outfitter.  I suppose it's economics mainly.  I like the grumman better for high sides in the surf; but I think Alumacraft are faster and more streamlined.

starwatcher

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starwatcher wrote on Apr 10^th, 2010 at 4:27pm:

... I think Alumacraft are faster and more streamlined.

I would agree. Didn't Alumacraft also come in a ~10# or so lighter version as well?

Jeff,
Good thing about the aluminum boats is that you can pretty much beat the living snot out of them and they still function. They aren't the lightest things to portage, but at 42 you're still plenty young enough to pull it off. Don't plan on single-portaging, though. They aren't as pretty as a kevlar, but you don't get style points in the BW/Q. And they aren't as fast as kevlar, but you're not out there to race anyways. They're just good, inexpensive, functional boats that have proven themselves for decades.
The other negatives of aluminum are noise - bang your paddle on the side and it will resound down the lake - and they conduct water temp - if water is cold so will be your butt. Ten years from now you can buy the kevlar of your dreams and you will really appreciate it. (Sort of like buying your first brand new car after ten years of beaters.) Then you can give the trusty aluminum, complete with dents and dings, to your kids with a couple cheap plastic paddles and let 'em thrash around.
I really don't think you can go wrong with an aluminum over the long haul. You can probably re-sell the darn thing in 10 years for as much as you paid for it.
So, congrats on your new boat!
- Wind-in-Face

Well, I went ahead and bought the canoe today.  It was after 5 tonight when I got it home, so the only water it saw was the power washer.  Overall it looks to be in pretty good shape.  There are plenty of scratches on it plus a couple decals that the previous owner put on it for some reason.  Does anyone know if it's possible to buy replacement Alumacraft decals?  If the paperwork for the registration is right, it's a 1980 model.  I'll have to throw it a birthday party this summer!   ;)  My boys had fun sitting in it on the driveway tonight, so I guess it's time to go buy paddles and life jackets.

There oughta be a thread:  Top 10 things you can do in/with an aluminum canoe that you can't do with Kevlar.

This would certainly be a worthy candidate:


wrote on Apr 12^th, 2010 at 3:23am:

My boys had fun sitting in it on the driveway tonight...

I'm in the running to inherit an aluminum canoe myself.  There will be plenty of times and places where it will get the nod over one of my kevlars.  There's no shame in owning aluminum.

We still have (and love) our first canoe, a 17-foot Grumman, which was our only canoe from 1973-1999.  We actually took it on one trip since we have had the Bell, when I was having serious knee problems and it was easier for me to sit in it and hop in and out quickly at portages (also didn't have to be as careful landing at same.)

When we bought our lake cottage in 2005 we "retired" it there, and we spend many happy times in it during the summer months just paddling around the little lake, taking the grandchildren out for paddles, and never having to worry about caring for it.  I probably shouldn't admit that I like it in some ways better than the Bell Northwind. . . .but. . . ;)

Nothin' wrong with a good aluminum boat.  Just my two cents.  Of course I am not the one who carries the canoe.   ;D

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it,s not the canoe, but rather the limitations of the one propelling and portaging the canoe.......my son and I paddled and portaged our 17' alumacraft canoe from Frazer Lake to Lake 1 landing in one long day at the end of our father/son trip in 2006. We haden't planed on making that distance when the day began, but as the wind picked up and the rain began to fall and the fish decided to take shelter, we paddled a little further along, and as conditions worsened  we decided we would be able to make Lake 1 the next day some time......continueing along as the weather proceeded to become a stingin rain head wind....well,as all the campsites were taken, and we had had 6 days of fun and sun we decided to make a point of paddleing from Frazer to Lake 1 in a day ......we got to lake one about 10:00 pm as the last of the rains fell

so, I'd say it's not the canoe that makes the trip, but the masters of the canoe that makes their own trip  8-)

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I completely agree. Know your boat! ;)

Know your skills ;)

Know your limitations ;)

Snow_Dog wrote on Apr 13^th, 2010 at 12:51am:

I'm in the running to inherit an aluminum canoe myself.  There will be plenty of times and places where it will get the nod over one of my kevlars.  There's no shame in owning aluminum.

"Mom always liked you best..." ;D
quoting Tom Smothers about brother Dick, for those too young to remember.

Replacement Alumacraft decals?

Surely you can be more creative than that! ;D

Besides, "applying (artistic/ridiculous/etc) decals" is #2 on the list of things you can do to an aluminum canoe but not to a Kevlar, isn't it?

If you do eventually buy something fancy, you will still always want to have a more rugged canoe for when you start looking at a trip with water a bit faster than BW/Q ...

The only decal any canoe needs is supplied only on this website.

They're hot in summer, cold in spring/fall, noisy & they stick to rocks.

They're still among the most sturdy and long lasting canoes around.  They aren't cheap either.

One buddy who has a half a dozen different canoes still prefers his Grumman in many situations.

Preacher wrote on Apr 13^th, 2010 at 6:20pm:

One buddy who has a half a dozen different canoes still prefers his Grumman in many situations.

They get my vote; especially in high waves.

starwatcher

So I bought the canoe.  Now we just need to add water.  It's been two weeks and I still haven't been able to try it out.

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wrote on Apr 24^th, 2010 at 4:00am:

So I bought the canoe.  Now we just need to add water.

Just keep rocking in the driveway, and when you put it in the lake, there will be no shortage of water. The water will be self-adding.