Question about a Canoe

[hunter22]

Any of you guys familiar with the Old Town line of canoes? The one I am looking at is an Old Town Guide 16 ft. canoe. The place I recently bought is near the Spring River here in Arkansas. It is a real tourist attraction for float trips. I think it has some #2 and maybe #3 rapids on it. Trying to get into something that will get me to some excellent fishing holes on the river and not flip me over constantly.   

[West Augusta]

If it has class 2 and 3 be careful.  I've done class 3 in my kayak years ago.  It's fun but can be dangerous.  If there are long holes between rapids you may be ok.  You need a special canoe to do whitewater and I would recomend a class.  Canoes and kayaks are hard to handle in swift current.  You may want to try an inflatable kayak or ducky as they are called.  Less likely to flip.  A 16 footer isn't what you want in whitewater especially if it has a keel on it.

[West Augusta]

If you know the river and stick to the larger pools and stay in them you can have a lot of fun and be safe.

[firedup]

Rickey, have paddled many rivers from class I-I'VE and the old town Gide 16 ft should be an excellent boat for you. Tough durable and built to serve many years. It has good stability in moderate rough water (class III-III) but you will need practice to really feel comfortable at the higher levels. Consider that higher water levels raise difficult rating. Always wear PFD And in whitewater a helmet is a safety plus. I still have my old town tripper and after 30 years it is still a solid boat. It has made many many trips down the New and Gauley here in WV.  If it is a popular river and has guided trps you can often find used canoes as they replace them quite affordable. A link to review.

http://blog.outdoorpodcast.com/2012/01/16/old-town-guide-147-review.aspx

[drenalinld]

I was thinking might get to some gobblers that haven't seen hunters?

[West Augusta]

That works also.  I would pull the canoe well up the bank into the trees and lock it to a tree though.  It may be a long walk home. 

[Ghost Maker Calls]

I have an Old Towne Guide 147 and I love it.  It is an older model without the seat backs.  I ended up going with that a while back because the wife gets a little nervous in a tippy canoe and the guide has the chines on the side and a relatively flat arch to the bottom to give a little more stability.  I'm sure you will like it, good all around canoe.

[turkey stew]

A shoe keel 17 foot Gruman will definitely run the rapids! The owner of the canoe livery I work at and his friends used those for several years to run class 3 rapids in Ontario!

[ghost5]

I would run up to a 3 in an Olde Town without thinking about it. I have known several people with them and they were all good boats. I have run rivers in east TN with boats a bit shorter, down to 13 ft.