By the end of April the first week in May I'm getting an Old Town Guide 146 Canoe. It can carry 700#, That's more then I'll ever put in it.

This is for bowfishing and to scout the rivers in Sam Houston NF or any other WMA that has water and Hogs, Deer, small game...

Saranca 146 Old Town . Tell Me what kind You have and any tips You would like to Share..

maybe get an outrigger if you are going to bowfish out of it.

I guess I ment stabalizer ..not out rigger, sorry got the perfect storm in my head haha.....

Dry bags are handy. Also, I make short tethers with quick clips on the ends for bows, stands and such. Industrial velcro attached to the sides is great for small dry boxes and tackle boxes. Those gripper things that grab onto trees are much better than anchors if you have flooded timber. Rob

Sal if you do a search for bowfishing boats you can get an idea of the stabilizer set ups. I know a few months ago they had a few threads on the subject.

Outriggers is the term. You can make some out of lumber and PVC pipe with caps on the ends. I have a 17'3" Old Town Tripper and I believe it will take much more weight than that, around 1,200#. A long 6' paddle is useful for paddling standing up too.

For scouting don't use the outriggers.

Mystic   outrigger  would be nice.I have an Old Town Camper 16'and have put many miles on it.Get you some portage pads (worth their wgt. in gold)and good paddles and if you canoe camp some nice bags or some type of dry box.Have fun and enjoy I know I have.Kip

I can tell you from experience not to lean over too far especially if you can't swim.

I like it a lot.

I have a Predator C160, it is a little heavy but very stable.  I just bought mine and I am looking for a quality trailer so that I can manage this beast by myself.  Please cross-pollinate any good information you might find out on a trailer, if you should get one??

If you are going to ground it much, consider adding a keel guard strip (eg KeelGuard or Keel Shield). This is easier to do when it is new and clean; it helps to use a heat gun on the keel strip as you stretch it around the curve of the stem. Saves a lot of wear on the keel from rocks and sand when you come to shore or drag it over shallows.

Old Towns are a solid dependable canoe, thats why 80% of the outfitters on the rivers of america use them. Outriggers are a must for bowfishing, dry bags of varied size a plus for all outings and portage padds if you'll have to carry it very far. Buckster trailers are offered by a variety of companies, go to canoe and Kyak magazine. but if you have a nice small cargo trailer it works great also. I use a Grumman aluminum 17' guides boat for extended trips and a mad dog 14' for river running. Love them both. Good luck and have fun.

With the center console design it will be tougher to get on and off truck tracks on tour own.  I use the wood yoke in mine for that and portages.  A set of wheels    canoe caddy    is invaluable.  You can order a set or build your own.

I have a Old Town 146 with cane seats. It has been a great fishing boat and for light tripping.
I had installed a plywood yoke in the center for portage and drilled 3/16" holes along the gunnels and installed para cord to tie in the gear. Never used outriggers.

I have some crappy coleman canoe but I have an old towne kayak and Ive used old towne canoes and they are saa-weeeett. some tips: if you drop your paddle let it go, wear a life preserver, and leave your wallet and cell in the car or package it water tight. canoes are not really thats stable so bowfish from your knees. also dont ever take em in BIG water like a bay or something, you'll get swamped.

Sorry should have said fining spots to BowFisher from the banks, Or on the knee shots...


I am thinking of making the PVC Outriggers for it. I also want a cart for it..

QuoteOriginally posted by fisherick:
I have a Old Town 146 with cane seats. It has been a great fishing boat and for light tripping.
I had installed a plywood yoke in the center for portage and drilled 3/16" holes along the gunnels and installed para cord to tie in the gear. Never used outriggers.

Can You post pix?

QuoteOriginally posted by maineac:
With the center console design it will be tougher to get on and off truck tracks on tour own.  I use the wood yoke in mine for that and portages.  A set of wheels    canoe caddy    is invaluable.  You can order a set or build your own.

I was thinking of taking out the center because it's for smaller/lighter PPL then Me.. Maybe get a nice piece of Osage to make a Yoke, This way I can still add a Pop-in seat..

I would suggest seats with a backrest and outriggers.  Here is a picture of my daughter and I in our 14 footer with outriggers.  Impossible to tip over with them on.  I also wear a back support strap for long trips.  The other people in the 17 footer behind us tipped their canoe over 2 times on this trip.

As you could tell by my username, my other passion is canoes.  I own 4 of them, and they all have their specific use.  However, this one



is the prettiest and probably the most appealing to a traditional archery.  I guess you could say it is traditional, a 1954 Wood and Canvas Old Town HW.

I'd recommend for learning canoe paddling the book, "The Path of the Paddle" by Bill Mason.

I've never actually seen the boat you purchased, but looking at the specs, it looks like you have a real stable boat (3ft wide with a flat-bottom).  That said, what your boat has is a high initial stability, but probably a poor secondary stability.  In other words hard to turnover, but when it gets to the tipping point it goes over fast.  

I'd recommend not skimping on paddles.  You'd be surprised what a few ounces will mean at the end of the day of paddling.

There really is a lot to the sport of canoeing and I could go on forever, but learning the four basic strokes; forward, backward, draw and pry goes a long way and can deal with a lot of situations.

Don't forget the motor !