So how does a OT 50 lb model paddle?

Dan Lindberg

Ex Wood Hoarder
Got a line on a possible solo for a friend, and am wondering how the OT 50 lb model paddles?
He's looking for a easy paddling, "spritely" canoe.

For reference, he has had a Yankee for years and hates it, too wide, too flat.

Dan
 
He would possibly be happier with a 16ft HW and maybe happiest with a 15 ft HW, a very rare bird and last built in the early 20's. A 50 lbs is listed as 34 1/2" in width while a 16 ft HW is 33" with the 15 ft HW at 31".
 
I friggin love my Fifty Pounder. Great solo boat, lots of room for cargo, great all round boat. Jerry Stelmok told me, as I was restoring mine, that he thinks that it was one of the best designed canoes out there. Just sayin......
 
Thanks Guys,

Ya, we've kinda been looking for a 16 ft HW, and if it was a 15 ft HW I'd buy it for myself. :)
Being that the 50 lb'er is wider than the 16 ft HW, I suspect he will pass on it.

It's up against some hard compatition, as my friend bought the Peterborough 16 ft Cruiser model I got from Gil a couple years ago. He paddlied it and really liked it, but he's a OT guy at heart.

And Chris, that Ogilvy I got from you is safely waiting in a shelter in the backyard.

Dan
 
I currently have 15 foot versions of both the HW and fifty pound models. The HW is a faster and more tender canoe but the fifty pound model is my 'daily driver' which gets used most frequently. I have also had a Yankee and it was considerably less "spritely" than either of these. The HW was Old Town's most popular model as shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/models.html and the hull shapes shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/hull-x-s.gif may also be helpful.

Benson
 
Dan,
I sure wouldn't pass on a Fifty Pounder, they paddle well. I'd love to see the Ogilvy when you restore it, perhaps some in process shots too. It's a special canoe, Paul de Kruif owned it and wrote several books one of which won the Pulitzer Prize and he also helped start the March of Dimes and was an advisor to the President at the time(Franklin Roosevelt?). He was even friends with Hemmingway.
 
Thanks for the added info Benson, I'll let my friend know.

Chris, I'll try on the pics, though I don't know when I'll get to it. The connection with de Kruif is interesting, I had to get his book and did some searching, and in one reference he commented about paddling on Lake Mich shortly after he established his camp there. If it's the same canoe, that would put this Ogilvy as one of the very early ones built, ie, early 1930's.

Dan
 
I had both a 13' and a 15' 50#. I liked the 13' real well until I went to fix something causing me to take out the 15' again. I realized how much slower the 13' was. The 15' really is a great canoe and I have paddled it solo for miles/years. At 200# I need a ballast in the front to keep it down although I often go without it. There is plenty of room for gear, it is steady enough to take pictures. I can lift it to the top of the Jeep.

Fritz
 
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I'd reinforce the positive recommendations for the 15' 50lb. I love paddling mine and believe it is very responsive, especially in traditional Canadian style. You can't go wrong with this model if you want a great paddler.
 

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We really like our 15' er. And I just canvassed one with a guy who says it's his favorite in the whole world.
 
Another thumbs up for the 15' 50#er. When paddling solo, some weight up front helps with the trim. Very agile, even with a keel, whether solo or tandem -- without a keel, I would think "sprightly" would apply.

sm 100_3286.JPG sm 100_3285.JPG sm 100_3299.JPG
 
The 15' fifty pound model paddles very well both as a tandem or a solo. It is obviously not a good tripping canoe. All canoe weights and fish weights are quite "fuzzy" until a scale is applied. I restored an 18' OTCA AA with sponsons that had a catalog weight of "85lbs". The 100lbs+ of actual weight convinced the owner that it should hang in the showroom at Mertaugh's in Hessel.
 
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