ALLY 811 Folding Canoe

We were pleased with the quality and the stability of this craft. We used ours three to 4 times on lakes upstate NY and were superbly satisfied with its maneuverability and buoyancy. There were three of us in the canoe and it had room to include lunch, snacks, drinks, and other essentials with no problem. The only one problem we had is that it was difficult on our backs, to put it together. We labeled all the poles to make it easier to assemble. We didn't realize that our age, 73, would make a difference but if we were younger than 65, we would want to keep it and use it more. This is the reason we are selling ours which includes lots of extras, because we intended to keep it forever. I placed it in this site but did not hear anything from anyone and will try to post it again. Otherwise, this was really a hardy canoe for use and transport abroad, by air, or by land.

I have used the Ally 811 on several long river trips--10-15 days in length. I love the way the boat handles in flat and whitewater. It's really the only choice if you want a boat that handles like a hardshell canoe, but even better, because it flexes and moves with the rhythm of the water.

My main criticism is that if you hit a rock, you're probably going to get some damage to the poles. I haven't yet done any damage, but I do worry about hitting 'the big rock' sometime. Still, it doesn't keep me from taking to the water. I capsized the boat on a northern river by loading it up too heavy and taking a wave over the side, but even upside down, the boat was easy to hold onto, and nothing fell out of the boat--all stayed tied in.

Yes, the boat takes a little time to put together, but it's not an inflatable, so of course, you use the rubber mallet and carefully review the instructions and take your time, and soon you have a beautiful boat. The hull is rugged--no damage after 60 days on the water. With all boats, you want to wash and dry thoroughly before packing it away for the season.

My main frustration with the boat is that the Ally waterproof boat bag purchased separately for the boat is almost impossible to fit the boat parts inside. Takes a lot of planning and mostly, I just can't get it all inside so I put part of it into another bag. I feel that the aluminum parts are fairly fragile for traveling, so when going on an airline, I usually pack the boat into 2 bags, with lots of padding around the bundles of rods.

I love the Trapper seats, and I think the design is functional. Wonder if the boat is still made in Norway. If not, I will be disappointed to learn that it's made somewhere else.

Additional comments concerning Ally canoes:
The skin over frame design of Ally canoes has inherent problems; the 16.5' fabric skin shrinks when stored -- when assembling after storage there will be much tension between skin and tubing -- note Bergans provides a hammer with boat purchase. When assembling after storage the aluminum tubing has to stretch out the skin; 1/2" aluminum tubing is not strong enough to do this without becoming fatigued. The fabric skin has memory so once the canoe has been assembled it will be easy to reassemble for several days.

Note: Ally canoes are the only folding boat that uses the boats frame to create initial unassisted tension with boats skin. Other folding boats use air sponsors or mechanical/hydraulic tensioner to create skin frame tension.

Just a follow up. We have now floated three Alaskan rivers in the Ally pack canoes. They are awesome. Very tough and dependable and we are very pleased with these canoes. They are made in Norway and imported into the US by one place in Washington state. They are the best pack canoe made. Don't get the imitation made here in the US. The Ally is the original real deal.
If anyone wants more info on these canoes, just email me (click on the envelope icon) and I would be happy to offer any insights I can.

This is a great canoe for river trips. And you can take it places you can't take your regular canoe. Like the Noatak River in Alaska, which is why I bought mine. The canoe is light enough (45 lbs) and packs just small enough that you can ship it by mail to your destination and you'll have no trouble getting it on a float plane for the final ride in. Get the Ally Packsack (a huge drybag with shoulder straps) and you can pop the folded boat on your back and take off even farther in the woods. You can pack a lot of gear into the thing-we packed 3 weeks worth of provisions for two into it. An added advantage: if you pack the heaviest stuff in the center, you create rocker and the boat becomes even more maneuverable in whitewater. In Alaska, we had only a few Class II rapids to contend with and the boat, fully loaded, was very stable and maneuverable through all of them. We also had several days of flood conditions with strong currents and swells, and I felt as comfortable in the Ally as any of my other canoes. The way the boat flexes actually seems an advantage. The one thing I didn't get to try and still haven't, is taking it through something with a lot of rocks. Though after 3 weeks of landing and taking off from gravel bars, and scraping through shallows, the Ally's skin showed no damage or even scars. It's the same stuff whitewater rafts are made of. One piece of advice: Get it with the trapper seats. That gives you the option of kneeling which is very comfortable in this boat because the floor of the canoe is a big piece of dense foam that your knees sink into and add to your stability in going through rough water. I'd give the boat a 10 except I've only had it for a year and don't really know the durability of the thing. Some of the plastic pieces that clip parts together aren't as beefy as I'd like them to be.