Woodsman lll

I'm very happy with my new Galyan's Woodsman III 166 (Bell Northwind), in Olive Drab Royalex. I always do a product review on anything more than $250 or so, so I found these reviews a great help and thought I would "give back" by putting in my $.02 after the maiden voyage yesterday. At 62lbs, I can load and unload it from my Tahoe by myself without too much trouble. It's very stable and my wife, a total novice paddler, was impressed with how fast and straight we could move, even against a 10-15 mph wind, if we were both paddling. We caught 5 fish between us in 2 hours of good time on the water. The cane seats are comfortable and overall this is a well made, easy to handle canoe. I'd say you can't go wrong with this one and the price is right. The color works great for me as I'm primarily fishing and hunting with it. It rates a 9 only because the thwarts and handles are unfinished wood, which is a very minor quibble for the price. Plus, I didn't get an owners manual with the purchase. I should have asked but in all the excitement, I forgot. I just went to the Bell website and asked. Don't forget, Galyan's gives you 10% of the purchase price (in this case $78 for the $799 retail) to buy paddles, PFDs, or other accessories, so it's REALLY like getting a $725 canoe that's the same as an $1100 one, with a better color!

I wish the Galyan 16.5' Woodsman was available when I started canoeing "some" years ago. This is the best royalex canoe on the market in terms of all-around use, and happens to be the best value on the market, as well. It also soloes great by placing a plastic step tote(discount store) in the center as a seat. The lateral slop in drop down seats can be significantly improved by putting small strips of foam(hot water pipe insulation) between the seat and the royalex hull.

The Woodsman 15.5' is one foot less in length, but is a completely different design of canoe, more suited for white water, or experienced paddling afficiandoes who prefer no initial stability at all. I paddled it, too.

I paddled my Bell Woodsman III today for the 1st time today. I own or have owned an OTC Discovery, a Wenonah Adirondack, and a Mohawk. I like them all, but this Bell boat is really a nice, well crafted boat that is highly versatile. I was looking at the Mohawk Intrepid and the MR Revelation, but I'm glad I found this Bell. It's good both in still and moving waters, and the paddling is effortless. It's well designed.