17' Sport

17' Sport Description

The 17' Sport is a canoe brought to you by Hoefgen Canoes. Read 17' Sport reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. Check out a few other canoe recommendations below or explore all canoes to find the perfect one for you!

Hoefgen Canoes
17' Sport Reviews

Read reviews for the 17' Sport by Hoefgen Canoes as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

Embed these reviews on your site

5

I'm a lucky one to find and…

Submitted by: paddler236751 on 5/6/2016
I'm a lucky one to find and own one of the first 17' fiberglass Hoefgen Canoes ever built. When I contacted Paul Hoefgen about the canoe he indicated it was built within the first two years of the companies existance - probably between 1970 - 1971. It is a unique deep green color with flecks of gold and silver and a real beauty even though it is well over fourty years old.

I purchased it in 2012 for only $200.00 and knew I had a treasure. It had been stored and kept inside it's entire life and was in excellent condition and only had a few minor dings which Paul Hoefgen advised me how to repair. Once the repairs were done we took this beauty out and it is unbelievable. It is highly maneuverable and so very fast. We actually were able to get it going at such a speed that I had to tell my girlfriend to stop paddling because we were going too fast. What a totally fun canoe. It's everything we wanted and more in a canoe. If I could afford a brand new 17' one I would in a heartbeat. However, I did purchase a brand new 18' fiberglass Hoefgen Canoe from Paul in 2014 and it is a beautiful blue. We live near Des Moines, Iowa and used our vacation, drove to Wisconsin, picked it up from Paul and spent several hours getting a personal tour of his shop and just visiting and talking to the maker of our new canoe. Paul is a delight to talk to.

The 18' canoe is more stable, steady and slower than the 17' but our intention was to use it to canoe camp and it has never let us down. It is perfect for that use. Paul is getting older so if you want to get one of these great canoes now is the time. You will never be disappointed - that's for sure. Why purchase something factory made when you can get something personally made just for you and in the process meet the maker - Paul Hoefgen.

4

Hoefgen canoes are getting…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 8/26/2014
Hoefgen canoes are getting harder to find now that the company is only producing to order. There can be found on the second hand market and they are treasures. The Hoefgen canoe has a unique design with open stillwater being its greatest strength. This was one of the first open water canoes that managed to eliminate the traditional protruding keel that was traditional on old-school canoes. The Hoefgen uses the swooping oval bow and stern for tracking rather than a full length spine keel.

The Hoefgen Sport is a fast, easy to paddle canoe perfect for extended canoe adventures such as BWCA or long river cruises loaded with gear. This canoe tracks well and is fast due to the sleek lines and maximum 33" width at the waterline. The bow and stern have a unique flare in the hull that helps the canoe ride waves rather than simply crash into them.

The Hoefgen Sport is made with hand-layers woven fiberglass cloth with a glossy rich gel coat exterior. The low profile makes it less susceptible to wind.

I give the rating an overall 9 instead of a ten because the Hoefgen takes a wide turn probably due to its long narrow shape. Also, weighing in at 62 lbs makes it heavier than many of today's lighter weight canoes.