Guide 147

I’ve owned my Old Town Guide 147 for at least 10 years and have gone on many a canoe camping trips.

It’ll hold anything I need for my trip plus some. I’ve gone over 100 miles on a river with class I,II, and III. I’ve tip the canoe almost on its side and still was able to recover easily. So many stories, but all good ones. I’ve grown to love this canoe. My only concern with it though, especially now that I’m 70 y/o is the weight which comes in at about 70lbs.

I’m ready to take my grandson on a trip down the Suwannee River for 3 days, piece of cake, piece of crumb cake.

Kind of surprised I'm not seeing more reviews stating how awful the turning in this boat is. At 14'7" this thing turns like garbage compared to a 16' wide bottom Coleman. Performing "S" turns on a mild current Creek were next to impossible without 3 strong corrective strokes and applying stern rudder. Boat was only loaded with 375# including gear, evenly balanced along the length. Water line was just above the chines in the middle of the boat. Got this thing for 200$ locally so I'm terribly disappointed, but I will be taking some resin and woven material to the chines to remove some of the "stability". Chine placement seems to be like they only thought about tracking and stability. The boat has strong entry points. It doesn't need additional tracking, and it's plenty stable. Canoes aren't meant to be pontoon boats. A little practice goes along way.

The boat was thin in the bow and it was warped in the stern they say it was a number 1 it was junk they would not take back dont buy from old town find another company

One problem is the seats are situated high and the front paddler has no leg room and the rear paddler when solo causes the bow to lift. It is impossible for the front paddler to turn around and move to the center of the boat on the water. So I took the front seat out and moved it to the center, drilling required, making it useful for kayak paddling from the center. carrying support was moved. The boat is to heavy for me to carry so I drag it to the lake. The bottom gets scratched up, but it's tough enough to last a long time. Since the price is low I could replace it when the bottom goes.

I have used other canoes that were 16 footers with keel so they tracked better than the 174. The 16's weighed about the same as the 174 but seem to plow through the water better. In a wind the 174 becomes a beast to paddle. Even with a trolling motor in the wind it goes all over. I suggest if this is your first canoe that you spend a little more and get a better canoe. It will make your canoe adventure a much better experience.

The boat did turn on a dime and was easy enough to load by one person. The boat was also very tough, made from polyethylene. Overall by biggest two complaints were how ""tippy"" the boat felt and its limited ability to carry ample gear.

Built with its long chines that stabilize the craft whether its loaded down with gear or just floating lightly across the water by yourself. The construction is is a three layer polyethylene that's tough and forgiving, just perfect for the beginner or the expert paddler.

I like the ash-wood yoke in the center making it and easy portage to the water line or the vehicle rack and the seats are very comfortable and secure. Another nice design I like is having the built in handles in the bow and stern, making easier to handle in the water and out off water ready to transport.

This canoe is fun and rides smoothing across the water, I choose this canoe for the name and then the price just having a child this was a canoe I could afford and enjoy. I've had this canoe in several lakes in Oklahoma and Texas as well as white water rivers in Texas, it tracks great and is easy to paddle, not the fastest canoe out there buy no means but this craft will not disappoint you if you buy it with what its intention are for: Enjoyment in nature and paddling.

First of all, not only does the 147 look great, it is light enough to handle while dragging or loading on car. We got in and to my surprise I was canoeing again! I loved the canoe due to its stability. Having two young boys excited and making sudden moves, even though i warned them not to, the canoe remained very stable. I am happy to say the kids now say everyday,"can we please go canoeing dad"?

I will purchase an Old Town 147 Guide from Dicks Sporting Goods since it is also in my budget. I'm sure there are a lot of canoes that are wonderful, but for the money, this is one fine canoe. This comment is coming from a guy who got hooked on pizza and not enough outdoors. One thing for sure, my ways are changing for health reasons, also so I can take this 6 yr old canoeing in Arkansas on some level 1 family outings. I'm putting together a spring canoe trip as we speak. By then I plan to be 75 pounds lighter and j stroking like crazy. Hope this review will help someone who is large and needs confidence in purchasing the right canoe.

Long story shortened, the Guide 147 didn't work well. It was quite slow. I found also that it oil canned badly. When I tried it with my wife in tandem, it didn't perform well either. Bottom line I guess....it was a cheap boat and the moral of the story is you get what you pay for, and, why would I think it would work as a solo boat anyway?! A plus would be that it is very likely indestructible. I sold it a few weeks ago and got pretty much what I paid for it!

I have only tipped this canoe 2 times in all the years I've owned it and both times were from hitting large rocks in fast moving but shallow water. I agree that due to the low sides you definitely take on some water when hitting the rapids but never enough to cause worry. If you're scared of getting wet then maybe you shouldn't be in a boat on the water in the first place.

I know there are fancier, lighter, possibly easier to handle canoes on the market. And those are great for all of the "professional" hardcore whitewater paddlers out there. But for a real family that needs a tough dependable boat that they can gets YEARS of enjoyment out of, the Guide is at the top of the list.

As far as handling characteristics, it's pretty much a pig when your by yourself in a high wind. I have to kneel amidships to turn it into the wind. This is my second canoe and I preferred the first one which was a 17 foot aluminum with a keel. It tracked better and carried a lot more gear, but the 147's not all that bad.

In that sense I would call the Guide 147 a good pair of "walking" shoes. Durable, good enough looking and comfortable in a few different situations....
It isn't going to win any races, and I wouldn't take it down any major white water with the shorts sides. But for a general purpose very affordable, quality canoe I would recommend for the average recreational canoer.

Being 6'2" 290 and unable to kneel with a bum knee canoes def can get tippy on me, but the secondary stability on this is very good. I take my 5 yo and 6 yo out in this canoe and we fish in it just fine. It is a bit heavy but I am fine to carry alone the short distances. Love the durability of it and love the price ($450 in 2010 at Sports Autority).

Sure it handles like a barge in the wind but that is the trade off with the stability, thick material it is made from and low sides for easier paddling. NO canoe does everything perfect, but i say for 70% of your canoers out there this is a great fit.

Pros: Tough, Affordable, Versatile
Cons: Heavy, Slow, Heavy, Slow, Flexes a bit

Overall it is a great beginner canoe and a good spare or loaner. I could see it as a good rental investment too.

So, I have a dilemma. Do I try to sell it a two day old canoe and take a dumping on it, return it to the store 250 miles away, or ship it back for a refund via UPS for $150.00? All these problems are on me as I didn't try it out prior to purchase, (no one had one locally) but I have had other canoes (including an Old Town Disco 169) and a GREAT Stowe Allagash fiberglass model. At any rate, while it is obviously a good canoe for some, I think I bit off more than I could chew.
Anyone wanna buy a new Guide 147?

I load it up with my gear and two other guys and to for a weekend out on it. I have no problem at all putting 3 people in the canoe. I just use a beach chair right behind the yoke and you got a good amount of room. I can stand up in the canoe with no problem at all. You just have to trust it and not be stiff. Who ever said that it tips easy is scared of tipping to the point where they are to stiff. It is heavy and not easy to carry alone. I use the foam blocks to transport it form my house to the lake and back.

I'm planing on taking it down a river trip soon and I'm sure that I will not have any issue with it. I love this canoe and I think that everyone should at least try one before to buy one. It's a good price for a good canoe.

The Guide was perfect! The hull is firm. The Guide's weight, width, and hull design gave it a very stable feel. I am used to 16 foot rentals, but the 147 tracked just fine. There was a light breeze, but the bow seemed low enough that the wind had little effect. Paddling was almost effortless, so I think they could've named this the Glide. Launching was no problem at all. There was a little wobble the first step into the boat, but I am tall and probably didn't bend low enough stepping in. Landing was easy, because this canoe handles well. I was able to slip the bow right where I wanted into the bank.

I loaded the canoe on a headache rack and hitch pole by myself. It was a bit heavy when wet, but I think that will become a nonfactor when I get used to flipping it with the right leverage and body position. The three-layer poly might weigh more, but I like its rigid feel. The kid at the store showed me another brand of plastic canoe and I told him to push in on the side and then push in on the side of the Guide. You could see realization in his eyes when he said, "Oh, I see why you want the Guide!" The Guide 147 made a great first impression on my wife and I.
I would give it a gold star!

Running the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, on a 3 day trip, handled gear and two inexperienced paddlers for the 30 mile trip down river. On the last day, one mile from the take out, we came upon Devil's Jump. Everyone was portaging around the falls, after packing most of the equipment to the lower end of the falls, I look and my partner and say "we can run this" and we did. Hit a major boil at the bottom lost balance and rolled over. Before we even got out of the water I told my partner we were dragging the boat back and doing it again. We did, and made through the second time without a problem at all. After bouncing off of rocks and down rapids, only very minor scratches on the bottom. Tough boat, not pretty in the classic style, but tough.

I love this boat, it will take you safely where you want to go.

The only two issues I have with it, and these are minor, are:

• Weight, it's a little heavy.
  Not bad, but it's no light weight. Most people load it from the yard to the car or truck so this isn't really a big issue. I've owned heavier canoes, so I don't mind it as I think it adds to the stability on the water but if you're looking for an ultralight canoe, you may want to look at something in Royalex or Kevlar.
• Seats:
  Although very comfortable, this is a hard boat to solo. I lay flotation cushions in the middle and kneel to paddle by myself. The seat design, with the seat's back rests and over all "form fitted" aspect, you cant use the traditional method of using the front seat and paddling it backwards for solo use. If you think you might like to use it by yourself, you may not be able to unless you try the leaning method that I use. I'm currently looking for a way of mounting a middle seat that would allow me to keep the portage yoke intact.

Today I finally got to take her out on the water & run it through the gauntlet to see what it really performs like (so many good ratings - but so many minor complaints on reviews as well). I have to say I have no regrets whatsoever on my purchase. Very pleased!

Before I get too far into it, I primarily fish & do day trips when canoeing. I like stability, control, and durability. This canoe is definitely different than others that I have had the pleasure of using, but different in a good way.

Is it heavy? Yeah, it's certainly not featherweight but it's not terrible to portage. Is it slow? Personally I have no complaints whatsoever about the speed. It slid on the water like a breeze. The initial stability actual did catch me by surprise at first. I wouldn't say it felt tippy, but it rocked very easily for the first 15min that I was on the water. After that, I guess I had adjusted to it & didn't rock anymore. The secondary stability was great. Started pushing it to the gunnels on purpose & discovered that one would need to be really careless or trying to capsize on purpose to get wet.

Without the keel, and with an apparently more rounded profile, a modified J-stroke/Canadian stroke kept it in line just fine. It handled wonderfully. Loaded up my old man, my son, and myself for another go around the lake & went through about 6" of water to our amazement. Didn't even notice a difference heading into 10mph winds. This one's body is hard as a rock & didn't oilcan at all. Looks like I picked a good one.

If you are looking for a really high performance lightweight canoe for extended trips - this may not be your best choice. If you are looking for a well rounded, enjoyable, all-purpose canoe - you certainly cannot go wrong with the G147 (IMO).

My last canoe was 17'with a full-length keel & tracked straight as an arrow, but overall was just satisfactory. This one may not be as forgiving on poor stroking form, but overall outperformed my previous canoes. I would say that this canoe is probably the best starter one could get, as it not only may last forever, but would be like taking the training wheels off - to require you to feel the canoe, learn the mechanics, and also give you the security in knowing that you'd have to mess up pretty darned bad to end up in the drink.

I don't know what else I can say. For $519 bucks, it moved and handled like a grand. I didn't use the seatbacks as I tend to use larger muscle groups for get-up-and-go & the backs would get in the way. I'll put em back on during lazy fishing days. If anyone knows if the body design really was modified recently, or if I'm just losing my mind, an update would be appreciated.

The first place I had it out at was Lake Arthur at Morraine state park in PA. We had a great time and took it all over. Then in the Monongahela river in Greensboro PA, where we took it up river towards Point Marion and all the way up Dunkard creek there until we would have had to carry it across some rocks. I just got back from putting it in the Youghiogheny River at Ceder creek park near Rochester PA. It handled all the water great!

As for the weight I'm 5'7" and around 155 lbs and can carry it from the garage to the roof of my '91 Toyota Corolla have it strapped down and be ready to go in 5 minutes by myself, the carry yoke works great. Hauling it anywhere with two people just makes it all that much easier. Great boat, great price, great buy. 2 thumbs up!

Weather conditions were slightly windy probably about 10 mph which made the lakes a little choppy, paddling into the wind seemed easier then paddling with the wind, might have been because by the time we decided to call it quits we had been on the lake for about 3 hours. All in all it handled terrific on choppy water and in the wind.

I took it out by myself for a short paddle around the lake. I noticed that the bow was out of the water about 6 inches. Made the canoe real easy to turn but hard to control in the wind and had a lot of lost of stability. If I moved to the center of the canoe to paddle the stability was regained and was easier to handle in a straight line. But it was a little difficult to paddle due to the width and very difficult to turn from this position.

I will try it again by myself with a 48qt cooler filled with water sitting just behind the front seat. This should provide enough weight up front to counter balance my 200 lbs.

I would give this canoe an overall 10 except for the few issues I have had as a beginner paddler. My muscles are telling me I need to hit the gym more after this weekend.

Playing around I had to literally jump off the side gunnel to flip the thing. Handled wakeboard boats easily without any significant wobbles. With two, the wind was not any major factor. And not near as heavy as I expected from the reviews here once I practiced proper ways to lift the boat. Just hurts my wimpy neck a bit so padding is on the way for the yoke.

For myself, the wife and a 2 year old along with basic fishing and safety gear, the boat is perfect. For any tripping it is too small for more than 2 adults. I can definitely see myself taking a child out on the occasional Sunday fish.

Cons: I need to modify the seats a bit. Not near enough leg room for the wife up front. Trooper as she is isn't complaining, but I see her cramped up there. Need to move front seat back a few inches.
I need to find a way to stop sliding off the rear seat when really paddling. Possibly shim it to lean back a bit, something more grippy maybe. I also would like to add some kind of DIY footbrace/kneeling. Solo works fine but had to remove the back rest from the front seat and sit backwards with lots of ballast in the wind. A kneeling system near the middle would be the cats meow.

With child #2 on the way, in a few years we will definitely be looking at the Clipper Ranger again for the larger size.

In all the perfect boat for our purpose of floating around and fishing on flat water. What an excellent way to get into canoeing.

Our canoe has molded seats, and no backs. It's a 2004. It's very stable and solid in the water. We took it on a 4 day camping trip through the St. Regis area in NY. It handled all of our gear with no problem. I even had my banjo in there. The only reason I gave the boat a 9 is because it is very heavy at 74 pounds. It was very hard to hike that sucker through the mountains and swamps in that wilderness. I made a rig out of an old hiking pack to help carry and it broke in half 2/3 of the way through the trip. It's no problem for short easy portaging though.

We love this boat, it does everything we want, and was cheap, only $400. I would recommend it.

I am new to the canoing world and was lured to this canoe based on reviews I read on this site and others. The price was also a determining factor and one of the reasons I didn't list weight as a con (you get what you pay for). Being a beginner, I expected to go through a learning curve, but the canoe tracked and paddled very well from the beginning. The biggest problem I have seen is the comfort of the seats. With the seat back installed, I can't sit back far enough on the stern seat to be comfortable and I constantly feel as though I'm going to slide out of the seat.

Overall I am very pleased with the purchase and given the same cost constraints, would make the same choice.

We have added sling pads (about $35) for portaging, this makes the canoe feel much lighter than it really is. My 15 year old daughter has no problems portaging the canoe.

For fishing this has proven to be a wonderful boat. The kids like to play with it in the lake because it doesn't tip over, but it still feels tippy.

I've read some reviews where oil canning is a concern and yes it does oil can a little; which is fine by me when dealing with shallow, rock filled rivers. If your looking for a family canoe or a two person sportsmans canoe, I'd say this was good choice.

This is my fourth canoe. I can't part with my 35 year old, 15' Grumman SS. However, the Coleman and Discovery Sport 17 however are no longer around. Not because they were bad boats, but this one fills my needs.

Tacking is slow, but if you plan ahead, especially on rather fast moving rivers, you will minimize any short-comings. Also, as mentioned in earlier postings; in a strong crosswind it can be a bear to keep straight.

Now, having said all that, I've loaded this canoe like a camper, paddled through Class I - III, hit rocks, scraped along the bottom of the river, paddled across large lakes and I am very well pleased with the over-all ability of this canoe.

Do youself a favor and really ask why you're the market for a canoe; it's purpose, and your ability, nature and frequency of use. I feel, if overnighting it on a river, lake, or just enjoying it for a fishing trip; you can't go wrong. Soon enough, you and it will become good friends knowing how to respond to the ever changing water. It's time to begin the relationship.

Its not a speed demon, but I am not in a hurry and not concerned about covering alot of miles in a day. And its fast enough. We average 2.5-3 mph. The hull flexes a little but that comes in handy in shallow water with obstructions. The soft hull is great in the summer, feels fine on bare feet. In the winter, the insulation feature is nice. I have had the Guide 147 for two years and am looking forward to using it for many more years.

A couple of years ago I purchased a Bell Merlin II after I sold my motorcycle and had a few extra dollars left over. A member of the local canoe club recommended this boat for a solo paddler as it was the one he used. This was my first canoe and not one of my better decisions. Don't get me wrong it is a fantastic canoe at 36 pounds but it isn't the boat I need for what I want to do, which is mostly fish. So, if this Guide lives up to the reviews posted here, the Bell Merlin II is going up for sale. I'll add some more comments after I try the boat this weekend.

UPDATE 7/11/05 - Took the canoe out yesterday and it lived up to the all the reviews posted here. The canoe was wonderful to paddle with two people, very stable, and responded nicely to paddle. For solo paddling I did sit in the front seat backwards as suggested and in a cross wind it was a challenge. I had to kneel forward, scoot to one side and dig in to keep it on track and pry the J stroke off the gunwales, which if I had some gear lashed down in the front it might have been easier to control. At 74 pounds it wasn't unmanageable by myself, but it isn't Kevlar either. Minor point, I did find the black gunwale to get hot to handle in the bright sunshine and the rivets as well.

Overall, this boat gets an A+ from me. If you are looking for an all around canoe I don't think you'd be disappointed with the 147 Guide for the price. I should have tried this boat out before I purchased the Bell, I would have saved a bunch of money. Now all I need to do is find a buyer for my Bell Merlin II.

Almost impossible to track straight with a serious crosswind. Tracks quite well on calm days. She ain't fast, but that's not the purpose of this canoe. Other than that, this boat is perfect. I have gone down rivers (the fastest was the Chattahoochie in ATL) and I have been on several lakes for camping trips in it. Works perfectly for both.

It's a tank. Seriously. I personally paddle mine like I hate it and she just won't die. I've hit trees, rocks, other boats, rocks and some rocks and never has it even begun to show any signs of stress. I have had 3 full large 48qt coolers in it on a lake trip (I was acting as a ferry for our gear on a recent camping trip) with another person in the bow and the water line was still well below the gunwales. Still very stable also, and that's with about 550lbs in it!! I'm impressed!

I fish from it, and yes, I stand to cast. No issues on tipping. In fact, if you do tip this boat, you may want to consider a new hobby. But, due to this increased stability, it handles like the tank it is. Remember how I said I hit so many rocks? That's not because I'm a bad paddler, I just couldn't get out of the way! But who cares? You can't kill this thing. Go on, hit the rocks, it won't mind a bit.

So for anyone who is getting into canoeing for the first time and wants a boat that will allow you a very lenient learning curve, or for someone who needs stability for carrying gear of fishing, this is a great canoe for you. I would also recommend it to those who want a canoe for families since it's plenty stable for smaller children. Thank you Old Town!!