Guide 160

Bought the Guide 160 as a blem from the factory store in Old Town, ME last summer. It's a great boat for fishing on our lake. It tracks well, is VERY stable even with two standing fishermen. It does seem very durable, but I haven't subjected it too many traumatic events yet. Negatives are the 'one size seats fit all model' that Old Town is pursuing. Also the canoe has molded seats and backrests that only allow comfortable seating in one direction. That makes paddling from only the stern seat comfortable. The seat backs only face in one direction and will not stay against the seat when the canoe is turned upside down , requiring bungees or removal to position on the car rooftop carrier. The Old Town drop in third seat WILL fit on the gunnels, but well forward for good balance. These seating issues detract substantially from my families enjoyment of the canoe. I'm amazed that Old Town put so little thought or attention to these issues! Those molded seats and seat backs looked wonderful in the store, but present big problems in practice.

I recently bought a Guide 160 and it has lived up to all my expectations. It is a big boat, and certainly no speed machine, but for my needs it is perfect. I bought it as a family boat, and I regularly take 4 kids out in it. It has a payload of 550kgs, so can carry lots of people as well as gear.

It is an excellent fishing platform, with built in spots for rod holders. Made of plastic and weighing in at about 37kg, it is still light enough for me to put on the top of my 4wd by myself. It is highly durable, can take a knock, and is finished well. On the water, it is stable, at 1m wide, and with a step in the chine, it will gain extra stability the more you load it up.

I floated my friends Old Town 160 Guide RX and was very pleased. The canoe glided with ease across the lake, and was very stable, and comfortable as we fished nearly the entire day.

I live in the UK on a narrowboat, my canoe is towed behind or on top of the boat. It's regularly squashed behind a 12 ton boat inside locks, used as a wheelbarrow (firewood, gas bottles, chemical toilets), used to take casual passengers to the pub, and occasionally clumsy attempts at seduction. Some of them work, the canoe definitely helps. (:

It is SLOW compared to other canoes. But if you're on your own time (who isn't on their own time when they're in a canoe?), you will get to where you're going. Mine went out 280 days last year(would have been more but I broke my rib), this year I'm going for tours with two different people along the Thames just above London twice and even a trip along the Svartälven in Sweden in August. The canoe will do it all, it's not as fast as some canoes but it still gets there.

Of course, if you're one of those slightly inadequate equipment obsessives, you'll want something that costs more money, shinier and made of more esoteric materials. But if you just want to go paddling, this will do the job and won't give you any trouble.

This is an inexpensive, bullet proof, stable flat water canoe. you can have a lot of fun in it as I did mine, however, if you plan to canoe a lot, look further.

Flat water fishing is its strength. But it is slow, turns like a tank - no worse than that, and has no final stability - once it starts to tip it goes quickly. Plus, 85lbs is tough to load after a while. The Discovery series is much better for a little more $. You will learn more and enjoy it for a longer period of time (better glide and maneuverability). But it is still much better than a Coleman or Pelican.

Outstanding! After much research for a rugged, stable, family canoe, we found the Old Town Guide 160 at 30% off at Sport Chalet.

We have a large family and the canoe successfully provided safe fun for my wife and 6 kids, ages 3 to 10 (including twins) on a local reservoir.

The boat was easy to maneuver, stable and a real joy. When it was my turn to paddle, it responded well to 4 little kids paddling + me (I only took 4 of the kids). I was able to also paddle solo with the kids in the canoe. It responded very well, much better than I remembered an aluminum rental responding.

The only slight minus is the 83 pound weight. However, we purchased a Thule rack with an "outrigger" that works as a pivot point to load and unload the canoe off of our 7 foot high van. Using this, today I was able to unload the canoe solo. (However, it probably helps that at 6 feet tall I just barely didn't need a step-stool.)

You can't go wrong if you are looking for a great family canoe for still water.

I love my Guide 160. It is a great boat for what I want from it...If you want this boat for the same reason I do, you will love it too. I want it for small lakes, big ponds, slow rivers and nothing over class I fast water. It turns like a pig. It's heavy. It's tough as a Patton tank! I use it to fish for smallmouth bass and trout on the New River and small lakes in North Carolina and two and three day canoe camping trips on the same. It hold a lot of gear. I tracks GREAT. If you want to do whiteater in this boat, you're susicidal. If you want speed and sportyness, go else where. This boat wan't designed for those things, the Old Towne brochures even say so! I t was designed for people who want a steady, not tippy canoe, kinda like a fishing guide (hint hint) would want to take a client fishing or duck hunting in a canoe. Thus the stability chines that make the boat almost fourty inches wide at the waterline. I only have two complaints. I consider them valid and wish Old Towne would address them.

1. The front seat is too close to the front of the canoe, making my wifes feet be jammed up into the bow when we travel. I am going to buy an aftermarket wicker seat and drill some new holes in the gunnels to move the front seat back about six inches so she'll shut up about it... the reasonfor this is that Old Towne uses the same molded seat for all it's so equipped canoes, and the Guide boat gets wider quicker, which mean the standard seat has to be bolted in closer to the front of the boat. Also, you can't sit backward comfortably in the molded seat, but not a complaint for me, cuse when I solo, I always have gear in the front keeping the nose down.

2. There is no readily available aftermarket seat that will fit in the middle of the boat like the other Old Townes, again due to the width of the boat. If you want a middle seat (a good idea-this boat can take it) you have to buy a wood and wicker one, cut chop and drill and fit. Other Old Townes can use the plastic aftermarket seat that Old Towne sells that can be snapped down on top of the gunnels and removed just as fast, which is way cool if you have an unexpedted or short notice third party...

Other than those two specific things, this boat is a classic FOR WHAT IT WAS DESIGNED FOR! If you intend on using it outside it's designed parameters, you will hate the boat and rate it low. It is not a Discovery 168 or a Expedition boat, this is not your choice. I f you want safe, stable, fishing, day or two day tripping slow ater boat, go for it!

I recently purchased the Guide 160 and very happy with its initial outting. My wife and I found it easy to paddle, stable and best of all down right fun! Her mother and our 70# dog both loved it. It was large enough for all of us. We had it out on a small lake in varying degrees of wind and waves and had no trouble handling it in tandem. However, when I took it out solo, in a moderate wind, sitting backwards in the bow seat, without any ballast in front, it was difficult to turn. Won't do that again. But it was large enough for her son, Brian, our dog, Buck, me and tackle box, cooler, fishing rods, cushions and all to go all over the lake. My wife and I also took her mother on a tour across the lake to get a close look at a Blue Herron. Super fun. For the money, and its intended use, its great.

We have used our 160 on the local river and its adjoining lake. Paddling tandem or solo( even from the rear seat) its great. It works great with our 65 thrust Minnkota as well. We've paddled in to water less than ankle deep without problems. We love how stable it is, especially since there is alot of powerboat traffic around here. We've even used our 3hp outboard on it.

My first canoe. I've paddled quite a few others, but I think this one tracks easier than those without the keel. I mostly take her down rivers with some rapids and fish for trout off her. I was worried that I wouldn't like the keel because it would catch on rocks and I would spend more time hung-up than my friends without keels, but that hasn't happened. If we are in VERY shallow water for a long period I might change my mind, but I can go over most rocks and through 4 inch deep water with ease. She is definitely a TANK. Has a lot of big scratches from going over rocks, but I think it will last forever.

Complaints: I bought the boat at Bass Pro Shop and a few days after bringing it home I noticed the gunwales were really warped. (Flat on one side, bowed on the other.) Now, this is likely my fault because I did store it leaning on it's side the first day I had it. One day only. Since then it is upsidedown on sawhorses. I called Old Town and they said in hot weather it should pop back into shape. It didn't. I called Bass Pro and they said I could bring it in to exchange it. The manager about fell over when he saw all the scratches on it, he apparently has never seen a well used canoe before! They did exchage it though. I guess that's the advantage of buying a brand name.

The only other complaint is that the sides are fairly short, so going through rapids and rough water we take on quite a bit of water. That's what the bail bucket is for, but you're going to get wet!

We've had an Old Town Guide 160 for about two months now, and have taken it out quite a bit. This boat is indestuctable (for instance, my 180 lbs self, a 180 lbs friend riding shotgun and a 290 lbs friend sitting on the bottom with his back again the yoke hit a rock square on the bow. From at least 12 mph down the Big Manistee, to zero mph in a heartbeat. No damage whatsoever, apart from about 12 square inches of black and purple on the big fellas knees as he went slip and slide into the back of the front seat).

Hull has a very deep stabilizing chines just below the waterline. You can not tip this canoe if you do the polka on roller skates while floating down the river. However, at close to max weight allowance she turns like a drunk playing dizzy bat (see above tale of the Big Manistee rock).

Paddling solo is very do-able. I'd recommend sitting backwards on the bow seat, and paddlin' in reverse. The keel and the chines do produce some hydrodynamic effects that can only be described as "funky," but this is a good boat.

What a great boat! My wife was a little nervous about taking out the canoe; within an hour she was STANDING in the boat taking her shorts off. This is a very stable canoe. We take it on a class one river and find it very relaxing. Easy to paddle. It takes some planning to load and unload off the F-150, but that is a small price to pay for such a fun island.

Recently purchased the Old Town Guide 160 and find it lives up to its advertisement as an "outstanding recreational canoe." As my first canoe I am quite pleased with it and find it portable enough to carry on top of my pickup truck. I looked quite a bit on the new canoe market and found this the best value of quality/dollar for under $600 for a 16 footer, and I paid less than that. So far have only used it on lakes of under 20 acres, but initial performance paddling in tandem was favorable as it seemed easy to paddle and turn and not at all tippy. It does not have the niceties of wooden gunwales or cane seats, but at least its nearly maintenance-free and it gets me out on the water.

I use this canoe for fishing. I love it. It is a little on the heavy side (82lbs) for getting on and off the car myself and I would not try and paddle it alone on a windy day(unless I was only going with the wind. Having said that, I really enjoy this canoe.