The Hunter is a Fisherman Too!
I can't understand sometimes why a mfg chooses to drop a model, must be too close to another model or sales are too slow to be profitable, but the OT Hunter is a great canoe! Just picked one up used, love Royalex boats and this is a perfect size for one or two adults, plus a small child or canine! Plus she easily cartops even on our small Mazda 3! No keel means no hangups on rocks and underwater obstructions. I use it mostly for fishing, as speed and agility is not my focus, but stability and utility.
If you can find one, you should try it! The specs are very similar to the Wenonah Fisherman 14.
You have to love the Old Town…
You have to love the Old Town Hunter, 14' royalex, 36" beam, very shallow arch bottom, almost flat, but not quite. Beautiful recurve stems, classic canoe look. As a tandem, at 14' you do feel too close, but it could work for two adults or kids 130# each(or less). It shines as a solo fishing, photo, exploring,class I rapids canoe. I paddle from the bow seat with the stern forward, and put a Sealine bag of water up front to trim it(on lakes). I adjust the amount of water according to the wind conditions. Its very stable and turns fine, its not meant to be a fast canoe. I gave it a 9 because the tall stems do catch wind, however burying the bow with the water bag will keep you on track and make it even more stable. This is the kind of canoe that makes people love canoeing, when your eyes fall on it you see a friend.
With the exception of my wood…
With the exception of my wood canoes, all my boats are Royalex, I love the lighter weight and the durability. At 14' the Hunter is too short for a tandem canoe for full size humans. My 16' Campers fit that niche. I have 2 Packs and each time I paddled one I commented that it needed to be 2' longer. (note - move the seats on them 9" closer to center) Solution - I picked up a 14' Hunter last year and converted it to a solo boat. I removed both seats and installed a webbed seat - placed 9" closer to center than the front seat was (reused 2 holes). I moved the thwart and added one lightweight thwart for each seat, more for a point to fasten gear than for support. It weighs 51# now vs. 53 stock, 33 for the 12' Pack and 59 for the 16' Camper.
The boat is slow - similar to the Pack, but will be great for a solo canoe trip. As a solo boat she is very stable. I wish it was 2 or 3" narrower and had a keel like the Pack or the Carleton (fiberglass), but for what it is I am happy - and since I have different boats for different needs, the solo Hunter has a place in my small fleet.
Surprised the Old Town Hunter…
Surprised the Old Town Hunter hasn't been reviewed here before. It's been out of production for a long time and probably didn't sell in big numbers but it was a fine boat. They do show up from time to time on Craigslist.
I bought mine in 1987 and paddled it for about 15 years. Regret to this day selling it and would love to have another. The boat is made of Royalex, is 14' long and 36" wide. The bottom is flat and the sides are square.
Great initial stability for fishing. And the flat bottom made it very easy to turn when going downstream. It weighed in at 53 pounds. It was ideal for car-topping and fishing small lakes too.
