Sport 14

We have recently had this out on the lake several times outfitted with a 3 hp trolling motor which moved the vessel just fine for a period of about 7-8 hours and still maintained a 50 charge on the battery!!that being said I am not here to review the trolling motor, but that is to say that the craft is not so overly heavy and unmanueverable that it would drain a single battery running a trolling motor and a fish finder :-) . I have also found that the canoe is easy to make additions to without destroying the structural integrity of the boat.

It was recently taken on a river trip through class 1 and 2 rapids...not too bad , but fun. the canoe was very maneuverable with two people through this test. because my partner bow paddler was inexperienced at reading water obstacles, many times I thought the canoe was going to flip during this trip but did not. so the extra width was a plus for us. Stability, well I don't recommend making any sudden standing movements in it as side to side stability is wanting in that department. However, if you want to stabilize it more from side to side I would recommend getting a set of outriggers for it. after all, it IS a canoe not meant for having dance parties in it.

My advice if buying one of these...don't pay more than $300 for it If you are going to use it for fishing. You'll want the extra cash to outfit it with a trolling motor, battery, fishfinder, rod holders, and sitback seats(mine are custom made, by me, stadium style seats bolted to the existing seats with lock swivels= total cost of $20.00 each.) Also, make sure that you secure the battery to the middle seat area. If you put it in the back where I thought I might like it for getting it out of the way initially, the weight of the motor and the battery will sink the back end of the canoe when the motor is engaged and you'll be scooping out water. Just keep the battery in the middle of the boat.

Also do not depend on the dry well to keep your valuables safe. I always bag my stuff in dry sacks. the dry well is NOT a dry well..just a place to secure your stuff in case the boat flips(you'll note as one reader thought ...it is NOT o-ring sealed.) I give this canoe a 10 for it's performance and ability to customize it for a variety of tasks. you can have a lot of fun in this boat if you use common sense about it, secure your gear, dry sack everything you don't want to get wet, etc.

The OT Sport canoe, as others have mentioned, is made by Johnson Outdoors and sold under other names such as Field and Stream. The OT Sport canoe is made well for being 14 feet long and 41 inches wide. The weight of the canoe is 84 pounds; one person can handle it as long as you watch your stability.

I have had this canoe out on the local river as much as I can and have found my experience to be a good one. My neighbor noticed how stable the canoe was in the water and how the wake from the passing boats was not as bad as in his canoe. The seats are molded plastic with small accessory indentations for holding small items. The center seat has a dry storage container, a cooler, drink holders and paddle holders. The dry storage is perfect for holding a wallet, fishing license, cell phone, keys and other valuables. The cooler makes a decent cooler, but we have found it best as a small live well for panfish. The cup holders are invaluable since my greatest fishing companions are my children. The paddle holder is nice because of the elastic cord. (I might have to replace my elastic cord in the near future. The canoe is easy to paddle; just remember it is a canoe. If you do not want to paddle, the canoe is rated for a five horsepower engine. My girls and I can paddle the canoe with no problems at all. When I paddle alone, I have no problems paddling and guiding the canoe into various spots along the river.

I rate this canoe high because of its durability. The body of the canoe is a hard plastic, which takes a beating and keeps on ticking. Aluminum canoes take a beating and get a dent, but this canoe deflects trees, branches and other floating objects. Being a hard plastic, the canoe is quiet if you are trying to fish. The bottom does not ting and ding like aluminum canoes.

If you are looking for a canoe to begin your journey, I would recommend the OT Sport Canoe. It is a great deal for the money and for the boat.

There's a bunch of lakes around here that are state maintained and motors are not allowed. We live in Alaska and need a pretty durable canoe, this has held up pretty good. I would like to strengthen up the bottom of it somehow to keep the scratches to a minimum. Not sure how I would do that, maybe some fiberglass resin would help.

Overall I give it a 8, like the last review said, it is kind of tipsey, and doesn't scream in the water but it is a canoe. My kids would give it a ten though. We fished our favorite hole the day before I bought the canoe and barely caught 2 trout. Took the canoe out the next day, filled a stringer and was throwing some back. They love it.