Guide Special

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Guide Special Description

The Guide Special is a canoe brought to you by Sawyer Canoes. Read Guide Special 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!

Sawyer Canoes
Guide Special Reviews

Read reviews for the Guide Special by Sawyer 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!

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5

My Sawyer was built in 1974.…

Submitted by: chaynes165 on 9/8/2014
My Sawyer was built in 1974. It is 18'6", and is the easiest handling craft I've ever paddled! I am a flat water paddler now, and I would gleefully buy another Sawyer boat. I have been in contact with the company and have found them to be helpful and awesome to talk with. Sawyer is a top flight outfit!
4

Our Sawyer Guide Special was…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 6/25/2008
Our Sawyer Guide Special was built in '79, and I've owned it for the past three summers. It is one of the relatively few Kevlar models I have ever found, and weighs in at 52 pounds, despite being 18 ft long.

I was forced to carefully remove several layers of red housepaint from its exterior, but she is now the original spruce green, and looks great. The canoe is ideal for our annual Boundary Waters trip, and also our favorite (we own four canoes) for lake fishing, since the excellent primary stability allows for all the kids to be pretty mobile without dumping us. It's only weakness is (as someone else noted) in high waves. With that said, however, I would be willing to part with any of the other canoes for the right price, but not the Sawyer.

4

I purchased my fiberglass…

Submitted by: paddler228759 on 7/19/2000
I purchased my fiberglass guide special canoe in 1974 and use it on local day long fishing trips as well as two week long trips to Moose Knee on the Hudson Bay and numerous trips in Algonquin Provincal Park and the Guide Special has never let me down.It carries an amazing amount of weight while still mantaining adequet freeboard.A gem of a canoe and still going strong even after the occassional patch.
5

I purchased my guide special…

Submitted by: paddler228159 on 7/5/1999
I purchased my guide special in 1965, when I was a young man. I just put a new coat of red paint on the "old girl".Now she looks like new.I wish I had a dollar for every mile we have gone together..lots of good times,for both me and my 4 kids.Kids are all grown, and now it will be the grandkids turn, to learn all about the wonders of canoe trips.

You ask how do I rate the "Sawyer"?...How do you rate an old friend..?To me, she is more than a 10.That old canoe has been part of our lives for more than 34 years,and still going strong. When I`m gone she will be passed on to my son and his son. With any luck she will last for another 34 years.

5

Sawyer 18 foot Guide Special…

Submitted by: paddler228042 on 4/2/1999
Sawyer 18 foot Guide Special - Have paddled hundreds of miles on lakes in Canada and States. Built about 1965 and still looks like new. Very good in wind due to low profile. I don't know what the Sawyer brothers are doing today but in thier time they knew how to design canoes.
4

I rate this canoe an "8",…

Submitted by: paddler227938 on 9/22/1998
I rate this canoe an "8", considering its intended use. My 1975 Guide Special is still going strong, although it has required several patches over the years. The patches are a result of running rocky Class I-III whitewater on occasion, which is not what this fiberglass boat was built for. It was built to effectively carry people and gear, primarily in flat water. Its low profile, total lack of rocker, 18-foot length, and sharp entry make it an excellent flatwater vehicle which handles windy conditions well (if properly trimmed). The low profile, length, and absence of rocker do NOT lend themselves well to large waves, however, either in flatwater or whitewater, but if the paddler keeps the boat's purpose in mind, it will serve very well in flat water or mild class I and II water.

This is a wide (36") canoe, with a very flat bottom. Hence, it is very stable. I find it an excellent fishing boat for two. It has very comfortable seats, as canoe seats go, shaped somewhat like the old-fashioned tractor seats. The only problem with these seats is that they are "forward facing'" and do not allow a solo paddler to move to the front seat and reverse his position to be nearer the center of gravity.

This canoe weighs 78 pounds, which is probably about average for a boat of this length. With its large volume and flat bottom with no keel, it can travel through very shallow (3" or less) water.

Workmanship is excellent. I still use this canoe on a regular basis on rivers in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.