Colorado

I just picked up one of these Pelican Colorado canoes for free because the guy who had it did not want to fix the seats that broke. Very poor design on that for sure! I fixed the seats with flattened out 3" PVC... Here is a video of my repairs https://youtu.be/2C3OSfQz9XE I'm presently in 2021 restoring the canoe by fixing the seats. Adding wire mesh and more plastic to the worn out keel sections... Not leaking just normal wear. I'm going to add a large triangle chunk of 3/4" King Starboard to the open area behind the back seat for cutting bait or mounting stuff. Might add one to the front too. Over all it looks like a good canoe aside from the obvious bad seats... Actually the seats are great once you make a new mount for them.

I received this canoe as a gift. Never was able to use it until May 2015. Center seat broke completely free and left me on my back in the bottom of the canoe, slightly injured. Contacted Pelican and explained that it was the first and only time the canoe had been used. Their response was the warrantee was expired, therefore they would do nothing. The warrantee had indeed expired but the canoe had been stored indoors and when used for the first and only time, failed miserably and dangerously. This fact did not matter to the Pelican group. I'm urging you not to purchase products from this company. They most certainly DO NOT stand behind what they attempt to manufacture. My canoe had multiple other defects that I did not address with Pelican. I only addressed the defect that injured me but ultimately was ignored. Save your money and buy from a reputable company.

Pertaining to the canoe that was manufactured over 9 years ago, while we understand your frustration, as customer service has indicated, the product warranty has expired. In addition, according to the images that you provided, there appears to be sun and other outdoor related visible damage to the seats. As customer service has indicated, we do have the appropriate replacement parts available for purchase.

Sincerely, The Pelican Team

I have owned my Colorado for 5 years. This boat has been a pure joy. I have no idea why folks are questioning its stability or quality. I have taken her all over Western NY and the Adirondacks. She has run into all manner of beaver dams, been dragged over nasty portages and back country swamps.

Yes, the polyethylene is soft and scratches... so what. I have carried as much as 500 pounds of gear with no ill consequences. On one trip she took on some serious water after a series of waves came over the bow (note well, next time put the heavy guy in the stern seat) aside from not responding to paddle she floated nicely to shore. This despite a strong wind out of the west kicking up some nasty surf.

The seat attachments are horrible and I have had to repair all of them (after I called for a new seat Pelican was very nice and sent a new one, that one broke too). The repairs were pretty easy and have held up better than new.

Overall this is a great boat, not real pretty and sleek but a real work horse. I have caught hundreds of bass, pike and trout using this little craft. We have weathered storms and week long deer hunting trips,I have dropped her off the top of my truck more than once and she still holds up. I trust her with mine and my kids life.
You gotta buy this one!!!

Great buy for the money. I have no idea why some say this is a tippy canoe. I have had absolutely no problems in that respect. I take it out solo for fishing, and tandem with my wife and a very bouncy 65 pound dog. We have not once had any issue with stability. It's a canoe - they tip. If you don't freak out and simply let it do what it's got to do, you won't be getting wet.

For solo paddling from the front seat facing the stern, I have found that you will need a little weight in the front to trim it out. Otherwise it will rise in the front and you will be subject to wind. I mounted a dock cleat to the inner gunwhale for tying off my anchor while fishing. I hang the anchor out the front of the boat and run the line through the hole in the carry handle deck. This makes for a great pully system for raising/lowering the anchor, and while underway the anchor makes the perfect weight to trim the front of the canoe while soloing.

While a little heavy, any male should be able to easily lift this boat on top of a truck or suv by themselves, I do it all the time.

The boat can get more responsive and turn quicker by aggressively leaning it while turning. Again, I have no idea why people complain about it being "Tippy".
And as for the scratching - polyethylene scratches. That's the nature of the material. It will take a beating and keep going. The only thing I would worry about with this boat is the seat mounts. They look as if they might be the first thing in the boat to break.

If you are looking for a super-fast boat, well pony up the money for a boat that is designed for it. For the money, this is a great all-around boat.

I recently purchased my Colorado from Dick's during a Father's Day sale for $299. After the weeks of exhaustive research looking for an acceptable canoe for my wife and I to tool around the nearby lakes and backyard river, I could practically end the review right there. You will not find a better deal on an entry level starter canoe. Note the emphasis on "entry level" and "starter". If you're looking for something to hit the Blackfoot or the Snake, plan to spend a lot more.

We'd rented a Mad River 16TT a while back and, I must admit here, that was the first canoe either of us had been in, so keep in mind this review is from the raw novice perspective. But, that's what I was when I was seeking reviews here so I'll pay it forward. The first thing I noted from the hundreds of reviews I read was that they canceled each other out, even on the same model: one said "most stable canoe I've ever been in and I've canoed for x years", the next one said "I've never experienced such horrendous instability in all my x years of canoeing". Frustrating for a beginner, to say the least. So I'll describe our personal experience with stability in tangible terms you can equate to your own knowledge and experience level. Same with all other aspects of evaluation: it’ll either be related to my power boating experience or to the MR, or from just plain common sense.

First, Dick’s sales staff was great, but they could have been more knowledgeable of the products they sell. So when they offer to “do you a favor” by leaving your new, un-assembled plastic canoe in the shipping plastic on a 100 degree day and offer to help you strap it to your trailer for the 2-hour ride home, tell them thank you and dismiss them. Imagine the impact when we got home and pulled the limp, severely oil-canned canoe out of said trailer only to be greeted by a warning in huge lettering on the inside of the canoe stating ”DO NOT LEAVE CANOE IN PLASTIC OR STRAPPED DOWN IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT”. Fortunately it popped right back out because it was still hot and left no lasting marks save the slight discoloration where the crease from one of the cargo straps had been. Their ad said “assembled”. I should have held them to it, because as some have said, it was not fun getting some of the seat mount holes to line up. I probably would’ve had an easier time had it not been over 100 degrees by then and I wasn’t still fuming over not being smarter about not leaving the canoe wrapped.

Some further advice for beginners that I never read anywhere: take your new, assembled canoe to a warm, shallow lake and at least establish the canoe’s limitations if not your own. We both had brand new PFD’s and tried them out in the water before even launching the canoe. Hey, if I may have to entrust my life to a device, I want to know it’s going to work! Then, in swimsuits and wading shoes with nothing in the canoe but us and our paddles, we paddled out a ways and intentionally rolled the canoe till it capsized. I won’t get into technical details about initial and secondary stability since I don’t possess the experience to expound on either, but I will say this in layman’s terms: Imagine yourself the small hand on a clock. Straight up is noon. If you tip the Colorado beyond 10 o’clock or 2 o’clock, you’re going swimming. The Mad River seemed very tipsy at first, as I imagine most flat-bottomed canoes do. The river we were on when we rented it was low and cluttered with trees, and it was only a matter of time before we caught a strainer that flipped us broadside. We didn’t capsize, but it was close. Same situation in the Pelican, we’d have been swimmers.

Someone mentioned their Colorado sank. While we were in 3’ of water with a capsized craft, I intentionally filled the hull the rest of the way full while standing beside it. There is no way this one would sink unless it were loaded with a ton of gear.

My other near faux pas when assembling the canoe was mistakenly leaving some packing foam in the box with the rest of the “trash”. A quick scan through the installation instructions revealed the three pieces of Styrofoam had to be installed in the seat towers to provide buoyancy. Now, if I worked in a discount sporting goods store and had just completed a less-than-pleasant assembly, and THEN discovered I’d omitted a couple of invisible parts, I have to wonder if I’d be tempted to compromise my integrity and make the parts disappear rather than dismantling the whole thing and starting over. Just saying it could happen. Caveat emptor.

Back at the lake, after dragging the swamped canoe back to shore and draining it out, we loaded the 25 lb cooler and full dry bag and shoved off. We paddled around the lake for a good five hours, beaching and resting occasionally, and never had a single stability issue. Being a Sunday, everybody and their brother had their power boats out, and of course the only way to traverse the lake is full throttle, so we had a steady supply of wake swells to contend with. Taken bow on, there were still no issues, although I did notice the canoe flexes in the middle enough that the hull almost seemed to conform to the shape of the waves. Probably not a good thing, but it didn’t seem to pose a problem either. It paddled effortlessly, far easier than the MR, turned quickly, and tracked well. We found a couple of calm coves and had that canoe moving!

It goes in the river this weekend (the one with no rapids), so if I discover anything life-altering I’ll add to this. Otherwise, we’re very happy with it, especially considering we were about to spend $800 on a Mad River 16TT. With the canoe, truck bed extender, loading kit, PFDs, paddles, dry bag, and seat backers, we spent just over $650, Still saved enough for the gas to the lake and back and lunch. Can’t beat that. I noticed when we got it home that the hull bottom had scratches and gouges from the small gravel at the launch site, so it’s obviously not going to last forever. But then, who would expect it to? If I’d spent $3000 on a kevlar rapids missile I’d expect it to last forever.

In summary, if you want a cheap, light, fun canoe, buy it.

Ok, this 15.5ft canoe is not all that stable, especially for a pair of 300+ lb out of shape computer nerds. So if all you are looking for is a canoe for paddling, you can probably find better for just a few dollars more. However, if you are a avid craftsman who enjoys tinkering then there are not many choices out there that will beat this platform for the price.

Slap on a couple wood reinforced PVC tubs and some 4" pool foam outriggers and you have a rock solid platform capable of being stood on. I am 6'5" 340lbs and I can stand in it now in comfort. As for drag, well the canoe is not overly easy to paddle to start with and the small extra drag of these outrigger/sponsons is really no big change. Lets just say the stability of the outriggers more than make up for the small amount of drag they add. Now I am starting to work on a sail for it.

So for a stable sturdy fishing platform that is very forgiven, I would recommend this canoe, but only with attached outriggers either made yourself (about $100) or purchased (about $200 - 1200). I know you are going to say for the extra 100 or 200 I could have purchased a much better canoe and to that I say no way would that better canoe be anywhere near this stable without its own outriggers.

BTW my setup is tri-hull (outriggers on both sides) when I add the sail I will most likely switch to something more Proa(sp?) like.

Again as a project canoe for those who like to tinker, this is a nice CHEAP place to start. Rugged, good load for its size and easy to work with.

The time I most enjoyed this canoe was when I sold it. I bought the 2005 three seater model Colorado. The second time I took it out with two adults it capsized and the seats filled with water through little holes underneath the seats; so from then on, every time I touched the boat I had a constant reminder of the episode because of the slushing noise of the water in all three seats.

This boat is very unstable and catches wind like a sail. It is a very uncomfortable canoe because you spend most of the time trying to remain out of the water and hiding from the wind and choppy waves, it was as tiring as walking a tight rope, hardly a relaxing time spent fishing. Do yourself a favor and spend a little more money on something else and you will get onto the water more often.

This is for the Pelican 15.5 (RamX), which I guess evolved into the Colorado 15.6/Coleman Journey 15.6.

I acquired it cheap enough, hardly used with all new goodies, trolling motor w/ mount, paddles, PFD's and 2 anchors for $250. My Gal and I took it out, we both weigh around 150, no gear aboard. it was just a shake down cruise. Very, Very Spooky, The smallest side to side movement had me double checking my PFD buckles, I was getting ready to go in at any time. Even changing over paddling sides, made for a heart skipping adventure. We didn't tip, but we are moderately experienced canoeist and were on very calm water.

It is decent as far as weight, it truck top loads okay and carries well with the handles. No Portage Yoke. The seats are lousy, we both kept sliding forward as we paddled. It made for the scariest incidents of the trip... to routinely try and scoot back up the seat without swamping the boat.

My family and I recently rented 3 similar length boats to canoe down the Cheat River in West Virginia. BlackWater Outdoor Adventures supplied us with Old Town Discovery 15.8's. My parents hadn't been in a canoe 25 years, my brother and his wife took their 2 1/2 yr.old daughter and no one had any complaints of stability. There is a massive difference in the Old Town and The Pelican, though 3 inches separate them in length. There is substantial cost difference also and I am thinking that any Old Town is better at this point. I don't like being nervous on the water and I took some flak from The Girl also. She never got comfortable in the boat and neither did I.

We have taken my brother's ancient/warped 17 foot Coleman out many times and it is very stable under all conditions. The Pelican looks all the world like a smaller version of that boat so I thought it would feel somewhat similar. At this time I am looking hard at the Rouge River/Old Town 14.3 for $350 (new) for our creek explorations and ultimately an Old Town Camper or Charles River to accompany it for camping and lake excursions.

If you're thinking of a Pelican and you're a lighter paddler I would save your money up and go Old Town when you can afford it, it is no fun to be nervous about something that is supposed to be recreational in nature.

I bought this canoe April 2007. Used it many, many times. Have not tipped it over AT ALL. I usually have a friend in the front, me in the back, and my 4 year old son in the middle, and he likes to lean over the side to play in the water, and never tipped over. We fish a lot in this canoe and sometimes I stand up in the canoe to un-snag a lure caught in a low tree branch and it doesn't tip. HOWEVER if you put a third ADULT in the middle seat, it gets very unstable. We still didn't tip it, but the two times we tried it we were all very uncomfortable as the smallest move seemed very near to capsize the boat.

Other complaints, It is a BARGE to paddle. It is slow, but with two adults we can get where we want to go when we go fishing. Also it catches wind like a sail. The lake we go on is pretty windy, so I do not take it out with just my son and I. I always have someone with me. (hope to remedy this problem with trolling motor). It is great for small wind protected ponds and lakes though. It is heavy at 77 pounds, but I can load and unload it myself onto our minivan, I just don't look forward to it much.

Benefits- CHEAP - great deal if you want to get on the water on a budget, or are just starting and want to try something cheap first before buying something nicer later. Lots of room. Great for camping/fishing. A note on the built in rod holders. They hold your rod straight up, so they are ok to store rods out of the way (unless your paddling they are right in the way of your elbows) but don't expect to paddle and troll with a rod pointed straight up, the line will catch on everything in the canoe. You will still want to get adjustable rod holders. The cupholders are not actually deep enough to hold a drink without it being knocked over very easily. These are minor details though. Most canoes don't have rod holders or cup holders anyway, so you're not losing anything anyway.

Definitely recommend the canoe to a budget oriented or beginning canoer. Plenty stable, and fine for fishing for two adults.

This is for the 15'6" Pelican Colorado. Purchased in May 2006. Used the boat all summer and found it to be a good introductory boat. It is a tad heavy and the seats arent the best, but for 300 bucks, I cant complain. I never had the seat issues described below and we took the boat out almost twice a week the entire summer. Not a bad boat for the money.

Purchased Colorado 155 June 06. At first the canoe seemed tippy and unstable; however, have used it six times under calm conditions and have accustomed to it; Helps to have some weight on floor of canoe which adds stability noticeably. My adult daughter and two son-in-laws Total 3 occupants) took it out and said they had good time and expressed canoe was safe. Have soloed it a few times and enjoyed the trips. Okay for fishing if you don't stand up or cast too recklessly. Made of Ramex material which is durable, but flexible. Some oilcanning. Overall, a good introductory canoe and great value for about $300.

Pelican Colorado 155, Ram X Construction, Three Seat Model. I purchased this canoe from Dick's Sporting Goods for $330 including two paddles this past spring, 5/2006. It is a very good boat for the money. I have found the canoe to be stable, easy to paddle and it tracks quite well. That is with my 55 lb son in the front, 45 lb daughter in the middle and me a 185 lb adult in the back. The boat is less stable with a grown person in the center seat. The boat is perfect for evening trips out on the local resivor for a little after work fishing with the kids.

This canoe does not appear to be a strong/tough as the Old Town Discovery 169 I have rented from outfitters for overnight river trips over the years so I doubt it would hold up long under heavy river trip use.

I bought the canoe used a couple of months ago, it's a 2005 model, and was barely used. I've used it almost every weekend since we bought it, mostly on local lakes and one river, just day trips or for a few hours, but so far I am very happy with it, had a 17 foot Coleman for years, a decent boat very useful and durable but hard for one person to handle and load/unload on my truck.

This 15 and a half foot model is perfect for two people and equipment for an overnight campout. It's easy for one person to manage and load, and the weight capacity is more than enough. It's a little heavy, but maybe that helps with the easy handling and straight tracking in the water. The hull is very strong and durable, the RAM-X material is very tough, I know this because we had our Coleman fly off our truck years ago on the freeway, (fortunately no other cars around) and other than some scratches and a few small dents, easily fixed, no real damage to the canoe. We also ran some pretty rough whitewater rapids in the Coleman, not recommended, but no damage to the hull after banging against some pretty sharp rocks on our way down river. The Ram-X is real strong stuff.

Overall I'm real happy with the Pelican and plan on keeping it for a very long time, going to try a overnight campout soon, next on the list I'm buying a electric trolling motor for it with in the next month.

I purchased the canoe earlier this year and was quite pleased with its performance for the first several months however. When my center seat broke from having a 135 pound female sit on it I was displeased. Then my front seat broke from my 180 lb cousin. Without the seats in place the canoe has absolutely no structural integrity (this is b/c of the poor design and unattached support rod.

Bought mine at K's merchandise for $399. I was excited at first because it was a 3-seater and knew that it would seat me, my partner and our son. We finally got it in the water and were terrified at how UNSTABLE the canoe is. I weigh about 175, my partner around 250 and our son 70 and even though we tried to distribute the weight as much as we can, the 2 heaviest people sitting on opposite ends of the canoe this boat "wiggled" so much in the water that I was afraid the entire 5 minutes all three of us were on it that we would all end up in the water. When the heaviest of the 3 finally decided that it just wasn’t worth it leaving the other 2 on the canoe it was much better. I now wished I waited and bought a much wider canoe. We've taken a canoe trip once before and the boat never felt that shaky but I'm betting it was probably because we had a wider boat. The boat does track pretty well but I'm tempted to either sell the canoe and get a wider one or buy stabilizers for it.

I recently bought an Otter XT, which comes with paddle holder, footpegs, and padded seats. I take it on slow moving rivers and lakes. it handles and tracks very well. It also has good paddling efficiency. Very light and convenient. It fits right into the bed of my truck. The material that it's made out of is durable. I would recommend this kayak to anyone, experience or not. And its low price makes it even better.

Good canoe for the money. It is quite heavy, but handles well and priced right. Got it on sale at fleet farm in the off season for only $285.