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I finally fiberglassed the exterior of my 15' Prospector Ranger that I started back in the fall of 2017. My wife and I are so excited to use our canoe next year for some extended trips (4-10 days at a time). However, there have been a couple places online that I've read of people bashing on the 15' Ranger's ability to be a suitable canoe for extended trips. I wasn't aware of this sentiment when I started my build and it has me worried about my decision to build a 15' Ranger. I mostly decided on this design because it just barely fit in the garage in which I began the build (I have since moved) and because it still had two seats for me and my wife.
For what it's worth, my wife and I have a backpacking background and are very lightweight packers, so I'd say our load would be well under the average tandem tripping canoe's load. Not sure if that helps our case or not.
Maybe I am worrying too much, because if it floats and paddles, then it will probably do a trip just fine. Pictures below of fiberglassing just for fun :)
With a backpacking background you will be just fine. I am a backpacker first as well, and so far have done two trips in my ranger 15. First was a 5 day trip with a friend (who packed 4 times as much as I did) and 1 dog, and the other was a 3 day trip with two dogs and my wife (we both pack light). Never once was I wishing for more space. Our next trip will be 5 days, and are bringing two dogs. Canoe camping is like car camping; it amazes me what some people bring with them on canoe trips! I feel like the more gear you bring just slows you down and adds complications. You and your wife canoe camping in a 15' ranger will be luxurious compared to lightweight backpacking!
Don't sweat it. Pack as if you would for a comfortable backpacking trip, and you will still have room to spare.
Thanks for the reply, Maddog! Has your 15' Ranger felt slow or sluggish on those two trips you've taken it on? My question was less concerned about packing space, and rather more concerned about the Ranger's design / paddling characteristics for longer trips. Although I didn't make that very clear in my original post. Sorry about that.
Thanks for the compliments! It's my first canoe and my first time using fiberglass + epoxy, so it didn't turn out perfectly, but all things considered I am happy with how it turned out.
Gotcha. I dont have a whole lot of paddling experience, but I'll try and do my best to compare it to the few canoes I've been in in the past. It's not the fastest canoe being so wide, but it didn't feel like we were paddling a barge either.. We kept up with our friends in a 17' penobscot just fine. It is nicely maneuverable, but not difficult to keep going straight with a J stroke. A great canoe for winding rivers is what I've come to the conclusion of so far. It navigated some class 1 rapids with ease minus the one hidden rock that snuck up on us (required a patch after it's first trip ). Longest day we put in so far was 18 miles on a river trip, and that was pretty easy; we made great timing. I haven't done any lake trips yet, so I can't comment on open water tripping (next trip will be on a few small lakes, so I'll try to remember to follow up after that). I did reduce the bow and stern height by 2 inches though in order to make it catch at least a little bit less of a cross wind.
I assure you you will enjoy tripping in your canoe no matter what. If anything else, your next canoe build can be something straight and fast since you now know how to build them!
You may be overthinking the whole ... as with the build, you always need to be looking ahead, but I suggest you at least get your maiden voyage under your belt, before you start worrying that the boat won't meet your expectations.
Maybe plan a few hours during the first outing, take some gear with you, try it unloaded, then load it up... try it again. You will find out how much room you do and don't have, plus you will have first hand knowledge of how you both feel it handles in both situations.
I have found with each boat I build, how it gets packed and loaded has to be revisited. If after a few trips you think you would like something with different characteristics, you have the skillset to build another .... most people get the itch to try another one.
So for now, you need to get that thing finished, on the water and tested .....
You will probably enjoy a 7-10 ( maybe more) day trip. You look pretty light-weight and if you pack like a backpacker you'll do fine. The description lists capacity at 450 pounds. Keep it at or less than that and it will handle just fine.
A longer boat may be marginally faster, but you will enjoy the versatility of the shorter boat if someone wants to paddle solo a little.
We did a bunch of 10 day trips with 620 pounds(we are big people) in a 16' Prospector and it handled some rough conditions well. The depth of both the 16' Prospector and the 15 Ranger adds a lot to your confidence when heavily loaded.
Great looking boat. Love that jointer... a real relic. It must be still working otherwise it would be covered up with stuff!
Thanks for the feedback everybody. I'll follow your collective advice to soldier on with my build and get her on the water :) I just got worried that I had spent the past 2.5 years creating a canoe that isn't suitable to the types of trips that I'd like to take it on. But these replies made me feel more at ease.
sedges wrote: ↑Fri Jul 24, 2020 1:15 pm
Great looking boat. Love that jointer... a real relic. It must be still working otherwise it would be covered up with stuff!
Thanks for the compliment on the jointer (and the boat, lol)! Yes, it does indeed still work. It's a Superior Machine Works 12" jointer intended for pattern makers. It has a 5HP 3-phase motor on it, which I've never been able to bog down. It cuts very well and I've been extremely happy having it in the shop! It would be cool to upgrade to a helical cutterhead some day, but it works just fine for now.
). Longest day we put in so far was 18 miles on a river trip, and that was pretty easy; we made great timing. I haven't done any lake trips yet, so I can't comment on open water tripping (next trip will be on a few small lakes, so I'll try to remember to follow up after that). I did reduce the bow and stern height by 2 inches though in order to make it catch at least a little bit less of a cross wind.
