Old Town Guide 147 Review
I've been meaning to do a review of the Old Town Guide Canoe for some time so as a part of my grieving therapy of getting rid of our Old Town, i figured I would do this review.
Basic Specs
The Old Town Guide comes in two sizes 14'7" and 16'0" and in two colors: green and red. It is made with a Three Layer Polyethylene with a Shallow Arch Bottom and Moderate Rocker. It also has an Ash Yoke for carrying The width is 38" and weighs 74 pounds with a carrying capacity of 850-900 pounds. The MSRP is $649.00.
Good Features
My wife and I have used this canoe as our primary canoe for over 8 years so we have lots of miles in this canoe. We chose the red color because red canoes simply rock! One of the things that I have been really impressed with in Old Town Canoes is the strength of the hull. They do a great job at building a strong canoe.
Some of the cheaper canoes you may notice a slight buckling of the center of the canoe in the middle when you have two passengers seated, but the Old Town Canoes generally do not have this issue. Our Old Town Guide was one of these canoes where this is not an issue. We banged it pretty hard on rocks through the years and the hull was still in great shape. There was one slight indentation on the bow of the boat from crashing into a huge rock on our first trip, but other than that it was dent free. After 8 years of hard use there were the usual scrapes on the bottom from dragging on gravel in shallow riffles but other than that it held up great.
One of the things that I loved about this canoe was the built in handholds at the bow and stern which made it very easy to carry from the truck to the river. Some canoes do not have this feature and others have them made out of metal which can be painful, but the Guide has smooth plastic handholds for a nice comfortable grip.
The Guide also comes with molded plastic seats that are form fitting to your buns. Now I personally loved this feature, but my wife hated it. She would always complain about them being painful and would cover them with a foam cushion. However, for me, I felt they were comfortable and really enjoyed the molded seats.
The one downside to the molded seats is that you cannot add a backrest to it if necessary. It looks like Old Town has added backrest to the newer models, so if you want a backrest then you are in luck with the newer models.
The black plastic seats also got very hot on a bright sunny day when we were swimming or eating lunch, so make sure you splash a little bit of water on them to cool them off before sitting.
The Old Town Guide now retails at $649.00 so it is still one of the lower priced Old Town Canoes on the market. We were lucky enough to buy ours on sale 8 years ago and we paid under $500 for it at Dick's Sporting Goods. If you are looking for the quality of an Old Town Canoe but do not want to pay $1,000 or more, then the Old Town Guide is a great value.
Stability
Initial Stability: When you first get into a canoe, you will either experience a wobbly canoe or a "stable" canoe. This is initial stability. A canoe with good initial stability will feel very stable when you step into for the first time.
Secondary Stability: Once you are in the canoe, the canoe may rock to the sides without tipping over, and this is secondary stability. A canoe with good secondary stability will rock to the sides and can rock fairly far before it tips over. Inversely, a canoe with poor secondary stability will go from stable to tipping over extremely quickly with no happy medium of rocking.
The Old Town Guide 147 does not have the greatest initial stability. In fact, several friends whom I have taken in the canoe complain about it being tippy. Even my wife complains that it feels tippy. I try to explain to them what they are experiencing but they generally do not care, because to them it feels tippy.
We have never tipped over while getting into the canoe but I also do not like standing up in it while fishing either. If you want a canoe that you can stand and fish in it while on the water, then the Guide is not for you.
On a scale of 1 to 5 for initial stability with 1 being the best most stable and 5 being extremely tippy, I would rank the Old Town guide as a 3 to 3 12 with it being on the lower end of initial stability.
However, this does not mean you should avoid the Guide if you are in the market for a canoe. Where the Guide lacks in initial stability, it definitely makes up for it in secondary stability. Once you are seated and on the water, you can rock it left and right with little fear of it tipping over. You have a good bit of rocking with this canoe before it will capsize on you.
In fact the only time we have ever capsized this canoe was while going over a ledge and we hit it at the wrong angle or one time I tried jumping into the water when my wife was not expecting it and it dumped us both in the river. Another time I was with my younger brother and we were in knee deep water and we were goofing off and one of us moved the wrong way and it tipped us over. These were few and far between and were usually the result of our mistakes.
Because of the good secondary stability, it makes this canoe perfect for Class I and II rapids and you might be able to get to a Class III with this boat as well. On a scale of 1 to 5 for secondary stabilty, I would rank this as a 2, not a whitewater canoe but definitely a seaworthy river canoe with small rapids.
Tracking
Tracking i the ability for a canoe to travel in a straight line with no steering. The longer a canoe is the better the tracking. Our Old Town Guide at 14'7" is a mid-length canoe and we experienced mid-level tracking. It was not the greatest but definitely was not the worst.
I took the Old Town Guide out on solo trips and did not have any major issues with steering and it makes for a great boat for someone looking for a solo canoe or a solo overnight trip.
Negatives
One of our biggest gripes about this canoe is the lack of leg room for the bow rider. For some reason where you legs rest are in the V portion of the hull and it makes for a very uncomfortable ride. We have examined a Guide 160 before and it has the same issue unless they've changed this over the years. The one that we examined had the extra length added to the middle of the canoe and not in the front,
My wife has cursed this boat for 8 years because of this design for the front leg room. I have ridden in the front of this canoe one time and that was enough for me. My legs are much longer than my wife's so it was more of an issue for me and I agree that it makes for a rather uncomfortable ride.
The Old Town Discovery has a much better arrangement for the seats and gives the front rider a more stable position to place their feet. This was the number 1 complaint that we've had for this boat.
Conclusion
We have made many memories in our Old Town Guide 147 over the last 8 years, and while it has flaws, it is still a good canoe. This is a great price conscience beginner's canoe and will give you the Old Town experience without breaking the bank. While the legroom in the front seat is the biggest flaw with this boat, I do not regret getting the Guide. A brand new Old Town Guide is a better purchase than a brand new Pelican Canoe.
If you are wanting a canoe for standing in while fishing, then this may not be the best choice; however if you are looking for a good river canoe to run some Class I or II rapids, then this is a great buy. It is not perfect but definitely will get you on the water.
If you are looking in this price range, you might be able to find a used Old Town Discovery 158 or 169, but around here used canoes do not last long on the open market and are few and far between.
Basic Specs
The Old Town Guide comes in two sizes 14'7" and 16'0" and in two colors: green and red. It is made with a Three Layer Polyethylene with a Shallow Arch Bottom and Moderate Rocker. It also has an Ash Yoke for carrying The width is 38" and weighs 74 pounds with a carrying capacity of 850-900 pounds. The MSRP is $649.00.
Good Features
My wife and I have used this canoe as our primary canoe for over 8 years so we have lots of miles in this canoe. We chose the red color because red canoes simply rock! One of the things that I have been really impressed with in Old Town Canoes is the strength of the hull. They do a great job at building a strong canoe.
Some of the cheaper canoes you may notice a slight buckling of the center of the canoe in the middle when you have two passengers seated, but the Old Town Canoes generally do not have this issue. Our Old Town Guide was one of these canoes where this is not an issue. We banged it pretty hard on rocks through the years and the hull was still in great shape. There was one slight indentation on the bow of the boat from crashing into a huge rock on our first trip, but other than that it was dent free. After 8 years of hard use there were the usual scrapes on the bottom from dragging on gravel in shallow riffles but other than that it held up great.
One of the things that I loved about this canoe was the built in handholds at the bow and stern which made it very easy to carry from the truck to the river. Some canoes do not have this feature and others have them made out of metal which can be painful, but the Guide has smooth plastic handholds for a nice comfortable grip.
The Guide also comes with molded plastic seats that are form fitting to your buns. Now I personally loved this feature, but my wife hated it. She would always complain about them being painful and would cover them with a foam cushion. However, for me, I felt they were comfortable and really enjoyed the molded seats.
The one downside to the molded seats is that you cannot add a backrest to it if necessary. It looks like Old Town has added backrest to the newer models, so if you want a backrest then you are in luck with the newer models.
The black plastic seats also got very hot on a bright sunny day when we were swimming or eating lunch, so make sure you splash a little bit of water on them to cool them off before sitting.
The Old Town Guide now retails at $649.00 so it is still one of the lower priced Old Town Canoes on the market. We were lucky enough to buy ours on sale 8 years ago and we paid under $500 for it at Dick's Sporting Goods. If you are looking for the quality of an Old Town Canoe but do not want to pay $1,000 or more, then the Old Town Guide is a great value.
Stability
Initial Stability: When you first get into a canoe, you will either experience a wobbly canoe or a "stable" canoe. This is initial stability. A canoe with good initial stability will feel very stable when you step into for the first time.
Secondary Stability: Once you are in the canoe, the canoe may rock to the sides without tipping over, and this is secondary stability. A canoe with good secondary stability will rock to the sides and can rock fairly far before it tips over. Inversely, a canoe with poor secondary stability will go from stable to tipping over extremely quickly with no happy medium of rocking.
The Old Town Guide 147 does not have the greatest initial stability. In fact, several friends whom I have taken in the canoe complain about it being tippy. Even my wife complains that it feels tippy. I try to explain to them what they are experiencing but they generally do not care, because to them it feels tippy.
We have never tipped over while getting into the canoe but I also do not like standing up in it while fishing either. If you want a canoe that you can stand and fish in it while on the water, then the Guide is not for you.
On a scale of 1 to 5 for initial stability with 1 being the best most stable and 5 being extremely tippy, I would rank the Old Town guide as a 3 to 3 12 with it being on the lower end of initial stability.
However, this does not mean you should avoid the Guide if you are in the market for a canoe. Where the Guide lacks in initial stability, it definitely makes up for it in secondary stability. Once you are seated and on the water, you can rock it left and right with little fear of it tipping over. You have a good bit of rocking with this canoe before it will capsize on you.
In fact the only time we have ever capsized this canoe was while going over a ledge and we hit it at the wrong angle or one time I tried jumping into the water when my wife was not expecting it and it dumped us both in the river. Another time I was with my younger brother and we were in knee deep water and we were goofing off and one of us moved the wrong way and it tipped us over. These were few and far between and were usually the result of our mistakes.
Because of the good secondary stability, it makes this canoe perfect for Class I and II rapids and you might be able to get to a Class III with this boat as well. On a scale of 1 to 5 for secondary stabilty, I would rank this as a 2, not a whitewater canoe but definitely a seaworthy river canoe with small rapids.
Tracking
Tracking i the ability for a canoe to travel in a straight line with no steering. The longer a canoe is the better the tracking. Our Old Town Guide at 14'7" is a mid-length canoe and we experienced mid-level tracking. It was not the greatest but definitely was not the worst.
I took the Old Town Guide out on solo trips and did not have any major issues with steering and it makes for a great boat for someone looking for a solo canoe or a solo overnight trip.
Negatives
One of our biggest gripes about this canoe is the lack of leg room for the bow rider. For some reason where you legs rest are in the V portion of the hull and it makes for a very uncomfortable ride. We have examined a Guide 160 before and it has the same issue unless they've changed this over the years. The one that we examined had the extra length added to the middle of the canoe and not in the front,
My wife has cursed this boat for 8 years because of this design for the front leg room. I have ridden in the front of this canoe one time and that was enough for me. My legs are much longer than my wife's so it was more of an issue for me and I agree that it makes for a rather uncomfortable ride.
The Old Town Discovery has a much better arrangement for the seats and gives the front rider a more stable position to place their feet. This was the number 1 complaint that we've had for this boat.
Conclusion
We have made many memories in our Old Town Guide 147 over the last 8 years, and while it has flaws, it is still a good canoe. This is a great price conscience beginner's canoe and will give you the Old Town experience without breaking the bank. While the legroom in the front seat is the biggest flaw with this boat, I do not regret getting the Guide. A brand new Old Town Guide is a better purchase than a brand new Pelican Canoe.
If you are wanting a canoe for standing in while fishing, then this may not be the best choice; however if you are looking for a good river canoe to run some Class I or II rapids, then this is a great buy. It is not perfect but definitely will get you on the water.
If you are looking in this price range, you might be able to find a used Old Town Discovery 158 or 169, but around here used canoes do not last long on the open market and are few and far between.
Good Bye Old Town Guide 147--You Have Served Us Well
Posted by The Outdoor Podcast at 1/16/2012 9:07 AM 
Categories: Canoeing
Tags: Old Town Guide 147 Review Old Town Canoe Old Town Guide Old Town Canoe Reviews Canoe Reviews canoe review
Categories: Canoeing
Tags: Old Town Guide 147 Review Old Town Canoe Old Town Guide Old Town Canoe Reviews Canoe Reviews canoe review
Good review, the reason I stayed away from the Guide was the legroom. Old Towns are the best canoe's i've ever paddled, oddly enough the best was a Mad River Winooski. 14' and kevlar. It weighed in at around 44lbs it was fantastic. Hopefully you get good use out of the 16' replacement.
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Yeah, it's hard to beat a kevlar. The Poly boats are more popular down this way because we don't have to worry about portaging only on launch and landing from vehicle to river. We're pretty excited to test out the Mohawk 16 and see how she performs. BTW, I like your blog, keep up the good work there!
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