• Happy Fibonacci Day! 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34. . .🐚

Old Town "Next"

The market for used rubber solos is going to be tight.. It used to be that Mohawk Solo 13 and 14 were fine boats for a good price( around six hundred new), Now the only source is used.

Wenonah Argosys are still fairly common and run about $800 secondhand. If I were to find a Yellowstone Solo mine would be on the block for less.

At the time I met the Echo, Mohawk was still producing their boats but we all welcomed a budget level boat. Its hard to entice new students to solo canoeing when the prospect of emptying the bank accounts loomed large

I'd mention the Old Town Pack to be fair. Its a tub and slow with an odd seat placement. The trouble is at 12 feet, gear capacity is a little limited.

I'd guess a drive to Ontario might be a problem for Jimmy..It is for me. Its 12 hours to Dwight from here and only 10 to Halifax.. The Swift dealer in Connecticut (Collinsville Canoe and Kayak ) is closer but from what Glenn says canoe inventory is severely limited.

The Curtis DragonFly is one of those composite whitewater boats that Peter writes of. It is very robustly laid . Its now made by Colden but not at a first boat budget price point. Its hard to find one used.. there were only 85 made and when an owner dies, the boat is snatched up pronto. Its scion the Hemlock SRT is similarly well made.

I got an answer from Evan Young (Gibson Creek Canoeing) on Facebook. His shop is not only a store but they offer instruction and club paddles if you like

"I have these solos for sale now: A fast Wenonah Voyageur ( third hand, carbon fibre layup, very inexpensive); a new nimble Esquif Echo ( freestyle-er, ;-)), a Novacraft Trapper smoothwater creek boat( demo boat, like new, pokey thing ), a used, and much loved, white Osprey by Swift ( for pure fun on most any over-nighter-- gotta go.). He can check my other page, and call me to dicker. Also: A friend has the 15 ft trillium rigged solo/tandem in the 45 lb golden brawn layup for sale--she offers a helluva deal for a fast light versatile lakewater tripper; and my personal Pocket Canyon also has a centre mounted seat. (Lovely fastwater solo weekend tripper--but not cheap)"

His Facebook page is public I think

https://www.facebook.com/evan.young.39589?fref=ts

The Echo and Osprey may be a lot closer than you had hoped for!
 
yellowcanoe said:
Three. And I have waited for all of them to float on by. All of the ten or so solos. I have never spent $3000 on any boat. With the exception of the DragonFly all were used or blems . Again you know little of what you say as fact.
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Good for you. Hello? Isn't that what I was saying the whole dang time?? And demos and old stock... don't forget those!

You can wait for them to float by or actively seek them if you know when and where to look.

And where are these facts I'm stating? I implied that you have boats from NY and live in ME. That's it...
 
Boy, these "what canoe should I get" threads usually turn into brawls... and the Winter Blues haven't even set in yet.

Ok, so I'm the only one who paid a lot for a boat? $2600 for a slightly repaired, new, Swift tandem in 2008. I do solo it from the kneeling thwart so it kinda fits this thread.
 
Mihun09 said:
Boy, these "what canoe should I get" threads usually turn into brawls... and the Winter Blues haven't even set in yet.

Ok, so I'm the only one who paid a lot for a boat? $2600 for a slightly repaired, new, Swift tandem in 2008. I do solo it from the kneeling thwart so it kinda fits this thread.
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It's a solo forum apparently. No speak of tandems :p

I won't say what I paid for my Swifty, but I bought it at the end of 2012 and it was a 2011. They were itching to get rid of it. I didn't really need a boat...

Same with my Peregrine. I had thoughts of buying one. One popped up from a barn and next thing I knew I owned one. If it wasn't that one it probably would have been a demo.

To me a new boat is a bit like a new car. Fine if you plan on keeping it till you keel over... not so great if you get beat up for full price and wind up wanting something else a few years down the road... whatever... it's only money.
 
l'oiseau said:
It's a solo forum apparently. No speak of tandems :p

I won't say what I paid for my Swifty, but I bought it at the end of 2012 and it was a 2011. They were itching to get rid of it. I didn't really need a boat...

Same with my Peregrine. I had thoughts of buying one. One popped up from a barn and next thing I knew I owned one. If it wasn't that one it probably would have been a demo.

To me a new boat is a bit like a new car. Fine if you plan on keeping it till you keel over... not so great if you get beat up for full price and wind up wanting something else a few years down the road... whatever... it's only money.
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It isn't only money. We really need a bigger kevlar tandem, but if I ever sold the Mattawa I could never, ever afford to replace it, not with how my income has dropped since the recession. So we keep on keeping on. It is like my w/c collection. They are ALL for sale if someone offers the right price. We really don't need 5 canoes. We only trip with 3. The Swift for tandem tripping, my 14' Chestnut is my solo and Christine's stripper is her solo, but she will need a lighter boat for the future and w/c doesn't fit that bill.
 
I may have a lot of boats but I tend to keep them.. And not a purchase every year for sure.

Sawyer 190. From 1989. blem
Wenonah Odyssey . 1991.blem
Swift Heron 1993.blem
Loon Works Aria 1996. made
Loon Works Nakoma 1998.made
Loon Works Duet 2001.made
Souris River Wilderness 18.. 2005 40 percent off
Curtis Nomad. 1985. Bought in 2007 Used
Mad River Monarch 199 something. Used. 2013
Colden DragonFly. new A weakness 2011
Wenonah Argosy.. rubber 2006 bought 2007 used..
Placid Boatworks Rapidfire. Color error. Blem.new 2006.
Hemlock Peregrine. Used 2003
PakBoat 17 foot. Used. 2005 or so..(paid $300)
Wilderness Systems Shenai. Bought new in 1993 with discount
Swift Raven.. sat on the rack at dealer for years. Deep deep discount

Boats that came and left are Swift Otter.. bought used and sold for almost purchase price
Dagger Ovation..same.
Bell Prospector.. same

I've been at this a while.

OK I forgot Pre 1920 JR Robertson.. Neighbors garage sale. Its in progress...or non progress ( I am balking at clinching tacks)

While we can brawl at bragging I get to attend a lot of canoe events and symposia which makes acquisition easy. If you live in or visit a canoe event in New York State you are at the Center of the Canoe Universe. Western Pennsylvania is a hot canoe market too as well as apparently the Ozarks and Illinois/Indiana.

Otherwise you are at the mercy of geography and those deep discounts are hard to find.

Now the Bird living in the midst of all of the plenty... I can imagine the temptation.

Oh yes.. I have not lived in Maine during all my boat collecting years. It was a bit of temptation living too close to that store in Connecticut.
 
yellowcanoe said:
Now the Bird living in the midst of all of the plenty... I can imagine the temptation.
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I only have one boat right now.

I don't need any but I do keep my eyes open, mainly so that I may pass that info on to someone who is in need.

I can say this person could have a near mint used Peregrine shipped to their door for less than any of the others new. But I wouldn't push that because it may not be the boat for them. I seriously doubt anyone would be disappointed with that boat but in my ideal world they'd get to try some out and find the one for them. Personally I didn't do that because I didn't have a serious interest in a Placid or another Swift - I could have easily tested any and all of them.

I also don't think the OP really wants or needs pack boat. I think the used Osprey would be a good beater until the road trip can be taken and the ideal boat found.

I commissioned a brand new build myself - full price - $3600+. But I knew exactly what the wife and I wanted in a tandem... and I can't wait to get the first scratch on it. If I could have found the one I wanted as a demo or used I would have waited, but it does not exist.

My point from the second post I made on here is know exactly what you want and be prepared to spend a lot of money, or be versatile, and put in a lot of hours searching, and a few driving for this case, and you might come up with something nice.
 
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Mihun09 said:
It isn't only money. We really need a bigger kevlar tandem, but if I ever sold the Mattawa I could never, ever afford to replace it, not with how my income has dropped since the recession. So we keep on keeping on. It is like my w/c collection. They are ALL for sale if someone offers the right price. We really don't need 5 canoes. We only trip with 3. The Swift for tandem tripping, my 14' Chestnut is my solo and Christine's stripper is her solo, but she will need a lighter boat for the future and w/c doesn't fit that bill.
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Well you can certainly find good deals on solos and tandems. In your case you'd have to be willing to buy sight unseen and pay the shipping, or put a deposit on it and take a long road trip.

I was in the same boat more or less. We had two boats that didn't really fit exactly how we wanted them to. One was too heavy and one just didn't fit our preferences. This year we decided to bite the bullet, move them both and get what we wanted. It was risky, but we made it work. And we'll have one 16'er instead of two, but we're confident it's the right one. Next we'll start saving for a new addition: a bigger boat, or another solo.
 
Mihun09 said:
It isn't only money. We really need a bigger kevlar tandem, but if I ever sold the Mattawa I could never, ever afford to replace it, not with how my income has dropped since the recession. So we keep on keeping on. It is like my w/c collection. They are ALL for sale if someone offers the right price. We really don't need 5 canoes. We only trip with 3. The Swift for tandem tripping, my 14' Chestnut is my solo and Christine's stripper is her solo, but she will need a lighter boat for the future and w/c doesn't fit that bill.
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I know we have been drifting off topic here a bit but I assume you are looking for something like a Keewaydin 17?

That's pretty specific but I got the impression mid-40's for weight, 17+ foot.

There was one for sale down here that I posted on my other thread, you probably remember. Price was too high though.

I bet you could sell your Mattawa for $1700-1800 and buy a used Kee 17 for $2k. I don't see where you'd be out much. Problem would be geography.

Those boats are going to start popping up around here. In the aluminum trim I think you could snag one for $2k. I don't think most people paid more than $2500-$2600 for those new. Problem would be shipping and then finding a buyer for your Mattawa.

Seems like you might be able to coax someone on the forum to deliver for you, provided we could find you the boat.

That one is still listed in fact:

http://utica.craigslist.org/boa/4638484980.html
 
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Hanz, not sure if it was on this forum or another, but I saw that boat, possibly your exact boat, somewhere else. It's the main reason I started considering it for myself. An absolute beauty.
 
l'oiseau said:
I know we have been drifting off topic here a bit but I assume you are looking for something like a Keewaydin 17?

That's pretty specific but I got the impression mid-40's for weight, 17+ foot.

There was one for sale down here that I posted on my other thread, you probably remember. Price was too high though.

I bet you could sell your Mattawa for $1700-1800 and buy a used Kee 17 for $2k. I don't see where you'd be out much. Problem would be geography.

Those boats are going to start popping up around here. In the aluminum trim I think you could snag one for $2k. I don't think most people paid more than $2500-$2600 for those new. Problem would be shipping and then finding a buyer for your Mattawa.

Seems like you might be able to coax someone on the forum to deliver for you, provided we could find you the boat.

That one is still listed in fact:

http://utica.craigslist.org/boa/4638484980.html
Click to expand...

There is one fellow here that has shown interest in the Mattawa, but that was a couple years ago and people here are notoriously cheap bas***ds. Mine is Kevlar Fusion with the Kev/Carbon trim too.

At first we were thinking Kipawa but the danged tanks take up so much useable room.

Time will tell, but that craig list one is the wrong colour for me and I would prefer other than alum trim. The Kee 17 in the same layup as mine would be 38 pounds, that would work.

Meanwhile, I have boats to finish and be rid of and JTJ needs to find himself the next boat in his collection. A Swifty would be Canadian made, not the Next which likely would be made in China. Something to consider as well.
 
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