Hello,
I am looking at purchasing my first canoe and have been scouring classifieds for quite a while. I came across what is being called a Michi Craft fiberglass molded, 14ft canoe (36" beam"). I tried doing some googling to find out more about it but did not come up with much. Does anyone have any experience with these canoes? I am looking for a good “all arounder”.
Here are a few pics of the canoe in question:
The seller is asking $425 OBO. What would be a fair price?
Thanks,
Chris
From the pictures it doesn’t appear to be fiberglass, it looks more like roto-molded plastic. In my opinion 14’ is a little too small for a tandem canoe. Low ball the seller or keep looking, I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Can you find out what the hull is made of? It actually looks like it could be Royalex, and if it is, it’s definitely worth the asking price. If polyethylene, that still may be a fair price, considering the lack of damage and apparent lack of deformity (poly boats or prone to getting deformed, especially getting “hogged” which is the bottom getting pooched up, also described as ‘reverse rocker’), but in that case it might not have sold for much more than that price when new. I’m no expert, but have seen plenty of cheaper-style canoes that are in good shape sell for around $400. I don’t think the asking price is high unless we find out that this a particularly cheap type of boat that’s highly prone to hull deformation.
An important consideration is what kind of use for the boat you have in mind, and how heavy the paddlers are. For people who want halfway-decent performance from a two-person canoe, a length of 16 or 17 feet is usually ideal. Two-person canoes in the 15-foot length tend to be sluggish in comparison, and a 14-footer would be more so. But if you are only going out short distances on quiet water, a fat, 14-foot boat may be fine. For covering any kind of distance, look for something longer.
Thanks for the prompt responses. The canoe was supposedly built in 1983, not sure if that fills in any gaps as far as what it’s truly made of?
As far as what I will be using it for… I would like something that I can tandem as well as paddle solo. The main purpose is to be able to access some remote hunting grounds. This will involve hauling gear, as well as possibly a field dressed deer (and maybe even a friend occasionally). Other uses will be to paddle recreationally with my fiancé. I am about 190lbs, and she is about 120lbs. Keeping all of this in mind, do I need to look for something bigger?
Thanks again,
Chris
looks royalex to me which makes it a good deal in my mind, unfortunately I think you something a bit bigger (longer) for your intended usage
Paddling that barge solo to remote places would not be what I’d consider fun.
I too suspect it is Royalex (certainly not fiberglass) and tend to think you need to look for a bigger boat.
Thanks again for all the responses.
Royalex would certainly be nice, as I missed out on a previous deal I had come across on a nice royalex canoe. However, the consensus seems to be I need something bigger than 14ft. How big are we talking, 16ft? I had it in my mind that I wanted something on the smaller end for ease of transport, portage, and soloing. Would I be able to solo a loaded down 16ft canoe without any issues? I am not looking for anything fancy or “fast”. I’d prefer stability over really anything I think. What I had in my mind was something like an Old Town Discovery or Guide.
Perhaps I need to rephrase what I will be using it for. When I said remote, I basically meant “hard to get to” spots. I live in Indiana where remote wilderness doesn’t exist. My plan for the canoe is to utilize waterways to help access certain locations easier (and stealthier) when hunting. I will also be wanting to use it to tandem with my fiancé occasionally for recreational paddling and perhaps some fishing.
Keep the advice coming, it is much appreciated! I’ve spent lots of time on boats, however the majority have had motors!
Sixteen feet is about mid-length for a tandem canoe. Seventeen feet is common. Eighteen feet or longer is big. Fifteen feet is short. Fourteen feet is very short. If I understand correctly, you suggested that you might consider putting a deer in this canoe along with a friend. I suspect that would be overloading the boat significantly, unless you are talking about a very small deer and a small friend.
@pblanc said:
Sixteen feet is about mid-length for a tandem canoe. Seventeen feet is common. Eighteen feet or longer is big. Fifteen feet is short. Fourteen feet is very short. If I understand correctly, you suggested that you might consider putting a deer in this canoe along with a friend. I suspect that would be overloading the boat significantly, unless you are talking about a very small deer and a small friend.
pblanc, yes that is correct. I would like the ability to definitely haul a deer out with it, and perhaps a friend. A typical field dressed deer is around 100lbs. Typical friend… 200lbs? So with myself, a friend, and a dressed deer we are looking at around 500lbs.
500 lbs is a big load for a 14 foot tandem canoe. I suspect it would leave very little freeboard. Freeboard is the height of the top of the gunwale amidships for any given canoe and load. This will depend on the buoyancy of the canoe, the load, and the depth of the canoe at center. I am not familiar with this particular canoe so I have no idea of what the depth at center might be…
Some canoe makers list a “6” freeboard capacity". This is how much weight the canoe can be loaded with still leaving six inches sticking out above the water. This spec is really intended only for comparison of buoyancy for different canoes. Very few experienced canoeists would load their canoes that heavy and attempt to paddle them. Six inches of freeboard leaves very little room for error. Even assuming the water is completely placid (no waves or boat wakes) it would take only a mild inadvertent lean of the hull to dip a gunwale under. That can happen pretty easily in a tandem canoe if one or both of the paddlers makes a quick and unanticipated shift in weight.
I have no idea what the 6" freeboard capacity of this boat might be. But I can give you a figure for another 14 foot tandem canoe. The Mad River Winooski was/is a 14 footer with a beam of 39" that had a 6" freeboard capacity of 900lbs. But the additional 3 inches of beam amidships, even though it does not sound like that much, would add a very considerable amount of buoyancy. The Winooski was also a fairly deep canoe with 14" depth at center. If this canoe is not as deep, the freeboard would diminish by 1" for any given load for every inch less than 14" depth.
My guess is with a 500 lb load in this boat you would be pushing 6" of freeboard. Could you and a friend paddle it safely with that load in perfectly calm water? Perhaps, but another consideration is that a boat overloaded to that degree is going to sink way down in the water. It will draw a lot of water and easily hang up in shallows. And it will have a great deal of drag and paddle like a pig.
If you anticipate a 500 pound load in a tandem canoe, I think you need to look for a boat longer than 14 feet.
