Don’t give up on the boat that was listed 16 days ago. I buy and sell on Craigslist a lot and especially at this time of year people can tend to be out of town. Keep emailing or otherwise contacting them as long as the ad is up. Since older ads get buried in the listings they are often neglected if the item does not sell quickly before it slips down into oblivion. And if people have sold the item and failed to remove the listing then I feel they deserve to be pestered with inquiries about them.
On the Piccolo, it never hurts to contact them and ask if they would take what you are willing to pay. Leave them a message with a reasonable offer (naturally, pending inspection of the boat.)
A Perception Acadia Scout just appeared on Craigslist very local to me. Posted 11 hours ago. While I’m sure that the Piccolo or Epi would both be very nice … and probably nicer … boats, the Scout is still available and in the budget for now.
I’d rather get my little bud paddling successfully now, than keep frustrating him or hurting his back while we wait for something better.
I’m absolutely quite sure that as we grow into this we’ll probably see a lot of boats come and go as we trade and upgrade. As my fun budget ebbs and flows we’ll be looking for some light tourers for the 8 and 12 year olds – and I’m almost certain I’ll be investing in a kit and building a SOF boat sometime soon.
Patience…
Meanwhile, I want to get everyone happily paddling while we’ve still got a couple months of decent weather to enjoy it.
And…10 minutes later he’s already got someone coming to see it. Sigh. That’s what you get for looking to buy a kayak in the middle of summer. Seller’s market, indeed!
Oh, that’s a risk to be sure! The 15 year old is a little new to paddling and might be a bit big for the boat, though I doubt it. The 12 year old will disappear over the horizon like an express train the moment he puts his butt in it. Ha ha.
Gonna have to try, “Naah, I don’t think you’d like it…” for a while. See how long that lasts.
I’m at a bit of a loss for words. I had the craziest evening.
Went to simply buy a kayak from a stranger. Instead … well…
Made a new friend! Spent nearly two hours hanging out, sipping his Sam Adams, getting the grand tour of his collection of 100 year old Old Town cedar and canvas canoes he restores, all the fiberglass and wood strip boats he’s built, (like the incredible cedar WW solo canoe, tandem expedition touring kayak and many others), discussing assorted other mutual interests and shared distant beloved hangouts, got invited to join his local paddling club and attend their upcoming whitewater rendezvous…
And came home with THREE boats. The EpiSea boat, with skirt and two sets of front and rear bags, and two hand-made fiberglass play boats sized for the little guys which he insisted I take on credit (against my protests!).
I’ve tried finding more info on EPI and so far have only found that they were based in Ohio and seem to have gone under (ha!) sometime in the last 10 years or so. This boat has a lake use sticker on it from 2001, so it’s at least 16 years old. But no hull number plate anywhere I can find. (When did they start doing that?)
Here are the two playboats. The seller (and maker!) of these said they were for flatwater fun and games like “kayak polo.” Which I can imagine being just crazy fun.
Hull ID Numbers (HINs) were mandated in 1972. Look at the stern of the boat. The HIN should be 11 or 12 characters and embossed or engraved on one side or the other.
I did find it. It’s etched with a vibro-engraver, very small but quite readable.
Made by Englehart Marine Products, Inc. of 4014 East 116th St., Cleveland, OH.
If I’ve got the hang of the number system, it was finished on August 6th, 1995.
I got two bow and two stern air bags, all marked EPI and sized to fit this boat. The stern bag that was still in it was still tightly holding air, though the plastic valves on on the bags crumbled immediately when I tried to turn them. I’ll grab some fittings and put caps on them and I’ll bet the’ll work just fine. The vinyl held up far better than the plastic.
Update, three out of the four bags hold air. One has a couple tiny leaks beside the seams.
I agree! It’s kind of ridiculous that so little is made like this anymore. Seems like every maker of kids or youth-sized boats has either gone out of business or stopped those models… Considering how many thousands (literally) of kayaks I see around here, surely there is a market.
I saw and old listing for these EPISea models that had them at $699, and I would have to say that might be part of the answer. That’s a LOT of cash for a young family(and would have been even more back in the ‘90s) , especially if several kids will need boats. But if Dick’s Sporting Goods can sell 10’ rec boats for $179 (we have two of those Pelicans), you’d think there’s be a way to meet the need.
The 15 year old is a little new to paddling and might be a bit big for the boat, though I doubt it. The 12 year old will disappear over the horizon like an express train the moment he puts his butt in it. Ha ha.
