Barges, not braces. I do not get along with auto-correct.
Used is the way to go. I have a Kevlar sea kayak, a carbon/Kevlar sea kayak, and had an ultra light Kevlar canoe all for less than the cost of any one of them new. My poly boat was bought new, but hey, itās so darn comfy.
I strongly agree with Tom M. Itās fun and relaxing to browse the various classifieds looking for nuggets.
@tjalmy said:
Used is the way to go. I have a Kevlar sea kayak, a carbon/Kevlar sea kayak, and had an ultra light Kevlar canoe all for less than the cost of any one of them new. My poly boat was bought new, but hey, itās so darn comfy.
I strongly agree with Tom M. Itās fun and relaxing to browse the various classifieds looking for nuggets.
aah you just like being an ambush predatorā¦ I have lots of expensive boatsā¦ And all of them at a discount. Those cosmetic blems are a godsendā¦ Being a moray eel is good.
Well, if paying 700 bucks for a Blackhawk Covenant, and a Lotus Dandy make me an elitist; then I am one.
Bought a Mohawk Probe 12, and a Mohawk Probe 12 II (both fully outfitted), in like new condition for under 1000 bucks.
Sold them for about 1000 āeachā. Try and find a new one of either model now. Bet you canāt.
Bought a Hemlock SRT for about 800, and an original Curtis Dragonfly for about 1000.
Sold both of them for about double what I paid for them. Did I pay too much for them?
Check out current prices on those 2 models today.
Still have the Covenant, and the Dandy.
Reselling the other 4 āsure didā help increase the size of my current, mini fleetā¦
Itās all about what you want, and what you feel is a comfortable amount to spend.
We own our home, have no outstanding loans on vehicles, and credit card debt of less than 150 bucks.
Both of us have good retirement incomes.
We can own whatever boat/boats we want.
We starting planning to be in the position weāre in over 30 years before we retired, and luckily, we have stayed quite healthy.
Daughter healthy, good job, independent personaliy.
All part of the equationā¦ B)
BOB
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@jester42 said:
Well, if paying 700 bucks for a Blackhawk Covenant, and a Lotus Dandy make me an elitist; then I am one.Bought a Mohawk Probe 12, and a Mohawk Probe 12 II (both fully outfitted), in like new condition for under 1000 bucks.
Sold them for about 1000 āeachā. Try and find a new one of either model now. Bet you canāt.Bought a Hemlock SRT for about 800, and an original Curtis Dragonfly for about 1000.
Sold both of them for about double what I paid for them. Did I pay too much for them?
Check out current prices on those 2 models today.Still have the Covenant, and the Dandy.
Reselling the other 4 āsure didā help increase the size of my current, mini fleetā¦Itās all about what you want, and what you feel is a comfortable amount to spend.
We own our home, have no outstanding loans on vehicles, and credit card debt of less than 150 bucks.
Both of us have good retirement incomes.
We can own whatever boat/boats we want.
We starting planning to be in the position weāre in over 30 years before we retired, and luckily, we have stayed quite healthy.
Daughter healthy, good job, independent personaliy.
All part of the equationā¦ B)BOB
Will you adopt me?
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Besides, since Stringās grandmammy, Bessie May Oreknot, cooked up both his possum and raccoon in a stew for the annual family reunion, String has redirected his personal needs to his new and more buckshot-proof beast of moral support, Carlton D. Cape Buffalo. All those candidates wishing to adopt our sinewy South Carolinian should possess within their fleet of vintage vessels a large packet freighter of the pre-Exodus Class, as our emotionally distraught Noah Thing-or-Thing-Two catty fella has been known to claim that divine intervention requires he outsize his mental-menagerie-support needs into compounded binary assemblages. Especially during those episodes where a huge flood of tears rapidly inundates his surroundings.
Alas, I remember when it was so less a chore to simply stuff his poodle into the stern bilges of a Wenonah Voyager!
Oh. And on a prior occasion years past, when a sordid assorted assemblage of Duckheaded paddlers plied the blackwaters of the Tar Heeled southeast under Mike McCraeās disjointed shepherding, I found myself one very late evening being characterized as, āsurly,ā although I was certain it was more a case of affable insistence, in as much as Major Mojito and the March to Morning Madness might have abundantly instilled within. I do pray that the mean spirits hadnāt possessed me with their churly churn, for then I almost certainly would have need for an exorcism. And Duckhead Priests seldom come with or upon waters one might call, āholy.ā
BTW, churlish: (def.) rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
OTOH: Canoeswithduckheads is roguish (āplayfully mischievousā). You could learn a lot from him.
Iād like to hear from @Bill_in_TR who is undoubtedly receiving notifications every time thereās a new post to this thread and muttering to himself as it gets increasingly further off course.
I have too many older boats because I still have my husbandās. Very different from his WW stuff which found homes very easily.
I would sometime maybe like to get my own fleet down to one sea kayak that adequately combined the desirable attributes of the Romany and the Vela. But I have to move three boats first as well as make up my mind about the Nordlow.
I have sent email to at least one person in charge of a college program in the NE asking if they were interested in a donation. No reply though.
I can think of maybe two boats that I would add, but then it would become a quandary which boat to take every time I go paddling. As it is, I know exactly which boat to take for different venues.
We can also talk cheap paddle collection! I just scored an amazing used Gearlab carbon Greenland paddle for $60! Itās already by far my favorite. 
To clear up some misconceptions, I did have some grandparents from the deep South. That grandmother was thin as a rail, had 7 children, was a wonderful cook on a wood stove and churned her own butter.
A memory that will never fade is her on the front porch using that wooden churn and sniffing snuff. About every 5th or 6th rock , she would hock one over the porch rail. A real woman.
Every morning she had thick cut bread covered with that butter, cooked on that stove.
They lived in the deep woods of central Florida. My grandfather was a rancher , alligator hunter, and part time bootlegger. Mean old man when I knew him.
I was raised by their daughter.
My fatherās parents were from Chicago /Sarnia ,Ontario . That grandfather had a business degree and was the town Postmaster and farmed citrus.
Deep South met transplanted Yankee and here I am.
Wow, nice score on the Gearlab, DP! Where did you find that?
I sold the Northern Lights one that I did not like to partially finance a Gearlab Akiak a couple years ago and still paid more than that on the balance. I admit I still prefer my original laminated cedar wooden GP, but the two-piece carbon is pretty close to the same weight and balance with greater travel portability.
I do need to cull the paddle stash in the basement. I have often bought used boats with paddles thrown in and honestly do not know how many āstandardā paddles I have accumulated down there now which I never use. At least 3 Werner Skagits (standard outfitter starter package), a few Aquabounds and several oddball brands. Should quit hoarding (as well as enabling my cheapskate friends to avoid buying their own boats and gear by always borrowing my āsparesā) and find some water education program to donate them to.
Well I have been camping at Lake Jocassee with the wife and grandson. I see some interesting comments have been added and as someone pointed out some of the comments got a bit off track but itās all good.
The only disappointing part is those comments made where people have seemed to try and justify the expenditure on a more elite fleet. It is as if they thought I was criticizing them. That was not my intent at all. I was only looking to share with others who either out of necessity or choice went the much less expensive route.
I am happy for those of you whose circumstances allow you to choose only the best and to spend that money. But a couple of those posts almost sound as if they are criticizing those of us who may not have put ourselves in those same circumstances.
At any rate the grandson and I had a great paddle on Lake Jocassee yesterday using two of my cheap fleet. Pleasant paddling to all of you.
Outstanding. My grandsons and I have done the same in 2nd or 3rd hand boats. Our story begins in 1969 with a ride around the lake with my wife to be. It was still filling then and the dirt roads were rough and the shear drop offs interesting.
Fast forward to 1987 when I took my 3 children camping after we returned to home. We did it in 2 Folbots I built from kits. One Super and one child size.
Iāve taught my oldest daughterās sons to paddle and now they are my paddling partners. I hope they continue the tradition.
Thatās great, Iām working on my nieces and nephews to get them into paddling.
As for buying used boats, in addition to saving money, I also like to think of the fact that those boats are otherwise just taking up space in peopleās basements. Without seeing the water ever, these boats are going to waste.
And, if I may speak for my own new/used Impex Montauk, sheās much happier in the water than she was languishing in the garage under a ladder!
@willowleaf said:
Wow, nice score on the Gearlab, DP! Where did you find that?
Lucky eBay find. I really canāt believe how much I love the paddle. I guess Iām goinā Greenland. 
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Iām part of the club, but at the slightly higher end. Iāve always scoured craigslist for great deals and scored quite a few. I have bought and resold many under valued boats as a hobby so I figure I have less than $2k invested across all my boats and gear if you count the money Iāve made reselling.
I am down to 3 boats at the moment, a Wenonah WWII tandem tripper in UL layup I picked up for $800, a 1988 Crozier J200 USCA C1 racer I picked up for the same, and a Fenn Swordfish S in Vacuum Glass - by far my most expensive toy! Considering the UL canoes retailed over $3k new Iām quite happy with $800. The Fenn was a good deal but not great. I bought it out of necessity, as modern surf skis are very hard to find used at a decent price.
(I say modern because its easy to find old designs for a couple hundred bucks, but unlike canoes and to some extent sea kayaks which have remained relatively unchanged in the past 20 years, surfskis have evolved a lot even in the last 5 years or so. So I bit the bullet and paid the most I ever have for a boat this spring. Even considering the cost, the fun Iāve had in this boat has already made it worth it (and the truly fun waves dont even begin here until November!). So only begrudgingly will I pay more than a thousand bucks for a boat, but sometimes it has to be done.
But yes, everyone can afford a nice boat, you just have to search craigslist/forums often enough for long enough, and be willing to drive, but you can probably find your perfect boat for a steal of a deal if youāre dedicated.
I understand all of the comments about shopping the used market to find high end boats at a bargain price. I donāt doubt what people are saying. But bargain prices on high end boats are still not inexpensive depending on a personās perspective. Do the math on the average cost of my four boats.
I have read numerous comments on this forum about all of my boats which essentially put them all in the category of trash. But that is OK. I have spent many hours paddling my fleet and have never been unhappy while paddling. I just thoroughly enjoy being on the water in any of them. I guess I have never been a discriminating connoisseur of canoes and kayaks. I paddle for relaxation and the pleasure of being outdoors on the water.