Clipper Canoes

I may have a chance to pick up a Clipper for 100$. I’m waiting to hear back from the owner. He didn’t provide much info, 16-18’, white, in good shape. I’ve been on their website and read some reviews and it seems there are a few that fit that vague description. They sound like a solid boat and am wondering if anyone owns one or has paddle one and what they thought. Mighty curious! I don’t really need another canoe but ya know how this whole boat thing works!! ;-0



Thanks for any insight.



dougd

nice
Clipper canoes are solid, well built, well designed boats made by a great company in BC. We sold tons of 'em back in the day.



Tripper is a classic, Ranger 16 and 17 are decent recreational canoes. they do build some specialty boats as well. Prospectors, Jensens, etc.



good luck



steve

Thank You Flatpick
I’m going to pick it up Sunday, have to go to VT for the grandson’s first birthday tomorrow. The guy said the hull was in good shape but did have some drippings on it from being under the trees. I’m frothing at the bit to see which canoe it is. Easy enough to clean up a hull I guess, that could be another post! Will post later after picking it up. Damn, haven’t bought a hull in years now and the last one I had to do a total rebuild on. Well worth it though.



dougd

I’m paddling their Sea-1
and couldn’t be more pleased. Extremely well put together in my opinion. I will say they are sponsoring me and have loaned me the boat to use, but I would vouch for the quality anyway. Enjoy and let us know what it turns out to be. Good find no matter…cheers

con mucho gusto
let us know which one you scored.



yeah tree sap is ez clean-up with paint thinner, that and a little rubbing compound,a good wax and some elbow grease (or a buffer) and you’re G2G!



steve

If its eastern white pine sap
that stuff is more resistant to paint thinner.



Denatured alcohol or hand santizer works. You might go at blobs if they are dried with a straight razor first.



I live in a pine grove… this is all too common a job.



Wax helps with future cleanups.

Goo Gone works on pine sap. Acetone
is even faster.

I am scared of acetone
on my car…





And it removes a little too much paint on my wood canvas canoe…



I will have to try Goo Gone.



PS Clippers are quite decent boats.

should be good
The boats of theirs that I have seen have been well built and have paddled well.



If you get the boat and decide you don’t like it, let me know. I might be interested in it if it is the right model.



Dave

Where is there
a Clipper dealer here in North Carolina?

Tractor seats
Clipper uses tractor seats on many of their models. I like these seats because, in combination with the footbrace, you have solid bracing. Also, your CG is a little lower. Some people, however, like the more traditional cane seat, which makes kneeling easier.



I bought a used Tripper a couple of years ago and have enjoyed paddling salt water with it: quite fast and tracks well.

Just raise the tractor seats a little.
We had tractor seats on a Moore, and they were at a very comfortable level for both kneeling and sitting.

I stopped by Dougs today
He ended up with a good boat for cheap money. The thing is a little busted up but not bad by any stretch. It’s got a dozen years worth of scratches on it and a seat support is broke. Looks like it has been stored outside for a long time. Nothing a few bucks won’t straighten out. I would say he pretty much stole it for $100.

It looks like a very solid build.

Heres Some Pics
I spent some time chipping the ice off the gunwales and hull. Yeah, she’s a bit scratched up but the hull is in good shape except for one crack near the registration decal, bummer. I’m going to have to wait until a warm day (50’s) to wash it down and see what I have to do to make it a better looking hull.



Two of the thwarts are bent a bit and Scott and I agreed it is a bit cockeyed on one side, but that could be from the thwarts. The guy I bought it from didn’t know what he had and just lawn mowed grass onto it, hence the nice layer of green.



I’ve spent the last hour or so looking it over and comparing it my Disco 158 which has been my primary tripping boat for 10 years and am wondering how to modify this to my needs, hummmmmmmm, this could get interesting!



So, here’s some pics:



http://picasaweb.google.com/douglas.doremus/ClipperCanoe#



I’m looking for advice on cleaning the hull (will be a while), how to get that kink out of the hull, what to do about the bent thwarts (I’m not opposed to wood thwarts but may have a local connection for replacement parts.) This seems to be in my eyes a very nice boat, heck, I may come up the paddling ladder from a Dico to a Clipper! :wink:



Any advice would be appreciated.



dougd

I used to work at Clipper
I worked at Clipper for two years. They’re great people and they build excellent boats.



I would suggest sending an e-mail to them (address it to Lynne at westerncanoe@telus.net ) – include a link to your photos – I’m sure they will give you some good advice on how to best repair the boat.



Certainly looks like you got a stellar deal on that canoe – good score.



Dan



http://www.westcoastpaddler.com


One more thing…
It appears that you’re missing the adjustable rear foot brace bar – that’s a pretty important piece that you’ll want to replace. You could possibly fabricate one from some aluminum tubing or you could order one directly from Clipper. The broken seat mount should not be difficult to repair – again, you could fix it with tubing or order a new one from Clipper. Those parts are not expensive.



Even if you had to put a couple hundred bucks into fixing the canoe up – you’ll still be way, way ahead of the game by the time your finished.



It’s difficult to tell from the photos but it looks to me that the model is a “Yukon” – it should say on the serial plate.



Dan



http://www.westcoastpaddler.com


Powerwash
If you have or can borrow one of those portable power washers, you will surprised at how much that will clean up the hull.

Hey Dan
It is a Ranger 17, 1995 from the plate number. It was a livery boat for a while and then went into private hands, and now my hands. Many thanks for the links and info.



dougd

Decal Removal?
This boat has registration decals on it that I want to get off. Any ideas what the best way is to peel them off without damaging the hull? A lot of the clean up will have to wait till it’s warm enough around these parts, only in the 20’s/30’s for the next few months. Many thanks for any suggestions.



dougd

Heat?

– Last Updated: Jan-11-09 9:31 PM EST –

I’ve removed stickers from automotive paint using a heat gun set on low before – once the adhesive is softened you can use a razor to get under the edge of the sticker and peel it off (while still applying heat). Just be careful to not warm it up so much that you burn the surface.



Residual glue can be cleaned up with something like GooGone.



Dan



http://www.westcoastpaddler.com