Absolutely nothing beats a cheap canoe or kayak.
Anywhere from free to $150.00.
I think more of us have them than will admit to it, I just had a wonderfull weekend in a coleman scanoe I got from my aunt.My son had a ball catching pickeral,perch and crappies.
It paddled realy bad in the wind,but I wasnt affraid to get her scratched at all.
I would not have gotten into a couple of spots in a good canoe.
Admit it! some of your fondest memories came in a cheap boat or a borrowed cheap boat.
If it still floats ,keep on paddling it.
You dont need a $2500.00 boat to keep up with the next guy,you only need a safe boat to get involved.better yet convert a friend from a p.w.c.to a paddle craft. I’m trying.
JOHN
Thats why
they sell all those plastic rec boats.
Ah…
nothing like handlining for blue gills from an old truck tube from the garage…
This is followed by getting any ole craft that can float, including unclaimed ones sitting on the bank of some river or lake.
Then there is getting that $2,500 boat real cheap 'cause the the owner had died or the ex spouse is selling it cheap out of divorce spite. Okay, I am still trying with this category… 
sing
I love the Pnet Huckleberry Finns… LOL!
I wish
I could get into the $2500 boat range.But a fleet of $1000 and under boats do me fine.
The scanoe was perfect for a kid that cant sit still.
Used beaters
I got a used Prijon Twister as a Valentine’s Day present. Cost my husband $100.
I love it for hot weather on small lakes or ponds. Is it fast, no. Is it fun, youbetcha.
got a 50 footer free
back in my youth. It was a downed tree. My buddy and I got some clothesline and a cinder block for an anchor, hand paddled this baby out into the middle of the resevoir, and had a “base of operations” for our snorkeling adventures. The D.E.P. wasn’t too pleased…
i have 3 phoenix boats
i paid $250 for two ww boats (cascade and appalachian) and $200 for a ‘brown pelican’ sea kayak. just lucky i guess!
I LOVE IT
A 50 footer!
You gotta be proud of that one!
Hello, my name is…
…and I paddle a Mainstream Kayak…
I have a Mainstream Jazz SOT that I bought about 10 years ago for $250 with a paddle (a special deal at BJ’s Wholesale Club). This was my first kayak, and the only thing I could afford at the time. Over the years I added a round day hatch with a ditty bag, stern deck rigging, strap eyes to accomodate: a good seat, a bow line, a compass, and a paddle leash. And of course I upgraded the paddle (I believe the one that came with it had a lead shaft, reinforced with poured concrete!).
I still use it regularly, not as my primary boat, but when I want to toss something on the SUV and sneak in a quick paddle. It is also fun in the surf, being so light and short, and might even work in mild whitewater with some knee/thigh straps. It doesn’t track like an arrow, but it has a skeg-like shaped hull at the stern that helps some.
The thing is light, very easy for one person to carry, indestructable, and holds sentimental value, so I will probably have this boat for at least another 10 years.
the only thing better than a cheap boat
is one that somebody pays you to take away
Become The "Garbage Man…"
They will pay you to take it away. 
sing
Cheap boats
I have a good Royalex and Kevlar canoe, but also have 2 Coleman RamX canoes and a Mainstream Biscayne kayak. Total spent for the 3 cheap boats is about $500.00, which included PFD’s, roof racks, several paddles, etc.
I like the Colemans for rocky rivers, they are really tough. We’ve also used them on trips with rookies, it’s nice to have a canoe which can lay behind the garage but can be handed to somebody who does not know what they are doing! They are also quite stable, another plus. I really like the Mainstream kayak, I am very impressed with it considering the cost. It easily matches up with ‘brand-name’ poly boats up to about the $800.00 range. I’ve improved the seat, but that’s about it.
I won’t spend much money any more for cheap boats, but the last Coleman was free for hauling away. I’ll take all of those I can get!
cYa, Jim
Long Live the Cheap Canoe!
I have a Pelican Ram-X that I got new for 300 bucks at a Farm and Fleet store. I learned how to river-run with it, and beat the daylights out of it in the process!
It is a great loaner boat, and I can run it solo from the bow seat reversed with a bike in the front.
So far 3 ridiculously fun summers on the Salt Fork river here in IL with this el-cheapo boat.
I may get a nicer, lighter tandem canoe someday, like the OT Penobscot 16 in Royalex (58 lbs vs 80 lbs for the Pelican), and I’ll be less likely to beat it up, because I learned in the cheap boat first!
registration
Here in Pa. I have to register anything I want to paddle on a state owned or controled lake.
So far Ive spent more on registrations than what I spent on a few of them cheapies.But I figure it’s worth having a cheap boat around as a loaner or to test a new roof rack befor I put my good kayak on it.