Hi everyone,
I have been whitewater kayaking for a while, but now have two kids and am wanting a bigger boat to take them out a bit (on flat water for now). I’ve been looking around for canoes and have found a couple aluminum and poly boats, but came across what I think may be a good deal on a fiberglass canoe. The only problem is I can’t identify it at all and don’t know much about them.
Pictures here.
It’s about 15 and a half feet long and seems to be at least ten to fifteen years old. It’s a fabric layup canoe and probably weighs around 50-60 lbs. There’s a small serial number tag on the bow, but it’s so faded I can’t make out what it says. The current owner said the guy he bought it from had fixed up the seats and thwarts (unfortunately using steel mounting plates; you can see some corrosion in the pictures), so they may not be totally stock.
Cosmetically, the condition isn’t great and it looks like the yellow paint isn’t original; some tan can be seen around the gunwales. But structurally it seems solid and there aren’t any leaks or anything. There is one palm sized spot where it must have hit a rock or something and the fabric has started to delaminate a bit. It holds water and I think I could fix it fairly easily, but should I be more concerned about it?
I suspect it was built by a relatively small company somewhere, and without any history on the boat or exactly how it was made, I worry a bit about the structure. Is there anything I can look for that would show whether it’s a high quality layup? Does anyone recognize this boat? And what would be a fair price for it?
I’m really only looking to cruise around on some lakes or ponds and possibly take it down a flat river, so it doesn’t need to be indestructible, just tough enough to hit a rock occasionally. Thanks for any help you can offer!