I’m more of a bargain hunter, always looking for a good deal that’s not too far away. I figure there’s a good chance someone closer will grab the real steals before I can drive a half day to get there. Plus, you never know if that kayak will look as good in person as the seller’s claims or photos, and could waste a day of driving.
So, I’ve managed to keep my purchases at about 75 miles from home or less. My Trailex trailer was actually the furthest at 75 miles. I got a like new, garage-stored trailer for $300. My QCC 600X was the only kayak I was really searching for and I lucked out with a seller who was only 35 miles away while I was in Maine. I paid a couple of hundred more than a “steal” price for that but getting it so close by was worth it.
I picked up an ancient Old Town about an hour from where I live (Morris, MN- definitely not kayak country!). It depends on what kind you are looking for. One great source during the winter months is on Facebook Marketplace. Craigslist is another great source.
for a canoe - Denver to Albuquerque and back, about 900 miles. Hotel stay $60, gas at about $3/gal and 20mpg, $135, sundries another $60 or so. Boat was $1100, new is $3200, those numbers worked for me…
Just a data point, the IRS lets you write off car travel as a business expense at a rate of 65 cents a mile. That’s what they figure it costs including gas, insurance, maintenance and depreciation, but not your time. So for a 900 mile drive that would be $585. And of course YMMV.
First kayak was delivered to my door from Dicks Sporting Goods. My canoe came a distance of 300 yards in back of neighbor’s truck. The last kayak was free but I had to haul it on my car about a half a block.
My carbon footprint getting boats is pretty good I guess.
Several years ago I had listed a motorcycle for sale and said I’d deliver in about a 300 mile radius and further if there was a good craft brewery nearby like The Alchemist. First response was from a buyer a few miles from that very place. So my wife and I made a Vermont weekend of it, delivered it to his door, 1,000 mile round trip. Sure it cost money but so what. We had a great trip.
So, yes, there is a bow and stern. Bow seat is farther away from the nearest stem to allow for the paddlers legs & feet. Your Old Town is likely symetrical and so can be paddled either way. You could put a kid in the ‘stern’ seat facing the stern and you in the ‘bow’ seat looking at the kid’s back. This would be to trim the hull a bit better.
Well I intend to paddle it with a friend inside who’s wheelchair bound so he can go fishing again. He’s been very sad that he is no longer able to get to the steep shores of the lake and fish, but this canoe will be my answer to his problem. He fishes and I’ll paddle him where he wants to go.
Also I’ll use it for overnight trips to take my dog along.
I drove to the Swiss border (2 hrs) for the Finland boat. For a minute it looked like we would need to drive to Finland but then I realized the town was above the Arctic circle.
Dumbest drive:
I “made” my husband trailer a stone slab from Florida to Washington once on a DITY move, which was cruel and unusual. I found a deal on a truck during a blizzard in South Dakota and told him to fly in from SoCal and pick it up if he wanted to save 6k so he did it. He will drive anywhere just for the solitude I think.
1400 miles, one way to New Hampshire. For an Eddyline . But it was the boat we were looking for during the initial bout of Covid, for my husband. It was “used”, but never used (still had the packaging on it). It was during the first break in all the Covid shutdowns, just before things ramped back up. We had just lost our 16 year old dog 2 days before the boat popped up, and we were devastated, so we decided to get away for a bit and take a vacation. It was too depressing to be home.
The route back was quite a bit longer, because we took a long detour to get a puppy.
. But it was the boat we were looking for during the initial bout of Covid, for my husband. It was “used”, but never used (still had the packaging on it). It was during the first break in all the Covid shutdowns, just before things ramped back up. We had just lost our 16 year old dog 2 days before the boat popped up, and we were devastated, so we decided to get away for a bit and take a vacation. It was too depressing to be home.