Hi all - my parents gifted me a beautiful 1981 Old Town Guide, 18 feet. The interior is all wood. Unfortunately I’m unable to use it easily or frequently, and am going to sell it to get something a bit easier to manage. But, how much? They don’t make this size Guide anymore, and new 16 foot ones are selling for $9,000. It’s in need of a bit of maintenance, but is totally useable as is. Being new to the canoe market, what advice would you give me? And what are the best places to advertise it? Many thanks.
Wooden canoe folks
at the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.
www.wcha.org
Don’t worry. No one pays nine grand for a wooden canoe.
The canoes that Old Town lists on their website are made by an independent canoe builder and a very significant markup is applied by Old Town, which must either be making money on its ridiculous prices or is totally delusional
Island Falls Canoe makes the Old Town models for Old Town…Guess its working for Jerry!
Now as to your boat… why not get it restored? There is a list of builders and restorers on the WCHA website. You don’t have to if you aren’t going to use it though. It is saleable as is.
My guess would be $1500-2000. But ask the real experts at WCHA.
"In need of maintenance "
That is a pretty big variable. As far as price $1000-$2000 sounds possible. The problem first off is anyone buying $2000 canoes in your area? After that folks looking to buy used are doing so to find a deal more than that particular canoe even if your price is a good deal.
not necessarily
the 10,000 WCHA members work together to form a transport network often. So you need not confine to your area.
And most of them are looking at a maintenance project. If you are new to wooden canoes “maintenance” is a good way to start… The more advanced can rebuild out of one deck plate it seems.
Wood canoes are restorable. Petroleum based canoes are repairable, but its highly unlikely someone will be paddling a 2000 model year Kevlar in 2100… Wood canoes from the 1890s are still on the water.
So they hold their value pretty well.
Thanks
Thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Proceeding over to the wooden canoe folks.