Can anyone offer info on this canoe? 15ft for sale near me. Heard they were built in Peach Bottom PA. Pretty sure it’s fiberglass and probably weighs in the low 50’s. Saw a 16ft on sale and it was listed at 60lbs. Pretty cool looking. Website I found was not in English and I’m not messing around with translation, thanks.
booztalkin out there?
Anyone know Chip? Saw a few threads about his 16ft. Had some questions, thanks.
I googled around and was unable to find
useful information about their general purpose canoes.
The Peach Bottom operation appears derived in part from the European flatwater racing and touring tradition. Make sure you have a good look at US and Canadian offerings. We have the best selection of solo and tandem open canoes in the world. Only in decked slalom, wildwater, and sprint canoes is Europe ahead.
Kanoe Latvija
I have one that I bought new from the company that manufactured them in The Buck, Pa.
Mine is 16 ft, and weighs 38 lbs. There are no bulkheads or anything else to create extra weight. I use airbags for positive floatations.
I love the boat and will keep it forever. It taught me how to paddle.
thanks
I saw the boat and it is not lightweight. Kept outdoors for at least 6 years and it was heavy. Probably that 16ft 60lbs version. There is a green one for sale on ebay i think, the lines are really nice, enjoy yours!
A maker with European roots
is likely to be content with a 60 pound 16 footer. Euro open canoes are not usually very light. Although 60 pounds for a 16 foot FG boat is not dreadfully heavy, either. Our first boat was FG, 18.5’ long, and 80+ pounds. Our newest tandem is 16.5’ long and 48 pounds, and that is not light by US/Canadian standards.
Some Euro kayaks are super light like the one AMkayaker has. To get a 16’ kayak down to 38 pounds can require skipping bulkheads and other features that add weight.
On the “lines” of canoes, I suggest you go to the Wenonah canoe site and study their designs. They do nothing for style, everything for function, and the result is usually very visually attractive.
Interesting Boats, Questionable Quality
There’s a shop in Delta, Pa called Starrk Moon Kayaks. If you call there and talk to Brad, he can tell you the history of the Kanoe Latvija.
My porous memory (this paragraph is unsubstantiated hearsay) is that back in the cold war era some Russian immigrants talked a guy in Peach Bottom into starting up a kayak building operation so they could be designated as key skill workers and get visas. Something like that. Apparently the boat is a blatant rip off of a Prijon model, the Esky, perhaps. I was told they reversed a mold from a boat and started making Kanoe Latvijas. Every KL I’ve seen, about a half dozen, was 16’, and I never heard of a 15’ model.
The boat was interesting to paddle. Seemed to me it had three different ways it would turn, depending on how much you leaned it, and that was very confusing for me as a beginning kayaker. I don’t think they were fitted with rudders or much of anything else. Mine strongly weathercocked and was almost impossible to paddle in strong winds. I added a rudder and that fixed that problem.
I had problems with leaks in the hull/deck seams. The boats were minimally outfitted. They had seats, deck lines and that was about it. I came to believe the KL was not a product of a high quality manufacturing operation. The KL is light because there’s not much boat: no bulkheads, no hatches, no skeg, no rudder, and apparently not much fiberglass tape joining the hull and the deck. If you are thinking about buying one I suggest putting some water in the boat and turning it on edge and rolling the water into the stems around the hull/deck seams to make sure you aren’t buying a leaky hull.
In fact, unless the deal is incredible, I would pass on the KL and look for a boat from a more mainstream builder. Just one opinion.
~~Chip
Thanks
I read all of your posts about bulkheads and other info about the boat last night. Like I mentioned earlier I passed on the deal. Was looking for a friend, price was $175 and pic looked ok. In person it was weather beaten and heavy for what they want to get. Didn’t look 15ft either, had mentioned that he probably was off on the measurement. But on positive side I did take a nice drive the morning and enjoyed the area. Happy holidays.