I am looking at buying another Mad River Canoe and need to understand the serial number. The one I have is an Explorer Royalex with wood gunwales and deep red (chianti?) in color. I bought it in '02. My number is MAD 14635F000. Can anyone break down how the numbers work so I can know the exact model, material, gunwales, date and color?
I may see one in person which is Mad River Explorer and they say dark green. I am really looking for the same age Explorer in the same deep red color or other non red (cherry) or standard green. I would also consider other manufacturers with wood gunwales if equal to the Explorer - Penobscot?
thx
Like Labs
You’re picking a boat like some folks select Labs; “I ant a Chocolate Lab.” That often results in a poor dog, as color is a poor first determinate. How about personality?
That said Swift has a Burgandy color standard, and Hemlock makes an excellent tandem that can be Special ordered in whatever color you desire.
MRC Ser #'s
– Last Updated: Aug-28-10 9:51 AM EST –
Around 1999 or 2000 the Coast Guard made Mad River change the way serial numbers were produced. Prior to that time, MRC #'s identify model, material, month and year, but not color
Since the change, all the # tells someone is month and year. The other numbers just represent production run stuff that does nothing for identifying the specifics of the canoe.
Your canoe was built in May of 2000. If you come across an MRC for sale, email me the Ser # and I'll tell you everything I can (so long as it's a pre 2000 #).
In the late 90's we were making some "spruce", "chianti", and "burgandy" Royalex hulls.
Best,
Rob
Mad River Serial Number
Thanks for the responses. I like the stability of the Explorer but also the deep red color - although chocolate sounds good. I will let you know the number.
TB
Hey Rob
What can you tell me about my boat. The serial number was put on the royalex hull using a black marker. It is not longer present - no trace. I bought the boat in 1976. 
Just kidding …
I am looking for some of the old fiberglass long decks. Mine are really beat up, so the boat is without any decks right now.
Also, FYI I just sent Confluence scans of my 1976 and 1977 MRC catalogs which I recently located. They are now up on the MRC website under archived catalogs.
Best,
~wetzool
Serial # info request
I recently found a Mad River Independence, from what I can make out the serial # is MAD1D2771293. Does that mean it is a 1993?
thanks for any info.
yes
pelican
my last numbers on my pelican kayak is j809 does that mean it was made in august 2009?
id old mad river
MAD99584M80G-K 18 foot wicker seats with backs. if you could help me id it I would appreciate it.
id of old Mad river canoe
I came for a similar reason trying to find the exact material of my MADEX135E787
here’s a thead from the archives:
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=929356
I guess I can’t decipher the material from my numbers though…kevlar or fiberglass
Another Serial Number Question
I just purchased a canoe after a 10 year hiatus. I bought what I think is a Mad River Endurall from 1973 but the seller wasn’t sure of the model. It’s in pretty good shape except for the need for some gelcoat repair and the need to replace the gunwale.
I tried contacting MRC but haven’t gotten a reply yet (2 Weeks).
The Serial number is: VTB6009 OM73K
If I’m reading this right could this be the 9th production model of the first Kevlar Canoes commercially made?
Excited to get a second opinion.
Thanks for the great help.
Jim
Was just gifted a Mad River Revelation that is said to be a Kevlar boat… Serial # is: MADRE690B797 (I guess I’ll be calling it “Madre”) could anyone offer help with identification?
Thanks,
Pip
Hi Rob, My Mad River Canoe serial # is MAD AX988G798. We bought it at Battenkill Canoe in Arlington Vermont in September of 1997. It’s green Royalex with wood gunnels, cane insert seats and is 16 feet long. What I can’t figure out is what our model is. Mad River’s archive list tells what years each of the models were produced but that only narrows down the options to the canoes manufactured in 1997(of which there are several) but doesn’t get us to our specific model. Can you please help me with identifying our canoe’s model? We want to replace the original seats with ash/webbing seats as the cane is badly broken in both seats. Thank you!
In general, cane seats are not model specific… they come long (wide) and you cut to fit.
If you can measure your boat, I can look at the catalog and tell u what model.
The boat is 16’ long. Is that the measurement you meant? Or did you mean the width of the boat from gunnel to gunnel where the seats are currently located? Thanks very much.