Royalex Penobscot 16 models seem to have two weights - some list at 58 or 59lbs. (I’m not talking about the later and even heavier Penobscot 164 in HDPE plastic.) I have an old one that weighs 68 lbs on my bathroom and luggage scale. My buddy’s is noticeably lighter, and he said he’d heard they had multiple versions of the layup. I assume it’s a difference in royalex thickness, trading weight for durability.
I’m hoping to find the lighter royalex layup on the used market but I’m worried sellers, if they list or give a weight, are going off old catalog listings and may get the wrong weight. I don’t want to drive a couple hours to find the heavier version when I get there. Does anyone know a way to tell the weight based off HIN numbers or another trick to tell from afar?
You piqued my curiosity, since I am OCD about weights. The Penobscot 16 is listed at 58 pounds in the catalogues from 2007-2014 (vinyl gunwales). In my 88 and 89 hardcopies, the Penobscot 16 is listed at 63 pounds. In my 2000 hardcopy, they list the weight at 58 pounds with aluminum gunwales and an asterisk that states “weight with wood or vinyl trim 63 pounds”. None of these include the optional center seat. Did they actually improve the Royalex sheet in newer boats to achieve the 58 pounds, or did they just forget to add the asterisk in the catalogue after 2000?
Interesting, thanks, Chipewyan. My friend’s is a '98 with aluminum gunnels; mine is an '87 with vinyl so that tracks pretty well with what the catalogs are saying. I imagine mine is the 63 lbs hull weight plus the extra 5 lbs of vinyl gunnels. I would guess they did either improve the royalex sheet or figure out how thin they could make it without compromising structure.
I emailed Old Town a couple days ago but hadn’t heard back by the time I posted this. Of course they replied soon after, but this is all they could tell me:
"The Royalex (ABS) sheet material has varied slightly in weights anywhere between 4 - 7lbs. but we have no designation of what years it was lighter or heavier other than physically weighing the boat. Hope this helps and let us know if you might have any other questions. "