Hi all,
I am new to canoeing and bought an old sawyer for $75 off of a police officer who never registered it. The DNR of IL requires that we register our canoes in order to place it on public waterways. My Husband and I searched everywhere for the Serial numbers and no luck. I have no clue what year or Sawyer model it is. Does anyone know what year Sawyer started putting vin numbers in their canoes?
I can tell you it is 15’ 7 inches, Yellow with a fiberglass hull. It is about 13 inches deep, and at its widest point it is around 24 inches. There are 2 seats that look like tractor seats. It has the sawyer badges on the bow with the Made in Oscoda, MI label.
I have heard canoeing is a great way to loose weight and I am an morbidly obese woman. So my next major concern is the weight capacity of the canoe. I hope it has a capacity of at least 700 pounds.
Max width 24"?
Yikes. I would suggest remeasuring. Don’t measure gunwale width for that, measure the widest point of the canoe.
Is it a solo or tandem?
I
I have a Sawyer kayak from the Oscoda era and the HIN (hull identification number) starts with SAW then with ordinary numbers following. You might be able to falsify since those bozos can’t check it out anyway. Something like SAW007452 might work. Perhaps try talking to someone at a different courthouse first. The problem here is that they might think the boat is stolen if it has no numbers. Every boat is supposed to have the numbers printed on in two separate places, one that is obvious and one that is hidden.
Good luck to you on your weight loss. Sawyer canoes were mostly designed for speed and I’m not sure how well they can hold up a large amount of weight.
Remeasured
36 inches... and it is Tandem
Hull ID number
I think I found it. There was no “SAW” on it but the numbers were 36932. I am not sure if this is the HIN or just a production number…
sawyergeorge
Search the archives for P.netter sawyergeorge and send him a private email. Maybe he can help.