Many years ago I acquired a SAWYER Kevlar RACING canoe. It is in need of great repair. My cuzin try n’ paytch it wif, fobber glass. (clear throat). It looks really shitty. I plan on sanding all fiber glass off, and when I have time and money to reKevlar it I will.
HOWEVER, I am trying to get some stats on the canoe itself.
I have searched and searched online for the SAWYER CANOE Co. and can find nothing, but a site that looks like them, but no contact info. I did read on this site that the company was sold, but the post wasn’t about the SAWYER CANOE CO. it was about some guys vacation throughout the great midwest. (lucky duck)
I really like to call a company as opposed to writing them on their “write us an email” section most companies have. Some people can not show any personality through text, although I understand some can, I am not one of those individuals.
If any of you Folks have any information regarding what has become of the Sawyer Canoe Co. please write me back.
Best,
Alex Th’ Kidd
the last encarnation
Of sawyer was out of business in 2005. I’m pretty sure. Is your boat a solo or tandem? Is it gelcoat or kevlar yellow color?
Ryan L.
Post a photo…and
give us the dimensions of the canoe. Length, width (at gunnels), we should be able to idenify.
I have a Sawyer Summersong I restored lately.
The company no longer exists
They went out of business in Northeast Michigan sometime in the mid 1990’s I think, and the building they were in became an environmental clean-up site due to the solvents they left behind. The city tried to sell it to get back taxes and no one bid on it.
Swift Canoe took over making some of the Sawyer touring models under different names. I don’t think they make anything comparable to the racing canoe and don’t believe they use straight Kevlar any more, instead using a composite blend of materials:
http://www.swiftcanoe.com/canoe/KevlarFusion.htm
You’d probably have better luck just waiting to see if somebody on the forums has one of these and can tell you about it firsthand.
Superior Canoe Co
They make some of the Sawyer canoes and would have imfo about them. http://superiorcanoes.com/
Steve Smith at Superior
Steve Smith at Superior Canoe is the latest convulsion of Sawyer.
Swift Canoe started as the Sawyer franchise in Canada, but moved into doing their own David Yost and John Winters designed hulls ~ 1990 while Sawyer Oscoda was still functioning.
Sawyer has been sold twice since, Steve picking molds up at discount after the last attempt.
To identify the racing canoe we need a few pieces of information. 1. Is it solo or tandem? 2. How long is it? 3. Does it have a retrocee’ or whale tail? 4. Are the rails of uniform curving shape or are they S shaped? And a pic would help.
The repair data is pretty easy, email me at charlewilson77@gmail for gel and laminate repair protocols.n
sawyer
I have a kevlar 49 Sawyer super to renovate myself this winter. About 37 lbs 18'6" length. Debating whether to lay up another layer of cloth or to just do a sealcoat inside and a resin coat outside...
Vintage Sawyer
I used to race with my brother in Florida back in the 70’s and have just pulled out my old sawyer canoe that has been packed away in our barn for 30 years. Seems like I remember it being called a Super. It is white in color, very long and sleek. Seat in back is up high. Front seat could use replacing as it has a chip, otherwise in surprisingly good shape.
Are these things still used as racers? Thinking about putting it back in the water as I have a 6 year old grandson. May sell it in the future if I can find a collector or someone who can aappreciate the age and tradition. I remember it being very fast and tippy, so it’s not really a good recreational boat. Are they worth anything? Brings back lots of good memories…Thanks…Joy
supers
There is always people looking for boats like that. I’m not sure you would get much mileage out of the history of it. But people are always looking to buy race boats especially if it is in good shape.
Ryan L.
old race boats
Yes an old boat like that can be patched up and folks still use them as race boats. Kind of like a current generation NASCAR race car is gonna be faster lighter than a 1990 era NASCAR machine but the 1995 racer is still pretty fast. Plus you can pick the oldies up at affordable prices. In my case I am gonna fix up the old super as a work out and casual race boat for tandem use with my teenage daughter. Didnt cost me an arm and a leg and the renovaton will be my winter project.