Congrats on your beautiful Bug. I like that color.
Thanks, Yanoer. I think I like it better than the sky blue of the local Ladybug that I missed getting last month. Green is my favorite color anyway – and now I have 3 green boats!
@willowleaf said:
Congrats on an excellent canoe in Great condition for a boat that old.
I have a 1984 Curtis solo tripper all original wood except the cane which I replaced with an Iroquois rope (instead of rawhide) weave. Love the color which is the same as mine with the canoe paddler logo instead of the loon logo. My Foxworx ffg bent shaft is one of my favorites and reasonably priced.
Maggie in my solo tripper, and my Grey Owl guide paddle another reasonably priced favorite.
woven seat in my 1987 Curtis vagabond
The seat on mine is newer woven black nylon strapping. Don’t know how comfortable that will be in the long run.
Did you lace the Vagabond seat yourself? I could probably do that, similar to yours – I ldid lace my own Tubbs snowshoes many moons ago and that looks like the same pattern.
Snowshoe lacing is very comfortable. I used to manage a wilderness outfitter shop and we sold the Tubbs snowshoe furniture including the low folding canoe seats. I used to sit in one of the latter in our display area every day to manually update the sales inventory records (pre-computer) – the way the knotted mesh molds to the human butt is quite nice. Could have bought myself one back then for around $50. They go for $300 or more now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/173733281382
The rocking chairs were particularly nice (they were $100 in 1976). Saw one go for $1,800 on an antiques auction site recently. There is currently one on Ebay for $300.
As another option, I do have all the supplies and instructions for caning since my late mother taught herself to do that to restore the family heirloom dining chairs that my great grandfather made in the 1870’s.
The wood on the Ladybug is so pretty – previous owner obviously cared for it. Other than the superficial scratches on the hull, the topside is pristine.
First extended outing in the Ladybug today. Just me and the canoe, meandering through the various arms and inlets of 3,325 acre Lake Arthur 45 minutes north of me. Felt a little awkward at first but got the hang of her about 30 minutes in. Did better with a kayak paddle than the new Foxwork single blade. A friend had just returned a vintage wooden Walden Kayak double blade to me last night – forgot I owned it after loaning it to her a couple of years ago! It’s almost like a double otter tail, slightly spooned long narrow blades and about 230 cm. Very light and t worked perfectly sitting or kneeling.
Got to watch an osprey fishing and feeding two noisy chicks at her nesting platform (there are several along the lake). Flushed a merganser in the reeds and had a staring contest with a blue heron who was hanging out on a fallen tree along one bank. Lots of gangs of water skaters dancing their crazed patterns over the surface and many colorful butterflies grazing the wildflowers along the banks. Day was perfect, 80 F with 40% humidity, blue skies and puffy clouds with soft breeze, water ranged from glass-like to gentle riffling. Quiet and polite fellow paddlers, mostly in rec boats and sit on tops, hanging out or fishing. It’s a 20 HP limit on powered boats and the wildlife propagation areas prohibit them. NO jet skis, thank heavens, and few wakes. Not as many sailboats as usual with the low wind.
But I digress, back to the Ladybug: I really like her and am looking forward to paddling her often – nice change from the kayaks. May take her up to Ontario this Fall to paddle with my friend in Kingston and his canoe and kayak club. Have wanted to go back there and do more of the Rideau canal.
Might have to get a dog – almost felt like she needed a little more ballast than I was providing.
I have been curious about that Walden Kayaks wood paddle since I picked it up at a yard sale many years ago for $40. Just did some google digging and discovered that Walden was having them made by Bending Branches back before Walden was forced into liquidation by their bank in 2004. It’s a pretty nice two piece paddle, with 23" x 5.5" blades, 35 ounces at 230 cm (that’s only 2 ounces more than my 210 Gearlab carbon GP). Perfect for the Ladybug>
Found a pic of one on an auction site’s archives.
Sounds like a beautiful day and setting to get acquainted with your Lady Bug. She can be a lovely paddling companion. I’ve never had a desire to add a dog to my outings, - where would I put my spare paddles?
I don’t know anything about wooden kayak paddles.
There is a Ladybug 2 hours from me for $850. It looks to be in very good condition. The owner says that it weighs " about 32 lbs. He also said it is fiberglass. From what I can find on the internet, 32 lbs. is too light to be fiberglass, but too heavy to be kevlar. While 32 lbs is acceptable, regardless of material, I don’t want to invest 4 hours of driving to find out that “about 32 lbs.” really means 40.
Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Is $850 a fair price for a fiberglass Ladybug?
There was another Bug in my city listed for $795 but I missed contacting the owner before the listing disappeared. I was lucky to be pointed to the one I bought for $800 in Rochester, NY, where I was going to be passing through shortly thereafter. So I would have to agree that $850 is fair if it is in great shape. Mine is like new other than superficial scuffs on the hull bottom. I was happy to pay $800 for mine, since I think newer versions of that model go for $2500 or more.
I have not weighed my fiberglass one yet but I have no trouble lifting it on and off my Mazda CX5 roof rack by myself. I’m a 69 year old 5’ 5" woman, by the way. It feels like under 40 pounds to me, noticeably lighter than my 46 pound rotomold kayak that I often load but maybe a bit heavier than my 31 pound skin on frame kayak, though it is hard to compare a 12’ canoe to an 18’ kayak.
Hand made non-mass produced fiberglass boats typically vary in individual weight anyway, sometimes by several pounds. I would guess that is the same for Kevlar. Curtis was and still is a small builder so variation would be normal.
I’ll get around to weighing mine one of these days. Right now it is on my car – if Sunday is nice I’ll be heading to the lake again.
My Kevlar Lady Bug weighs right at 32 lbs.
@ScottFree said:
There is a Ladybug 2 hours from me for $850. It looks to be in very good condition. The owner says that it weighs " about 32 lbs. He also said it is fiberglass. From what I can find on the internet, 32 lbs. is too light to be fiberglass, but too heavy to be kevlar. While 32 lbs is acceptable, regardless of material, I don’t want to invest 4 hours of driving to find out that “about 32 lbs.” really means 40.Does anyone have any thoughts or advice? Is $850 a fair price for a fiberglass Ladybug?
$850 is a fair price for a fiberglass Ladybug in excellent condition…it’s also full price and you’d probably get between 700 and 800 for it if you tried to resell it immediately. Boats are rarely if ever lighter than their advertised specs so if it’s fiberglass I would expect it to be In the high 30’s and would not trust his claim of 32 pounds.
I spoke with the seller this evening. The seller is not the owner, but both are long-time paddlers. The owner is 80 and purchased it new. (I forgot to ask the year.) Being 80, he’s never ventured onto the internet and asked his friend (the seller) to post it for him. I’ll meet both men when I go to see it on Wednesday.
In my conversation with the seller, he told me he currently paddles a cedar strip kayak and a solo cedar strip canoe, both of which he built himself. In the conversation about his strip canoe, he mentioned that it weighed 40 lbs. Then, switching gears, he said, “that Ladybug’s specs say it should be 36 lbs., but this one’s 32.”
I had a nice extended and interesting conversation with him about boats in general and am optimistic he knows what he’s talking about when he tells me the weight of this particular Ladybug. In any case, I’ll make my own guess as to its weight on Wednesday when I go to see it.
Whether it follows me home or not, I don’t know. If not, it’s at least going to be a pretty drive, I am still looking forward to meeting and talking with a couple of older fellow paddlers.
Grab a bathroom scale (if you don’t have one they are about $10 for a cheapo at Bed Bath and Beyond or Walmart) and take it with you. Check your own tare weight first, then hoist the boat over your head and step back on the scale. If I (little old lady) can lift mine that way you can too.
Don’t worry about the specs… If you can lift it as you need to and it is tolerable and you think it may be tolerable for some years just go with that. If not, it was a pretty ride.
Thanks for all the advice. I have a couple of other boats. The closest to this one is a Bell Royalex Wildfire/Yellowstone solo. All that matters with this one is that it is reasonably lighter than the Bell. I’ll be keeping all of them, but am looking for a boat that I’ll still be able to lift 10-15 years from now. (I’m 62.)
Now I have a new problem… Today I was paddling with my whitewater friends. When I told them of the possible new-to-me boat, they made great sport of the fact that I’d be paddling a boat named “Ladybug.” I went thru this a long time ago when I had a Mad River Ladyslipper. I think I’ll be able to handle their abuse. 
Willowleaf,
The Ladybug looks great. It might be a good boat to paddle at one of the canoe freestyle symposiums. I’ve done the Adirondack symposium at Paul Smith’s a few times, but not this year. Fun, good people and competent instruction.
ScottFree we can justify both boats. The Yellowstone is for rivers mostly due to materials and the Ladybug for flat… I don’t believe its got a label on it saying Ladybug so you can call it anything…
@ScottFree said:
Thanks for all the advice. I have a couple of other boats. The closest to this one is a Bell Royalex Wildfire/Yellowstone solo. All that matters with this one is that it is reasonably lighter than the Bell. I’ll be keeping all of them, but am looking for a boat that I’ll still be able to lift 10-15 years from now. (I’m 62.)Now I have a new problem… Today I was paddling with my whitewater friends. When I told them of the possible new-to-me boat, they made great sport of the fact that I’d be paddling a boat named “Ladybug.” I went thru this a long time ago when I had a Mad River Ladyslipper. I think I’ll be able to handle their abuse.
You won’t have to listen to your whitewater friends tease you because they won’t be able to keep up with a Ladybug in their banana boats.
Please let us know what you learn about the boat. You could always call Dave Curtis at Hemlock Canoe and ask him if he made any lightweight fiberglass boats. I know he made some sort of ultralight Kevlar lay-up that isn’t always listed in the old Curtis catalogs…I know someone with a 22 pound Ladybug.
Good luck with your shopping.
I just returned home with a new family member. I don’t know who I thought I was fooling when I drove up there to “just look at it.” It could have weighed 70 lbs, and I’d have taken it. I am a weak human being when it comes to beauty. It really is a beautiful boat. White with dark wood trim. 1987. There are a few superficial scratches, but nothing really shows because of the color (or rather, lack of color.)
So it wasn’t 32 lbs. It’s 37—close enough to specs. There was no deception on the part of the 80-year-old owner. I think it was just that it’s been ten years since anyone had touched it. It was the seller (not the owner) who said 32. The owner, when I saw him said 36.
When I got there, the owner met me with a big smile and firm handshake. A few minutes later, and after the softest of negotiations, I handed him $800. Then we all headed over to a picnic table to look at his photo albums and to talk boats, creeks, and rivers. It also turned out we knew some of the same people. I was there for probably an hour. When I left, I asked him if he was okay with me taking his boat. He said he was a little sad, but was happy to see it go to someone who would appreciate it. I really wish he lived closer to me.
I’m heading out shortly to put it on the water. I’ll report back afterwards. 
I love it! I was on the water for about an hour and quarter. It took a few minutes to get used to it, but no biggie. Secondary stability felt pretty firm. I’m a kneeler and my other two solos both have saddles. I’ll keep the seat in this one but will probably lower it at least an inch or so.
Willowleaf— you and I are neighbors—at least as far as Craigslist is concerned. I live just outside of Ohiopyle, and spend most of my time on the Middle Yough. I have flat water 12 miles away in two different directions though if you ever want to compare your beautiful boat to my beautiful boat.