Hey everyone! I just purchased the above canoe for 500 bucks. It looks great from the photos and it has barely been used. The boat was purchased new two years ago.I am not familiar with that model; what kind of deal did I get?
I thought the Ultralight models only came in one color. Can someone familiar with this canoe give me some advice?
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/boa/1165288915.html
Thanks all!
I don’t see the inside chine ribs that
are in what I believe is an ultralite pictured in the Wenonah online catalog:
http://www.wenonah.com/products/template/product_detail.php?IID=20&SID=9ccc5034ddb5f9061e1ca2de9254f26f
Also, unless the canoe has been cleverly painted, it does seem an anomalous exception to the Wenonah practice of leaving ultralite Kevlar boats “natural.”
I see the guy’s rationalization about selling cheap to move the boat and make the customer happy. However, $500 is a surprisingly low price for a used ultralite.
I think that, if you are lucky, this is actually a 46 pound Kevlar Flexcore in a “quiet” fishing color. It will still be easy to handle, will be a bit more durable, and will not have little ribs in the chines that may interfere with some uses.
Will you feel that a 57 pound Royalex Fisherman is still a good buy at $500? It is if it suits your purposes.
I feel suspicious about this ad. But maybe the guy didn’t have a picture of his ultralite, and used a picture of another Fisherman in Flexcore or Royalex.
Maybe.
Think this over, and hold on to one end of your $500 bill before you complete the transaction.
Others have thoughts?
The vinyl gunwales,
somewhat blunt stems,color,smooth interior,point to royalex, even so $500.00 for a used Wenonah royalex "fishing" canoe is not a bad deal compared to a big box store $500.00 plastic boat.
I Had an Olive Royalex Wenonah…
....and know one when I see one. It's definitely not the ultralite the guy advertised it as, it's royalex. g2d has a link to the boat, a Wenonah Fisherman. Not a bad boat, but that olive inside was a "BOOGER" to paddle in the summertime in the Ozarks. It absorbs the heat much more than the normal tan or gray inside non OD colored royalex boats. That said, it's probably still a good deal for $500. Good duck hunting boat too! But if that's the actual canoe, it's NOT KEVLAR. WW
Yup…
You are all correct. I asked more questions and he told me it was actually Royalex. I ended up passing on it and he moved to the next buyer. Oh well…
Thanks for the responses though, I appreciate it! Maybe another canoe will pop up soon.
Josh
Royalex
Yep - that is a Royalex Fisherman. I own one, but it's not that color.
$500 is on the good side of a fair price if it ain't boogered up much.
Maybe I can make you feel good about passing it up - or maybe not.
The Fisherman is slow for a tandem, but paddles and tracks easy. It is very stable, exhibiting good primary stability and fair secondary stability. Easy to stand in even on moving water. Turns easy with paddle or pole. Draws very little water when lightly loaded. Blows around like a kite under same conditions.
Pretty darn good boat for a beginning couple, and great shallow, twisting stream boat. Doesn't solo easily from the middle unless you are standing with a pole, but solos pretty good when paddled from the bow seat with ballast at the opposite end (I use a water-filled dry bag. Great fishing boat. But not very good for long distance over lakes. At 57lbs, it's easy to carry - but the lightweight Royalite hull oil-cans quite a bit. Easy to pole and carves turns very well with offside lean - but doesn't have enough glide to climb well through pushy current.
I like mine enough to keep it even though I have faster and more seaworthy boats.
Craigs list ads
BTW - I’ve noticed this a lot on Craigs list (probably true for any generic advertising publication). No one seems to know what Royalex is. I’d say 90% of the used royalex boats I’ve seen advertised locally were listed as “fiberglass”, “ultralight kevlar”, or some such thing. Even happens when the boat says “Royalex” right on it.