My first ride was an Old Town canvas over cedar canoe I bought for $20 when I was a kid [back in '66]. Over the years I have replaced ribs, recanvassed, and repainted; and I still have it. My first kayak a Tsunanmi 125; I still have that, too!
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Marketing departments don’t like to tell the functional truth. They enhance the glitz.
Get in a boat and paddle it. The first thing I did was remove all the garland and bells.
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5? That’s it? I was imagining a huge sea of rice funding your canoe. 
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Well that’s the funny part as it’s the way it turned out as I just told everyone my plan and they all bought a ton of it and gave me the tops, I didn’t really communicate my needs as a kid just told em I needed as many tops as I could get! Lol
Anyway it’s a funny story now because I still 50 years later am looking for creative ways to add another boat to the boat house!
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Fun thread. My first boat was a secondhand Emotion Spitfire 8 , followed by a Dagger 12.5 Blackwater and a RPM.
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wow, beautiful boat
I’m up in Fort Worth. Welcome to the sport. That’s a great all around boat for the water we have near us.
Thanks kindly. I am North of Abilene, so I have a few small lakes and rivers to paddle in.
The Brazos isn’t too far from you. My first kayak camping trip was on Brazos below Possum Kingdom Lake to Rochelle’s Canoe outfitter.
http://www.rochellescanoeandkayakrental.com/trips
That one is on my list. PK needs to refill to have enough cfs for the Brazos to be manageable. ;o)
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That’s funny. Too bad the days of box top discounts are over!
But, at least in my area, there are lots of people selling nice boats at a fraction of their original retail, so buying used is my method. You do need to approach it with the same patience that collecting box tops required, and a sense of humor!
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My first canoe was an ugly orange Coleman 17’ canoe. My dad, who never gave out a red cent, gifted me and family with $500. The caveat was that we had to buy something fun with the money, hence, the canoe. We got years and years of adventure out of that ol gal. My kids were babies when we got it and adults when it was stolen. So many vacations revolved around that boat. We took it out many camping trips, explored many a lake. Best memory was having no firewood in the campground near Lake Shasta and not being allowed to gather it there. But on the opposite shore, where nobody could get to, was plenty of dead fall wood, so I canoed over and collected, and camping is always better with a fire. We became pretty popular then.
The only drawback to this canoe was it was so heavy that I always needed somebody to help me take it to the car. I since then have had trucks, so my Weenonah Wilderness and Old Town Next always can be placed in thee bed. I have 7 kayaks, but love the canoes. I gifted my daughter with a green Coleman canoe and they have had a couple years happily canoeing. Glad to keep it going.
after 20 years, I still have my first Kayak-an. Aquaterra Prism, long, sleek and pretty fast still. I keep it in great shape and store it out of the weather. So I have a couple firsts…
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It did the job!
My first kayak was a 1999 Loon 138 and a matching Loon 100 for my wife. We kept them both until 2017 when I sold them an bought an Old Town Loon 126.
great story, I also got my first boat when my Dad gave me birthday money with specific instructions to spend it on something for myself and not on bills or the kids. I’m guessing he remembered what it’s like to be overwhelmed by responsibility.
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My first canoe was one of several that were built by a “Plastics Class” at my high school in the early 1970s. My high school was General Panet at CFB Petawawa, north of Pembroke Ontario, Canada. They were made of fibreglass and were 14 feet long. Previous classes had built the mold and everybody who wanted to participate after classes, could help to make the required number of canoes for that year from that mold, including one for themselves. It cost $150 if I recall correctly. I believe you had a small choice of basic colors.Mine was green gel coatand had aluminum rails. These canoes had a straight keel and when finished weigh about 70 to 80 lbs. My family had this canoe for many years but only used it for day trips, and at a cottage that a relative owned. We did take it with us a number of times on car camping trips in Provincial Parks such as Kilbear on georgian bay. Had that canoe for about 20 years, then bought a Scott wilderness which was a kevlar construction. Many wilderness trips with this boat. Weigh 56 lbs which was considered considerably light for its day. I actually sold the school built canoe for $100.00 dolars in the 1990’s and the Scott in 2020, for almost as much as I paid for it new. My newest canoe is a Swift 15.8 cruiser solo packboat, made of carbon fusion. which I bought from Swift in 2021.
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My first kayak, after a few john boats, power boats, and a couple of swap shop canoes (unidentifiable), was a 13.5 ft Perception America.
About five months after buying it did my first Alafia River race. That race had over 350 entries, including an Elite Class.
That Elite Class is where I saw my first really fast canoes and kayaks. I got hooked after seeing how effortlessly they passed me.
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Solstice hulls are great. Whole CD North American style kayak line is great. Only one I don’t have is the GTS Solstice.
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