I’m looking at purchasing a canoe. Its 17.5 ft long, a carbon fiber/kelvar hull with beautiful wooden decks, thwarts, yoke, and seats. The canoe was made by Bell canoe works, Northwind back in 2003 and has never been used. Beautiful boat. They are asking around $4k for it. Im wondering if anyone has had any experience with these canoes and if its potentially worth the money? Thanks!
Pretty sure we looked at one of those but did not buy it.
Compare it to a similar modern boat and decide if the difference is worth the additional cost. I assume it was stored indoors; I’d want to know the weight too.
Modern example new: https://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/northstar-canoe/northwind-17-medium-sized-tripper-146931
Used example: https://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=1169407&forumID=133&confID=1
Original price IIRC $2400, or $3600 in today’s inflated world.
I sold an almost perfect Bell Northwind in black/gold with wood trim for $2200 about 5 years ago. About 50 pounds. The boat in the link from kevberg is the exact same hull design (I think). A new Black/Lite boat with aluminum trim is $3695 and 42 pounds.
The Bells did have a thicker gelcoat than the new Northwinds so they could take more abrasion.
That Bell should be around $3K tops even in today’s strong market
Offer $2500. If you really like it, $3k.
A 2003 boat that has never been used?! You can get a new Swift or Hemlock for about the same price. Also, I can’t remember when, but Ted Bell sold the company so for a while Bell’s were made by someone else.
Ted Bell sold Bell Canoe Works to Outdoor Research in late 2006 or 2007.