Buying a Long Old Fashioned River Canoe
Maybe you want to buy a used canoe instead of a new ane because you are on a upkeep. Or mayhap yous retrieve you won't employ your canoe enough to warrant a brand new one, or you just aren't sure what to buy.
Whatever your reason, when buying a used canoe yous must understand that non all canoes are created equal. Much like buying a used car, yous need to figure out where to search, what model to buy, and what to specifically look for and avoid. Read on to find out what to await for when buying a used canoe.
Get to know the brands
Before you lot accept a wait at the used marketplace, information technology's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the common canoe brands you're likely to come across. Click the links below to view the canoe models offered past each brand in our Paddling Buyer's Guide. This is likewise a swell resources when you lot notice a used boat—yous can read up on its specs, find out what it sells for new and discover what others think of it via reviews.
Learn about the unlike materials
Understanding the wide multifariousness of different materials used to construct canoes and the different issues that can affect each is important in your buying process.
Many of the red flags described below are not the end of the world or even a reason to non purchase. They are but common attributes of used canoes you should exist aware of, and with time and endeavor can exist repaired.
Aluminum canoes
Compared to wooden canoes, aluminum canoes are extremely depression maintenance. First produced afterward Globe War II by the Grumman Aircraft Company, aluminum canoes are very durable, merely also heavy, noisy and downright frigid on cold days.
They are oftentimes on the less expensive side and a good fit for coincidental twenty-four hour period trips on flatwater or as a boat to have at the cottage. Their weight makes them challenging to portage.
You become what you come across with aluminum canoes. Doug Chapman from Canadian Quetico Outfitters says having a practiced await at the number of dents on the canoe can requite you lot a general idea if it has been well taken care of.
Leaks are easiest to place with some pressure in the boat, so brand certain yous not only test paddle an aluminum canoe simply bring along some gear. Sit in the seats and utilize your hands to check that the thwarts are secure.
Composite canoes
Composite canoes are made with materials like glass fiber, aramid or carbon fiber being laid in a mold and mixed with resins to produce a canoe hull. Blended canoes tend to exist very light and stiff.
Used composite canoes will very likely have scratches on the hull, even if the owner was extremely conscientious. Almost scratches are probably just corrective, but be wary of deep scratches or cracking that goes through the gel coat.
This can expose the fabric underneath, compromise the integrity of the canoe and crave restorative work. Another concern for composite canoes is oil canning, which is when the hull bends and flexes while paddling instead of remaining rigid.
Kevlar canoes (Aramid composites)
Aramid composite canoes (Kevlar/Twaron) are stiff and calorie-free canoes composed with layers of fabric, cloth and resin. They are lighter simply less strong than fiberglass composites. Their light weight makes them a skillful fit for canoe trips with lots of portaging.
1 thing to picket out for with aramid canoes is float tanks that retain water. If you pick the canoe upward and place it on your shoulders and observe it feels unbalanced —or you hear water sloshing around inside—this may exist the cause. Aramid canoes will also fade to brown in the sun, which tin give y'all an idea of where information technology was stored and the extent of the boat'due south sun exposure.
Fiberglass canoes
Fiberglass composites are stiff, strong and efficient canoes. They can be good for whitewater, take abrupt entry and exit lines, and stand upwards well to abrasion.
Fiberglass composite canoe quality profoundly varies. For every good fiberglass canoe on the market, there are dozens of very poor quality counterparts. There is a range of structure processes—exist especially wary of dwelling house-congenital fiberglass.
Gordon Baker of Algonquin Outfitters says a good weight for a sixteen-foot fiberglass canoe is around 60 pounds. If it is closer to 80 or 90 pounds, this could reflect its bottom quality.
Carbon fiber canoes
Canoes with carbon fiber are extremely low-cal, but also extremely expensive. Carbon fiber can be added in small sections on a canoe to strengthen without increasing the weight too significantly or can be practical as full layers mixed with other fabrics. Pure carbon canoes are designed for racing and can be slightly less durable than aramid.
Major cracks or scratches that expose fabric are not a good sign, just like to other kinds of composites, surface scratches are nigh unavoidable.
Royalex canoes
This has long been the canoe material of selection for whitewater paddling and long canoe trips. Royalex canoes are tough, durable and can stand up to heavy impact.
Royalex manufacturer PolyOne ceased production of the popular material in 2013, merely Esquif Canoes began producing a similar material called T-Formex. You can still find used Royalex canoes for sale, but information technology is becoming more difficult as owners are property onto them.
When examining a Royalex canoe, look for creases or wrinkles running up and down the hull, which tin can betoken if it has been wrapped and so punched out.
If there are new-looking skid plates, take a expect at the boat from the inside to make up one's mind if they may be hiding damage. Likewise look for large dents, which can bear on efficiency in the water. Scratches or scrapes become a bigger trouble if they are worn through the colour layer to the underlying ABS.
Royalex canoes can besides become breakable and develop soft chines from the sun over time. If you tin take a look under the deck plates, it is possible to determine the true colour of the canoe and if information technology has spent considerable time fading outside in the lord's day. They are also susceptible to oil canning.
Wooden canoes
Wooden canoes are beautiful, glide quietly on the water and many take a rich history behind them. They are frequently heavy, and despite their past apply as expedition canoes, are not generally the choice of modern trippers.
Many people who buy wooden canoes like the connection to nature through natural materials and enjoy the process of increased maintenance they require.
When looking at a used wooden canoe, wait for signs of water harm and rot, typically found nether deck plates and where the gunwales come together at the bow and stern.
Anyone can put in the time and effort to larn how to repair these parts of a wooden canoe, merely the process is more involved and specialized than repairs on another kinds of boats.
Mike Elliott of Kettle River Canoes has restored 200 wood-sail canoes in the last 13 years and can count on one hand the number without rot. He says rot often occurs in parts of the canoes where h2o collects and fungus beings to grow, like the ends of the canoes and the undersides of outwales.
Rotting wood will be soft and evidence signs of crumbling away. Many wood-canvass canoes you will find for sale are around twoscore years old, and the canvas may be in less than ideal condition.
A canvass that needs to be replaced volition evidence cracks or paint flaking when the waterproof filler dries out over time. You may also see the canvas pulling away and rotting around the canoe's brass stem bands.
Plastic canoes
The majority of plastic canoes are made of some form of polyethylene. Plastic canoes tin exist strong, heavy and are ofttimes less rigid and expensive than a blended or wooden canoe. Plastic canoes are very depression maintenance and tin handle being dragged to the shore and sliding over rocks.
A common problem with plastic canoes is oil canning, especially with less expensive plastics or from existence left out in the sunday. It is more mutual with used plastic canoes, only they can even testify oil canning when new.
Plastic has a tendency to become brittle, particularly from sun exposure, and then make sure to find out how information technology has been stored. Some other matter to look for is the surface of the plastic peeling or appearing fuzzy from use, a feature that can lead to drag in the water.
Where can I buy a used canoe?
Craigslist, Kijiji and other online classifieds
Look at the online classifieds like Craigslist or Kijiji to see what used canoes are for sale (and don't forget the gratuitous sections of each site!). Ofttimes more canoes show up in the spring or the autumn when canoeists are unloading their boats to get ready for the coming season.
Remember, but like buying a automobile from a individual seller, you lot should ask lots of questions (see next section). Aggrandize your search radius beyond the online classifieds in your immediate surface area; research nearby communities where paddling is especially popular. The perfect gunkhole is worth traveling for.
Canoe rentals and outfitters
Many outfitters sell off a portion of their rental canoes each year. Ted East from Ontario'due south Killarney Outfitters says they repair and sell many of their used canoes each fall every bit they rotate their fleet.
Other outfitters accept one-day sales or sell from spring through to the fall. These rental armada sales may not be advertised and so call canoe outfitters in your area to check. Sometimes you can put your name on a listing for a particular canoe or model.
Other places to buy a used canoe: Garage sales, Facebook groups and more than
You tin too notice used canoes at garage sales in paddling communities, Facebook groups, gear swaps, the local pennysaver (a gratuitous community periodical), and local canoe clubs and associations. Go on your eyes open everywhere you lot get because canoes turn up in the craziest places.We've bought used canoes at the end of farmers' lanes and from ads posted in grocery stores. Remember, you don't know it's for sale unless you ask. And annihilation is probably for sale for the correct price.
How much does a used canoe toll?
If you're looking for a used canoe price guide, you should know that at that place isn't a set price range for used canoes. Information technology depends on the historic period, model, materials, how well it has been taken care of over its lifetime and what kind of canoeing you lot program to do. The showtime thing you should do is find out how much the used canoe yous are considering sells for brand new (check our Paddling Heir-apparent's Guide to detect out).
Canoes hold their value well if taken care of and don't depreciate at the rapid rate cars practise. With the new cost in hand, factor in how the used canoe has been stored, how old information technology is, what kind of red flags yous take identified and how many are on the market.
Algonquin Outfitters explains on their website that they oft hear from people searching for a light Kevlar canoe for $300. Because the $3,000 to $4,000 price tag for a make new Kevlar canoe, a $300 i would likely be in rough shape. They advise that the lower the price of a used canoe, the more attention it will crave from you.
At Trailhead Paddle Shack, canoes sold off from the rental and demo fleet later one flavour of use are generally marked downward 35% from their new price depending on condition.
Canoe depreciation explained
East says a make new canoe costing $3,500 could decrease in value about $1,000 during the starting time few years.
If a canoe isn't damaged, the value can remain around $two,000 to $2,500 for the next 5 to six years, and afterwards 15 to twenty years can take a forever price of $700 to $1,000 if it is still in decent shape.
Jeremy Ward at the Canadian Canoe Museum says you may be able to choice up an old wooden canoe for around $100—or even for gratuitous—and pay between $2,000 to $2,500 to have it completely restored by a professional.
However, once restored you may not be able to sell the canoe for the same corporeality you put into it. But for many buying wooden canoes, the pull isn't about the resale value but instead the special quality of these boats and the sentiment they larn over the years. At the other end of the spectrum, an old beater canoe tin can be bought for $100, and used aluminum canoes can fall anywhere betwixt $150 to $700 depending on the condition.
While all the above is an important role of how to buy a used canoe, effort to avoid making price the determining factor. When many people hold onto their canoes for xv to 20 years, making certain information technology is the best fit for y'all is the superlative priority.
What kind of boating will you practice?
The question of what to consider when buying a used canoe also comes down to what kind of boating you volition exist doing. In our annual Paddling Buyer's Guide, nosotros grouping canoes into half dozen general categories: lakewater or touring, trek, racing or training, recreational, sportsman and whitewater.
There is a mutual belief that a canoe is a canoe and that one canoe tin do it all. Although this is truthful to some degree, it is also truthful that for each compromise there is a cede in operation. A narrower canoe will be less stable.
Are you racing or going fishing? Are you going for a few hours or a few weeks? Will you be portaging or slamming down rocky whitewater rivers? Permit's first wait a little deeper at the near popular canoe categories, and then we'll cover a few other important things y'all need to consider.
Lakewater or touring canoes
Lakewater and touring canoes are designed for lakes and are sturdy and easy to control. They are great for canoe trips that pass through many lakes, particularly with materials like ultralight aramids and carbon composites that can make multiple portages more enjoyable. They are oftentimes slightly longer and narrower than recreational canoes.
Expedition canoes
Expedition canoes are xviii to 20 feet long, typically have more depth in their bows, and are capable of fitting more gear for long trips. They have moderate rocker and are sometimes fitted with sprayskirts.
Racing or training canoes
Racing canoes are designed for maximum speed and performance. They are narrow, have direct tracking and very rigid hulls. They are generally 18 to 20 anxiety in length with very limited room inside for gear and are often made of extremely light materials like carbon.
Recreational canoes
Similar to lakewater or touring canoes, recreational canoes are stable and easy to maneuver but are often slightly wider and shorter at a length of 13 to 16 feet. They are a good fit for short solar day trips and apply at the cottage.
Sportsman canoes
The stable sportsman canoes are pop with anglers and hunters, especially those looking for greater access than motorboats provide. They are stable, have medium to loftier gear capacity and many have square sterns for attaching outboard motors. They range from 16 to 18 anxiety in length.
Whitewater canoes
Whitewater canoes have a curt waterline and lots of rocker, allowing greater maneuverability and quick turning. They are designed for i or two paddlers and some come equipped with whitewater-specific outfitting like sprayskirts and flotation bags.
How to make up one's mind on a solo or tandem canoe
Solo canoes
If rounding up young man paddlers is tricky or you lot just savor your own company, buy a solo canoe. Why? Why not. Solo canoes are built specifically to be paddled by one person.
Typically they are shorter in length, effectually fourteen feet. As a solo paddler, you probably take less gear and demand less capacity within the canoe. Because they're normally shorter and lighter, solo canoes are too easier to portage. Learn how to self-rescue from a solo canoe here.
Tandem and solo canoes
If you lot will be paddling mostly tandem and sometimes solo, wait for a symmetrical canoe. This means it is shaped the same at both ends and can be paddled both ways.
Most are set upward and so you tin paddle solo from the bow seat facing astern, placing y'all closer to the center of the canoe. Trust u.s., it works better this way. Give it a try.
Tandem canoes
If yous'll only be paddling tandem, you will have a great bargain more choice when searching for your used canoe. Tandem canoes are commonly xvi feet long.
Some are shorter and some longer, but 16-foot canoes are the length of a hull that ii paddlers can comfortably paddle and maximize hull speed. Going longer or shorter will depend on other factors like conveying chapters and weight. More on this below.
Cheap used canoes: adept or bad thought?
People oftentimes tell united states they are looking for a inexpensive used canoe. Cheap more ofttimes than not ends up pregnant heavy.
If yous asked the same people 800 yards into their third portage of the solar day, they would happily spend more than money for a canoe that weighs less.
Buy a used canoe for the paddling you about often exercise
Your used canoe needs to match the kind of paddling you volition well-nigh frequently be doing. If y'all are going on lengthy trips in the wilderness, y'all need something longer with more capacity for gear. Do y'all plan to accept the whole family unit paddling? You lot will demand something stable.
Want to run rapids? A small whitewater gunkhole with generous rocker is the best bet. In curt, buy your used canoe based on how you are going to use it.
What to enquire before buying your next used canoe
Found a prospective boat and wondering how to actually go most buying information technology? No matter where y'all find a used canoe, you should exist gear up with a few of import questions. Your goal is to understand the state of the canoe, if it has been properly looked after, if information technology has been repaired, how old information technology is and what it'due south fabricated of.
How and where has the canoe been stored?
This is a cardinal question considering improper storage has the potential to affect the performance and therefore the value of a canoe. Indoor storage is preferable, but outdoor storage isn't a bargain breaker.
A few seasons in the shade is no large bargain, only the sunday is the enemy. Prolonged sunbathing tin bleach gel coats and warp plastic hulls.
Ideally, the used canoe has been stored upside down in a dry place. The weight of a canoe should be spread over racks to forestall hull deformity, something well-nigh common in plastic boats only possible for other materials too.
If the canoe has been hung by its deckplates, thwarts or carrying handles, go on in heed this tin stress those parts of the boat. Ask if the canoe was stored with a tarp directly on meridian. If a tarp isn't suspended higher up, information technology tin can trap wet, potentially rotting the wooden part of any canoe, most usually the gunwales.
How old is the canoe?
If the possessor has no idea, locate the boat's model number found in the hull and review information technology against the company catalogs. While this may not provide an exact date, information technology can give you a possible production window.
Have you done whatsoever repairs?
Ask what was repaired and have the seller point them out to you on the canoe. Likewise enquire who did them and exactly what kind of damage warranted the fix to give yous an idea of how the canoe has been treated.
There are a hundred reasons someone may desire to sell a canoe. Mayhap their partner finds the canoe too tippy. Peradventure they accept had a few children since acquiring the canoe and now it's likewise pocket-sized. Their reasons for not wanting the boat may finish up becoming your reasons too. Avert buying the wrong used canoe by having this chat upfront.
What trips take you done in this canoe?
Asking this can requite you a sense of how much use the canoe has had and what kind of paddling information technology is skillful for.
Exam-paddling a used canoe
Since you are buying a used canoe as opposed to a brand new gunkhole, you need to take it for a test paddle to really understand its condition. The most of import affair nearly test paddling a canoe is to treat information technology the style you will once it is yours.
If you are testing a tripping canoe to take on long expeditions, bring all the gear you expect to travel with and place information technology in the canoe. A canoe for whitewater should be tested in rapids and a canoe that volition take y'all on portage-heavy trips needs to go for a walk.
Keep an centre out for whatever leaks. Sit in the seats and exam the yoke to ensure stability. Concur the gunwales to meet if they are secure. Await for oil canning. Paddle direct into waves and see if water flares off the sides of the bow or lands in the lap of the paddler in front. Ted East has a reliable technique for testing canoe stability. He places the canoe in shallow water with his paddle blade in the water touching the footing for back up while he leans to the sides to meet how much weight it takes to move h2o over the gunwales.
Inspecting a used canoe for damage
The concluding step in this used canoe buying guide is checking the canoe over for wear and damage. Many signs of clothing and tear on a used canoe can be fixed with some TLC and a willingness to larn. Remember—yous aren't buying a make new product, and so don't write off a used canoe considering of some imperfections.
You lot tin can paint, re-sail, add new slip plates, redo gunwales, tighten or supplant seats, yokes and thwarts, repair broken ribs and rivets, and patch holes. Many replacement parts are not expensive; new canoe seats and yokes can be bought for under $100 each.
Superficial scratches on a canoe aren't always a cause for concern. Many boats, peculiarly whitewater and tripping canoes and those made of composites, tin have surface scratches but withal be in great shape. Even small-scale holes are pretty straightforward to patch.
A wealth of resource exist online and in print for repairing each kind of canoe, and past taking advantage of these y'all tin can potentially become a lower cost on a used canoe. Many canoe manufacturers and outdoor stores will sell repair kits tailored for specific canoe materials. Significant damage, like large holes that compromise the seaworthiness of the used canoe, or major structural damage, may hateful a much more than expensive undertaking for a home repair or professional restoration.
There is nothing better than getting on the water and pursuing your adventures in a canoe. | Feature Photo: Flickr user Guy Mayer
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