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Help ID an Older Canoe

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Nov 9, 2019
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Howdy,
Trying to find out a little info before I go look at it. Not finding much on Google. I know there is a lot of knowledge here so I'll run it by you canoe experts.
The ad says Wenonah Jensen Kevlar at 17 feet length. I called the lady selling it and she says it is a "pack" canoe and only weighs 35 lbs.and was made in 1988.
Odd thing is it is a solo canoe. It has one adjustable plow seat mounted on a tubular structure which is affixed to the floor, not hung from the gunnels.
The single seat throws me off. I haven't come up with any info on that. It sure looks like a racing canoe to my untrained eye, not a "pack" canoe.
Seller is asking $600. If it's really a decent solo canoe for recreational lake touring and only weighs 35 lbs, I'll think seriously about bringing it home.
If it's a finicky race boat that's going to do a barrel roll every time I sneeze then I want to pass.
Thank you all for your help!
Larry in hot AZ
 
Don't know if they were being made in 1988, but it could be a Wenonah ultra-light Kevlar Prism, which is a popular recreational canoe. Of course, it may also be a racing canoe. Whatever it's name, I'd want to paddle it to see how it feels and performs. That's the only sure way to know that you'll like it.
 
Probably a Wenonah C1F, which was the Jensen-designed solo marathon racer of that era. It's a very nice design, a bit low volume for a tripper, but fun. I'll find an old catalog and post it. $600 seems steep for a 32 year old boat. I sold my newer Advantage for $400 some years back.
 
Probably a Wenonah C1F, which was the Jensen-designed solo marathon racer of that era. It's a very nice design, a bit low volume for a tripper, but fun. I'll find an old catalog and post it. $600 seems steep for a 32 year old boat. I sold my newer Advantage for $400 some years back.

Here is a catalog page for the C1 flatwater. Looks like a good guess by Mason.

https://photos.bwca.com/m/MREID-200719-165945.JPG
 
Yep, that's my scan. I really liked the C1F, though I never paddled it loaded. It's not finicky, and is more stable than, say a Wenonah Voyager (which I also have). At the time (1983), I bought a C1W instead for the added depth specifically for tripping. Empty, and without wind, they paddled very similarly. I still have my C1W and love it. If you're new to dedicated solos, then by all means try it before you buy it. Note whether it has been stored properly. My 37 year old C1W has been abused quite a bit, stored outside a lot (usually under a tarp) and is still solid, but it also has a gel coat which will help with UV degradation.
 
and if that is the same as the boat the OP is considering pay attention to the catalog print. It may not be to your liking. Interesting how sellers have often have no clue what they are selling but would like to appear semi canoe savvy( pack canoes were not around back then in composites! They were around but in wood.)
 
and if that is the same as the boat the OP is considering pay attention to the catalog print. It may not be to your liking. Interesting how sellers have often have no clue what they are selling but would like to appear semi canoe savvy( pack canoes were not around back then in composites! They were around but in wood.)

The woman selling the canoe may not have been the paddler, but perhaps a wife. On a tangent, Bart Hauthaway was building composite pack canoes and short kayaks in the 60's and maybe even earlier.
 
I'm kinda bummed. The seller and her son were very hard to communicate with but finally the son told me to come over at 4pm the next day. Said they could not show the canoe before that time. Next day the ad was gone, and the seller wasn't answering her phone, or returning messages. I finally got a hold of the son right at 4pm and he said the canoe was already sold.
Pretty sure it was one of the two shown above but I'll never know now. Some of the people on Craigslist really irritate me.
 
Larry, I suspect that we've all been down that road with folks from Craigslist and elsewhere. I too have had times when I told them I'd take what they were selling for what they were asking and was on the way with cash, had them agree to wait for me, texted or called with my ETA when I headed out and gotten confirmation that they were waiting etc only to arrive and found the item sold. I get pretty blunt with them especially if I've driven for hours to get there. It's a good time of the year for making voodoo corn husk dolls. Maybe making one of those would help you feel better?

On the other hand, I have also long since lost count of the number of times that folks have told me that they wanted what I was selling and were either on the way or made an appointment and were a no show, no call situation. That still irritates me but not as much as lying sellers as I will take the names of the next serious prospective buyers and reach out to them. And if I don't have a pretty good feeling about a prospective buyer I'll tell them flat out that the first person here with the money gets the item.

Ahh well, back to to the hunt I guess. Good luck.

Best regards,


Lance
 
Lance,
Yep those craigslist people are something else.
BTW, I just tried to "like" your comment but may have inadvertently hit the unlike button. (They are only about 10 thousands of a inch tall on my screen and I don't have the right glasses on.)
If I did, I'll see if there is a way to erase it.
 
I have not bought many used boats off Craigslist, “many” being four of five over the years. I have not had problems with folks selling them out from under me when I have no-dicker agreed/be there tomorrow to the price, and have driven from Maryland to South Carolina for one unicorn, and to New England for another.

Of course when you drive through four States to buy a used boat any chance of dickering with the seller went out the window at the first State line. I really don’t want to dicker anyway, either as a buyer or a seller. If it is a used boat that I want, and what I consider a reasonable price, I don’t need to dicker over $50.

Same thing with selling boats, I sell used boats at my fair-price-point (generally about 2/3 of the MSRP for that model year), and that price is firm. More than once I’ve had folks come to buy a used canoe, realize it is a fair deal, and then get $500 out of one pocket and another $200 out of another. I know they had an “I have $500” cash-flash plan when they showed up, and didn’t bother once they saw the canoe. Good thing; don’t dicker and I’ll throw in some accessories.

What drives me crazy with Craigslist ads is:

“Red canoe”. No other information. ‘Cause ya know, there is only one make/model of red canoe. I don’t even bother to look much further.

“16 foot ‘whatever’ make/model canoe”. Ok, at least they looked at the vinyl letters on the side and listed the make & model. I have looked at ad photos of “16 foot” boats and ID’ed them as everything from 14 to 18 feet. Or the reverse, one list at “19 feet”, photo hanging in the barn rafters, actually 16’ 3”.

Seriously, do sellers not own a freaking tape measure, or know how to use one?

About looking at photos. Often enough the perspective is badly skewed, half the boat photos I see on Craigslist were taken from an angle that makes it appear the hull is severely swedeform. Gawd bless sellers who include multiple photos of the boat; seat arrangements, gunwales & deck plates, bottom condition.

Even if they do not list a make &model the gunwales, seats, thwarts, yoke, deck plates etc usually identify a specific manufacturer, and sometimes a specific model.

On the whole I would much rather buy/sell canoes on paddling club message boards, Canoe Tripping or CCR. At least the audience there is serious, and generally knows something about canoes (or those “K” things if selling such)
 
I'm kinda bummed. The seller and her son were very hard to communicate with but finally the son told me to come over at 4pm the next day. Said they could not show the canoe before that time. Next day the ad was gone, and the seller wasn't answering her phone, or returning messages. I finally got a hold of the son right at 4pm and he said the canoe was already sold.
Pretty sure it was one of the two shown above but I'll never know now. Some of the people on Craigslist really irritate me.

Larry, you said in your OP that you wanted a recreational lake boat and not a finicky racing canoe. As Mason identified, it probably was the latter, and if so, you didn't miss out on much. Karma may have worked in your favor.
 
Larry, you said in your OP that you wanted a recreational lake boat and not a finicky racing canoe. As Mason identified, it probably was the latter, and if so, you didn't miss out on much. Karma may have worked in your favor.

totally agree. Solo Racing boats demand your serious undivided attention to one thing getting there. Not to fishing or birdwatching or isn't that a pretty thing?
 
You are probably right. I was willing to cut the boat some slack in the stability department if it really only weighed the 35 lbs as the seller promised.
However that finicky stability part might get old after a couple unplanned swimming lessons.
 
You are probably right. I was willing to cut the boat some slack in the stability department if it really only weighed the 35 lbs as the seller promised.
However that finicky stability part might get old after a couple unplanned swimming lessons.

As a racing canoe, it's pretty mildly tempered. However, it is a skinny solo canoe, which rewards sit-and-switch paddling and a certain mindset. It's not designed for gunkholing and moving around a lot in the boat--Wenonah's description is pretty apt. It would be a beginner's boat only if the paddler was committed to that sort of paddling, and was willing to put up with its idiosynchracies.

Sounds like there's no big loss for you. Lots of canoes out there!
 
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