The Most Expensive Canoes and Paddles in the World

I went off on a tangent in the adjustable sliding seat thread to show off some of Phil Greene's stunning Wood Song canoes. There is a whole page of his masterpieces on ETSY, in addition to the website and Facebook links I provided in the other thread.

Here is likely the most expensive solo canoe ever built at $155,000 U.S. It is made of the oldest wood in the world (50,000 years), kauri, plus 45,000 year old ancient cypress excavated from deep sand mines in South Carolina.



The Gabon chameleon ebony tandem is a mere $140,000 U.S.





You can get a pair of inexpensive S-blade bent shaft paddles for only $1,790,



or a nice collection of three paddles for $2,985,



but an ancient kauri and cypress paddle will cost $2,650:



A 15'-2" SOF canoe can be had for chump change -- $8,500:





Phil told me that one of his $100,000+ tandems was bought by a zillionaire in Connecticut simply to hang as a decoration from the teak beamed ceiling of the giant boathouse where he houses his yacht.

There are rumors that some of the paddlers on this site don't yet own a Wood Song, even those septuagenarians with 15+ canoes, so you'd all better get on the stick to fork over some farthings.

Oh, he also makes $16,000 bar stools out of Pommelle Sapele and Ebony with a Maloof Oil finish for those beer and wine sipping trippers who like to tote along a wilderness chair.

Do you know if they have a layaway plan?

I need to increase my prices!!

Mama Mia! I can't even afford the sandpaper he uses.

Well I suppose if nearly priceless woods should be used to make something, they may as well be made into canoes. The craftsmanship looks stunning, but wowsers those prices!!!

Once you see his work, in person, you will understand. If you are passing through SC on I 95, make a stop at the SC Artisans Center, in Walterboro. He has a canoe and some paddles on display there.

Yikes, and here I am gagging about current prices of Canadian built canoes post tariffs.

No thanks, my paddling gear is a tool. If it is too nice to use it is just wasteful, no matter how easy it was to buy. Wasteful has never appealed me, even when I could afford it.

I've seen similar furniture before. Art built by talented craftsman. That is a much more reasonable case for spending a premium. But I would never drag a chair like that up a boney river.

I would encourage anyone who wants to spend a lot of money on canoe shaped art to consider antique model display canoes. The summer of 2023 saw both a seven foot long Chestnut model sell for $54,000 and a four foot long Old Town sell for $25,200. The links below have more details,

Benson

I believe the reason this thread revived is that I made my third Facebook comment ever, to a post where Phil Greene describes a visit by @Marc Ornstein and their shared paddle-making thoughts, and linked this thread in my comment.