Thoughts on buying a dedicated loaner

I'm looking to purchase a used tandem canoe (<$1500) so we have a tandem to offer friends for group paddles and camping trips. Current tandem is a Penobscot 16 in Royalex. It meets our needs quite well (mostly day trips on lakes and lazy rivers, some lighter multi-day trips), but I wouldn't mind something lighter for portaging. I'm a bit torn between buying something that would be an upgrade for us (and making the Penobscot the loaner) or buying something with an eye towards helping friends have a good time (mostly green paddlers with toddlers in tow). I've been browsing with both ideas in mind, and market availability will probably ultimately be the decision maker.

But I'm curious: For those of you who have a tandem canoe that you loan out, did you buy it with those intentions? Or did you just purchase based on your own criteria, with loaners becoming loaners as you acquired more canoes?

Some local options if I go the dedicated loaner route: Wenonah Spirit II in Royalex, Old Town Acadia in Royalex, Mad River Northwoods in Royalex, Swift Algonquin 17 in Golden glass. Another benefit here is that we'd have a canoe to load up for a bigger trip if the opportunity arises.

If I go the other route: Bell Morningstar in Kevlar, maybe a Malecite if one comes up. We paddle some smaller, winding rivers, and we pack pretty light, so I would probably stay in pocket tripper/pocket cruiser territory.

Anytime I ever bought a canoe with the thought that it would "make a nice loaner" it was really just a way for me to justify buying another canoe.

If I really did intend to use it as a loaner, and knew I had friends that would actually make use of it, then I would:

A: Buy something really cheap

B: Buy myself a nicer canoe and use my current canoe for the "loaner"

I don't really have a lot of paddling friends and I can't think of any friends that I would trust with a nice canoe. Mostly because I know they are not experienced paddlers and would unknowingly treat it like an aluminum tank.

Alan

My loaners always end up being the previous boat I bought for me...

If I were looking to have one as a dedicated loaner, I think I'd be looking to upgrade my current boat and use the Penobscot 16 as the loaner. Nothing against the Penebscot, mind you, just that the Royalex is heavy and can take some abuse

I have two loaners. They're both solo canoes. One is the Wenonah Moccasin that I'm into for only $250. The other is a royalex Mohawk Solo 14 that is worth a little more. Ain't no way I'd put any noob in a canoe I paid more than about $500 for. I have yet to meet anyone outside of family who shows any interest in a tandem canoe, so I don't even go there.

Frankly, an inexperienced couple in a canoe outside of a controlled environment can be bad for the canoe and bad for that couple. I'm not interested in participating in that.

I do have a loaner, an old Mad River Explorer in Royalex. I loaned it to a couple who wanted to try canoeing. But not with me and not led by me. I made sure they had paddles and pdfs.

We have mostly lakes, flat water here.

It seems to me this would be a good way to get other folk interested in canoeing, although this wasn’t done with that in mind. I also have a fiberglass Mohawk tandem I’d loan out, as soon as I replace the broken thwart.

I have two other tandems I keep for myself, although the likelihood of ever needing a tandem again seems remote. I have four solo boats. I wouldn’t mind adding an ultralight.

To answer your question, I’d do both. Get yourselves a better boat and buy an inexpensive, but decent loaner.

If you want a lighter boat it doesn't seem to make sense to buy something even heavier for your unlucky friends.

Maybe your loaner would get lots of use; I sometimes have a beater boat that could be lent or stored outside but I've never shopped for just a loaner and my loanable boats were used mostly by me.

Overall I think you'd love a composite Morningstar.

Of the big boats you're looking at I know the Spirit II is a stable, safe (and cspable) boat that's even more friendly than a Penobscot as a loaner. Hopefully your local rivers are super safe because putting inexperienced people with little kids in any boat could be risky; I will be paddling with inexperienced adults and little kids in a month and there is no way I'd turn them loose in a tandem on my local river; I will be in the stern. My local river is not small so rescues are not guaranteed.

I no longer loan out boats to the inexperienced for moving water. If they have their own boat I'll let it be their decision, but I don't want to be responsible for putting them in a boat.

I agree with others who have said only get an additional boat if it is an upgrade or fills a void that your first boat doesn't cover. That being said, if you find a very good deal it could be worthwhile.

To clarify, I'm very safety conscious--especially around water--and wouldn't nudge or otherwise enable people to get into a situation that they're ill-equipped for. To my ears, though, some of the comments here risk crossing over to an odd reluctance to allow others to take some responsibility in their learning endeavors.

My interest in a loaner comes from: a) having friends I've already paddled with--so friends I have some confidence in--who aren't ready/in a position to buy their canoes and b) the fact that it's pretty easy to at least break even on a used canoe (I've never re-sold a used canoe for less than I bought it for).

Everyone who commented with "both" is of course right. But even though my wife is a canoeist as well, I am not going to get away with buying two tandems this year.

Heading out for a paddle on the Tioughnioga River--I'll check back this evening.

Erica said:

It seems to me this would be a good way to get other folk interested in canoeing, although this wasn’t done with that in mind.

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Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. This does tie into my recruiting paddlers thread. I did loan my Prospector to a couple on a flat river one windy day. Boy, was that a mistake. They had experience, but that was in a Penobscot.

gumpus said:

I will be paddling with inexperienced adults and little kids in a month and there is no way I'd turn them loose in a tandem on my local river; I will be in the stern

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Loaning the tandem with your most skilled stern paddler included is a good idea. But I wonder how much can be learned from the bow seat.

bonpawtuck said:

My interest in a loaner comes from: a) having friends I've already paddled with--so friends I have some confidence in--who aren't ready/in a position to buy their canoes and b) the fact that it's pretty easy to at least break even on a used canoe (I've never re-sold a used canoe for less than I bought it for).

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If they've paddled enough that you have confidence in them, I'd think they would enjoy the Penobscot. If you like the Penobscot, I think you'll like a kevlar Malecite even more, but maybe not the Morningstar - or better yet, a Bell Northstar or equivalent. I'm definitely with the upgrade yourself group.

I got into paddling because someone offered me a loaner. And I've always tried to pay it forward.
I bought a Dagger Caption so I would have it to loan to a buddy who was broke and didn't have a boat, and so that I could train my daughter in it one day (she was 2 or 3 years old at the time). I've personally never paddled it. Neither has my daughter (she's 15). He used it on several trips, but I bet it's been close to 10 years since its seen a river.
I loaned another buddy an OTD 15'8" so he could paddle it on a hairy ww run in WV with us - most everyone else was in playboats, but many of us had run these rivers in Grummans and whatever else floated. He wrapped that boat around a sycamore's rootball that was sitting midstream with all the pointy ends facing upstream - totally wrecked - we never did get it off that stump. I wasn't upset - there, but for the grace of god, go I - We're still paddling together.
We loan older trippers out all the time so new guys can join us on multi-day trips and get the feel for it without investing a ton of $.
But I definitely agree you don't give your nicest boat to the newest guy.
If it weren't for spare boats there would be a lot less paddlers.