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Bell Traveler III
- Thread starter mitscan1
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I'm not familiar with the exact history of the boat. You might shoot an email to northstarcanoes since Ted Bell is there and he knows the history. The last 3 digits of the serial number indicate it was built in Feb 1990. It appears to be kevlar based on the color. I suggest you weigh it since any buyer will want to know the weight. Buyers usually like to see pics of the bottom to look for damage and pics of the interior to see how much work it needs, if any. If the weight is below 40 pounds it also suggests kevlar. A kevlar solo touring canoe in excellent shape should be worth around $1200-$1500 depending on where you live since that's about half (or a bit less) than anything comparable would cost new.
I haven't really kept up on the used canoe market lately but one caveat to this might me that a 35 year old hull that virtually no one is familiar with is likely to bring less than a slightly newer hull that people are familiar with and desire. Unless I had fond memories of a Bell Traveler III I'd be looking to spend my $1200 on something different.
Alan
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Yes. On one hand if it's light and perfect you may have a hard time finding other good choices for $1200 but on the other hand I agree that most buyers assume that "newer is better" which is not true in many cases. I'd expect the construction quality to be better than a new Northstar.
But unfortunately I agree that it's probably worth more than it's worth.
At least newer paddlers can be happy that you don't need to spend $3000-$5000 to get a high quality canoe.
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From the one picture shown of the bow, the hull and wood look pretty good. But more pictures would be helpful in evaluating the condition and pricing.
The hull could be some combination of gel coat, fiberglass and a Kevlar interior, so weighing the hull would also be informative. The snap heads below the gunwale indicate it might have had some sort of fabric canoe deck, perhaps partial or full.
I never heard of the Bell Traveler and hence doubt it was a popular canoe. That would deflate its price at any age, especially if it's 35 years old, made for a small person, and/or tippy. I'd guess $850 tops in decent condition, unless you luck into some sort of really motivated buyer or collector; less, if it needs significant work.
From the one picture shown of the bow, the hull and wood look pretty good. But more pictures would be helpful in evaluating the condition and pricing.
The hull could be some combination of gel coat, fiberglass and a Kevlar interior, so weighing the hull would also be informative. The snap heads below the gunwale indicate it might have had some sort of fabric canoe deck, perhaps partial or full.
I never heard of the Bell Traveler and hence doubt it was a popular canoe. That would deflate its price at any age, especially if it's 35 years old, made for a small person, and/or tippy. I'd guess $850 tops in decent condition, unless you luck into some sort of really motivated buyer or collector; less, if it needs significant work.
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A search turns up this quote about the Traveler III.
Sounds like my kind of canoe. I wouldn't be too quick to lower the price......if I was inclined to sell.
Sounds like my kind of canoe. I wouldn't be too quick to lower the price......if I was inclined to sell.
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Here's one more tidbit.
bwca.com
I agree that you'd have a good chance of finding a buyer at the solo canoe rendezvous.
I'd love to try it. Although the old thread says it's made for paddlers 135-175 pounds there's usually an allowance for gear too so it makes me wonder how much weight it can carry comfortably.
www.BWCA.com Photo, Forum, BWCA, BWCAW, Quetico Park
BWCA.com is a great resource to aid in your planning and enjoyment of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness(BWCA) and Quetico Park.
I agree that you'd have a good chance of finding a buyer at the solo canoe rendezvous.
I'd love to try it. Although the old thread says it's made for paddlers 135-175 pounds there's usually an allowance for gear too so it makes me wonder how much weight it can carry comfortably.
Here's one more tidbit.
www.BWCA.com Photo, Forum, BWCA, BWCAW, Quetico Park
BWCA.com is a great resource to aid in your planning and enjoyment of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness(BWCA) and Quetico Park.
I agree that you'd have a good chance of finding a buyer at the solo canoe rendezvous.
I'd love to try it. Although the old thread says it's made for paddlers 135-175 pounds there's usually an allowance for gear too so it makes me wonder how much weight it can carry comfortably.
Is that the correct link? It takes me to some old Bell catalog images and I don't see the Traveler in any of them.
Alan
Upper right corner, there's a ringing endorsement.
It's listed in the chart with other solos, but the use recommendations are cut off.
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One of the pages shows various solos and what they are Good, Better, Best at.
For example they show Traveler primary stability as "Good". My secret decoder ring says that Good means not so good.
That chart makes no sense to me when, for example, comparing the Traveler to the shorter, lighter and more rockered Flashfire. The chart says for two-week expeditions the Traveler is only Good while the Flash is Better, whereas for shorter one-week trips in the BWCA the chart says the Traveler increases to Best while the Flash decreases to Good. Sounds illogical unless I'm missing something.
Unless some buyer is willing to buy the Traveler untried and unseen, it sounds like the kind of canoe that really should be test paddled with one's expected gear load.
The whole chart confuses me, now that I can see all of it. Wildfire best at 2 weeks but only better at 1 week. A lot of missing information.
If I was near that Traveler, I'd want to test it. Good (not so good) initial stability sounds like it might be fast.
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I'm not planning to defend the Bell chart, just sharing information. Fully agree that a test paddle would be wise. With no additional pics/info on the OP's boat and with no info on the difference between Traveler I, II, and III we really don't have much to go on. Given the hints that it might be a low volume tippy boat that can handle my weight Id like to try it
That serial # makes no sense. Doesn't follow the rules that were standardized in 1984. Might be older than 1990.
I'm with you on that aspect, those smaller canoes can be a lot of fun to paddle. Sometimes I think I should set up a temporary shelter/cover for canoes I'd like to try but not necessarily keep for any length of time. Maybe use for a season and then sell them. Even if sold at a loss, the "lease rate" would be very reasonable on a monthly basis.
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