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​Best outfitter shops for parts and pieces?

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Well heck, BMO is an hour twenty away for me and still worth the trip a couple of times a year, especially when I look at what supplies I’m short on for a project and don’t want to wait a week for an on-line order.


Just in the P-parts. . . Peel ply? Pad eyes? P-clips? Pigment? P’minicel (the P is silent)

I’m curious about what Charles River Canoe and Kayak is like, especially in terms of outfitting parts and pieces. Having an outfitter, even one a couple hours away, that carries a wide variety of canoe repair and outfitting parts and pieces is a godsend.

DougD’s search for a brick & mortar outfitter that carried replacement aluminum gunwales got me once again thinking about canoe outfitters. Especially in terms of what they carry in outfitting and repairs parts and pieces for shop rebuilds.

I do appreciate an outfitter with a good selection of boats, paddles and PFD’s, but I don’t really need anything in that realm.

What I am more often looking for is minicel or resins, fiberglass or peel ply, J-hooks, pad eyes, cam cleats or other hardware. In that regard I’ve never seen the likes of Blue Mountain Outfitters in Marysville (Harrisburg) PA.

http://bluemountainoutfitters.net/

I will not bother to again sing BMO’s praises beyond
I play “Stump the Outfitter” at BMO, and they usually win that game.

If you have never been to BMO it pays to plan an ideal & unbusy mid-week, mid-day or off-season visit if possible, and allow a couple of hours for enthralled wandering in the packed-to-the-rafters environs of the old train station. I never get out of BMO in less than 2 hours, and I have already spent 100 hours there gawking and groking. Be sure to check out the Lazy Susan bins of small parts/pieces on the end of the checkout counter.

But there must be other outfitters around the country that carry that depth and breadth of repair and outfitting stuff. If I knew where they were I’d stop while travelling, just to check them out.

I’ve been to a couple of the Adirondack shops, but never saw much in the way of outfitting parts and pieces. But I never asked.

Some shops in various whitewater Mecca (Youghiogheny, Nantahala) are well stocked, but not so much with canoe parts and pieces.

The Jersey Paddler has (had) a decent selection of canoe outfitting parts; my last visit was 20 years ago.

http://www.jerseypaddler.com/

One of these days I need to stop at Appomattox River Outfitters in Virginia. I have passed nearby one of their stores dozens of times. I know they carry a hellacious assortment of boats and gear, but have no clue about their outfitting selection. That stop is on the to-do list.

http://www.paddleva.com/

There must be other full-service and well stocked outfitters. Maybe up in canoe country Maine or Minnesota or even in kayak-ish Florida?

I don’t want to detour an hour off the highway to visit an outfitter that carries a few Old Town and Mad River canoes, ten PFD’s and twelve paddles, but visiting a good outfitter shop would be an enjoyable way to break up a long cross country drive, especially if the staff is personable and knowledgeable.

Got a favorite? I’ll mark ‘em on a US map for future travel reference.
 
Only one I know of around here is Northwest Canoe in St. Paul, about 3 hours away

http://www.northwestcanoe.com/

Neat place and nice guys. Really cool building too. Knock on the overhead garage door to be let in. It's not really a retail shop (they don't have the space to set everything up) but you can buy stuff there. They mainly build and repair canoes. They keep lots of boat building and repair supplies on hand including fiberglass, resin, cedar strips, decks, gunwales (multiple wood species and aluminum of various profiles), hardware and fittings and also have some packs, paddles, and other canoeing gear available. Who knows what all they have, most of it is probably tucked away in drawers, boxes, and corners.

Many days they run a live webcam of the shop that can be watched on Youtube. You can learn a lot watching someone who does it for a living lay down fiberglass.

Unfortunately I don't go there very often. As neat as it is 3 hours is still quite a drive and not being a full retail shop they aren't open on weekends.

Alan
 
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