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Help ID this old canoe (urgent update page 3) :)

Hmm, I don't see any canot listed in their spec sheet at 35" wide (pouces largeur) nor 12" deep (pouces profond). I do see 30 and 40 inches wide and 14 and 15 inches depth. Give it a hoist up to judge the weight. Shouldn't be a deal breaker. Just take a tape measure and some cash. And a kidney.
But 300 sounds a lot to me.
Bonne chance, eh?
 
Ha. I was supposed to make poutine for the first time this weekend. I told her that it's a huge gamble. I'm not even sure how the seats & yoke (right term?) are mounted.
Maybe I better rethink & just get the 17' Mowhawk. At least we know what it is. If she takes $150 for it I'm there. :)

(Yes Odyseey, I was wondering the same thing. I see no specs like she mentioned)
 
Yes. That's the advantage of the Mohawk. It's close enough to go & look. I was wondering if 17 would be too big, but I want something that moves.
I've been scouring the sites.....nothing better out there at the moment. I haven't heard back....wonder if I offended her by offering $150 .
 
Oooh. Thanks Gumps. Let me check it out. I have the next 4 days off and its going to be a million degrees so I won't be doing much.

OK. Found all the info. :)
 
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To be honest both the light blue boat with a hole in the flotation tank and the red boat look like reasonable options to my eye. Both appear to have reasonably sharp ends to help them move through the water and both have rounded shoulders which should help them have predictable secondary stability if you lean over or get into some waves. They both look like they are symmetric which allows you to paddle them backwards from the bow seat and you'll be pretty close to the proper position (near the center of the boat) and if you add a dog the boat trim will be closer to level. The hole in the flotation tank would be easy to patch although it does make you wonder how it got there. I'd also worry about possible leaks under that metal bow stem protecter and since one seat is already bent I'd check to make sure you would have some way to attach new seats if needed. Chopper gun boats aren't necessarily bad for recreational use they just aren't as strong as boats with fabric like fiberglass cloth plus they will be a little heavier. The Oscoda could be quite a nice boat but you might have to figure out how to add a center seat since those tractor seats mean you can't paddle the boat backwards and you'd be pretty far back sitting in that rear seat...the front would be very light....but it's a good sign (of honesty) when the owner tells you it has one chip in it. Chips are easy to fix and often not even necessary to fix.
 
Thanks. I decided to pass on the cheaper one w/ the hole. Even if they took $75 it would take $50 in gas to get. The shiny fancy red one, well.... they wouldn't go down to $250 (again $50 in gas to get it) So I will let them keep it. I could tell in their pictures they are well-off. If they can't budge on another $50 then meh to them. Maybe that's how they became rich? ;)
Funny: I just got the email back on the fancy red boat .... " your canoe is a canoe 16 feet 1 keel it is a $ 744 apart from the taxes wooden bench edging of aluminum punked plastic the canoe is made with 1 matte 1 eleven and a half and 1 roving 18 eleven with the resin and catalisse and red and gray paint"

I like the looks of the Oscoda. (or should we just call it what it is... A Sawyer Sport) My dog would add weight to the front. Not even sure I should mention this as I'm already almost up to owing everyone nearly a case of beer by now.... but I could see adding wood / weaved seats to it.
 
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Ok. I didn't like the Mohawk. It was pretty heavy. 3 thwarts. (Again...right terminology?). It was in good shape. A minor spider crack.
Back to the Canadian boat. If you see on page 2 the manufacturer response on the build. The seller also sent.the pics I asked for.(wasn't expecting that)
Even if the boat is brand new it still would lose at least 50% leaving the floor right? I told her my offer was ($250) fair in my mind.
It's a pretty canoe, but no Picasso. ;)
Where are the builders who can decipher their build method and tell me it's worth it..
 

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OK. I swear. Last question about this boat. Again...this was the reply from the manufacturer "" your canoe is a canoe 16 feet 1 keel it is a $ 744 apart from the taxes wooden bench edging of aluminum punked plastic the canoe is made with 1 matte 1 eleven and a half and 1 roving 18 eleven with the resin and catalisse and red and gray paint""

Going on this and the pictures above would it be a fair gamble? She agreed on the $250 and now I'm trigger shy. Can someone decipher the build tech and give me their opinion?
I know this is a rookie question, but what is the outside 'shell' of the boat made of? Seeing as it has a keel (which I am OK with) should I instantly get a guard for it?
If you were a poor rookie paddler in my shoes would you take it? Again. Even @ $250 I am $300 in (w/ gas) I love the look of the boat but looks are deceiving sometimes.
 
Hard to say. Most people on this site will buy a canoe for a specific reason. Either handling capabilities, weight, size or purpose. Usually money is the necessary evil that gets us the canoe we want. Your main want is to get on the water as cheaply as possible. If the other part of your need is to get on the water as quickly as possible, then buy it. My guess is that the red canoe will be fairly heavy too, looks like a heavy layup. Not sure what that garbled description is saying, but from the shot of the inside, it doesn't look like it is completely a chopper.

Many of us will try canoes before we buy as well. Do you know anyone in your area that has canoes? That canoe will handle much differently from your last barge.

Have fun!
 
I think something was lost in translation in that description. I’ll take a shot at deciphering some of it.

“1 keel” – The canoe has a keel

“wooden bench” – Wood frame seats

“edging of aluminum punked plastic” – Now the guessing really starts. Maybe vinyl gunwales with aluminum inserts

made with 1 matte – Matte is an unwoven fiberglass; usually thick, stiff and heavy

1 eleven and a half and – No freaking clue??? Eleven and a half ounce something? Fiberglass is in part speced by weight.

1 roving 18 eleven – Maybe woven roving, a woven fiberglass material with strands as thick as yard, also thick, stiff and heavy.

You might benefit from reading a comprehensive primer on canoe construction. Older Wenonah Canoe catalogs once devoted a half dozen pages to explaining materials and construction, but those informative seem missing from their newer catalogs.

Perhaps someone can suggest a similar on-line canoe construction and materials primer.
 
It's hard to advise you since it's hard to understand your expectations from a canoe. What was your barge and why didn't you like it? The Canadian boat looks to be in good shape. It has some rocker (banana shape) to it which is good. It looks sturdy. It has some fiberglass cloth in it. The hull is just fiberglass held together with resin (glue) and then painted. You would not have to put anything on the keel immediately and given where you live I doubt you'll be scraping and banging into sharp edged rocks all the time. But it's still heavy...if it's rated at 66 pounds then it probably weighs at least 70. Is that easy for you to handle? To many people that's heavy. Tandems take more muscle than solos to push through the water so it won't feel fast and it won't glide and glide but it would be fine for puttering around on ponds or small lakes on calm days. Personally I'd rather see you in the Oscoda if you can figure out if it's good shape by talking to the owner. It's an easy one day drive. There's an ad for another one near Cleveland for $325 that says the front seat is reversible for solo use so you would not have to invest more money in it...and the one in Michigan looks like it may be in better shape...but you need more pics and to understand the "one chip". I think the owner is asking 250 and the ad says "give me a call" and I don't think you'll find anything better for $200 no matter how long you wait. If you want to try my Blackhawk Combi (not for sale) you can come up and we'll go to a small lake. It's a relatively narrow tandem with a center solo seat and if you don't like it I imagine you may not like any tandem. But we'd have to do this next week after the weekend.
 
All good advice. Another 2 cents.
I might've just lost my beer allowance but as has been said, any of the fiberglass tugs would get you on the water, and yes they're all heavy. The difference is how they handle in and out of the H2O. Unless I am mistaken there are no light weight FG canoes fitting your tandem requirement (you and your pup with some gear for maybe an overnighter). Depends how you define "heavy" Perhaps time to expand your pain threshold to either a) increase the budget to decrease the weight, or b) keep the budget intact and settle for a heavy FG canoe. Try to test paddle what you find. You may kinda like a FG that can be handled from cartop to shore and pretty fun and stable in the water. Not the end of the world. You just want to get out there, right? Doesn't have to be your last canoe. Maybe not even your only canoe. There, I think I've just crept into the beer debt zone. I owe you one? As for prices, I have no idea.
 
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My deciphering ot the translation is 1 Fiberglass roving.. A woven construction .Varying weights ( and I don't understand weights ). Not always heavy as you can find thick and thin roving.. I do't know the corresponding numbers The roving is buried under the matte so hence invisible
2 Fiberglass matte.. Another layer of fiberglass that is shards pressed together. That is what you see in your pictures of the interior.
3.. Catalisse... Resin needs a catalyst in order to harden.
4. Often fiberglass boats have a gel coat.. This one seems to be covered in paint.. just paint.

I think I have seen several such beasts at Le Domaine for hire for backcountry canoe tripping in La Verendrye. Just looking at them makes my old back hurt.

That said the keel is designed for dragging over rocks and sand which most renters do.. It would be lovely to lose the keel .
 
Thanks for everything guys. I did get it. My last barge was a 120 pound OT Rouge River 154. So everything would seem lighter. It still has some weight, but not as bad. The boat I got has never seen water and it shows. I believe it does have the gel.coat. There is a small spider web on it. (which caused a moment of concern if it has never been in the water). It wasnt soft anywhere. It is definitely a banana. I'm going to have to figure out how to transport it properly. I use a tailgate extender and it was angling towards the ground. Do I add blocks to get it off it's decks and even it out? Other than that it's going out tomorrow. Didn't have it in me on 2 hours sleep then 5 hours drive. Not to mention the heat. All in all I'm only out the gas money. It was a nice Michigan drive.
I did want to thank everyone for their help. It really is appreciated and so is your patience. I told the seller you guys were my canoe gurus :cool:
I will post pics after I get it out tomorrow.
 
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