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Royalex Nova Craft Cronje (SOLD)

G

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Little used, in excellent condition inside and out. The RX version measures 16’ 8” long, 34 ½” wide, 12 ½” deep. Aluminum gunwales with laced seats. 73 Lbs fully outfitting hanging on the calibrated shop scale

http://www.novacraft.com/canoes/cronje-17/

All the usual shop outfitting tripper stuff:

Skid plates with G/flex and graphite powder
Deep sculpted double hung yoke
Webbing tie down loops on machine screw ends
Northwater double D-rings
Bow utility platform with bungees, compass hooks and Scotty rod base
Mid-sized Spirit Sail
Pad eyes for (not included) Surf-to-Summit back bands. I do have some other seat backs I’d throw in.
Minicel knee bumpers and heel pads
Webbing keeper straps and Ridgerest seat pads for anti waffle-butt comfort
Adjustable Wenonah stern foot brace

Adjustable bow-seat-backwards foot brace. Yes, it has two foot braces. The bow seat is 6 feet from the bow stem. Equipped with an extra wide bow seat that seat location makes for a good backwards solo. The dual foot braces can be positioned under thwart or yoke for uninterrupted storage space in either orientation.

Full spray cover, with skirts and tunnels. Designed so the bowman’s tunnel is hop-out with painter in hand still-skirted detachable. Or left off entirely to get some sun on those gams.

Paddled bow backwards, using just the stern spray skirt attached forward, makes a handy repository for paddles, map case and etc, and keeps your cooler chest, Snickers bars and pale ankles out of the sun.

I appreciate the multi-functionality of the Cronje outfitted in that manner, especially the solo/tandem possibilities, but we just don’t paddle it enough.

Cronje Photos:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/153467...57709640675312

$1350 USD
Calculated at 66% of the (2008) canoe MSRP, 33% of the accessories and outfitting.
 
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Cronje Price Reduction - $1200 outfitted with spray cover and sail

I soooo do not want to deal with Craigslist. Reduced to $1200 for someone on the board who has need of a spray skirted, solo/tandem, sailing tripper. A new, un-outfiitted Cronje runs $2939 in TuffStuff, $3219 in TuffStuff Expedition.

Like so, outfitted in Royalex:

P7140009 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

P7140007 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

P7140018 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

Open, un-skirted bow cockpit in tandem paddling guise.

P7140020 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

And in bow backwards solo guise, with the “stern” cover left in place to provide paddle keeps, map case clips and shaded gear storage.

P7140024 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

I appreciate that bow-only cover when solo, so I can quickly unload one uncovered end of the canoe at awkward or wave-swept landings, and then deal with unloading the (half as weighty) spray covered bow after I have pulled the hull ashore to safer unloading locales.

Dang, I am growing fonder of that canoe more all the time. And it is the last solo/tandem capable canoe we have on the racks.
 
Sorry Mike, I would love to pull the trigger on that bad boy but I have my spray covered Bell Northwind 16'6" in royalex. Admittedly not outfitted as elegantly!

Did you unload your penobscot solo'ized tandem? Which do you prefer?

Jason
 
Which do you prefer?

I got all-things-Penobscot distracted and didn’t manage an answer to that.

I prefer my soloized Penobscot 16. It is retro-fitted as a dedicated solo; uber customized over time and required considerable thought and alteration to fit my personal physiology and preferences like a glove.

I am in no hurry to sell the Cronje, and am torn between two competing desires.

Keep it pros: It is our sole remaining tandem, and I probably should keep at least one tandem. It paddles well bow backwards, and the spray covers were designed with that reversed purpose in mind. It sails very well as a tandem.

More keep it pros: As a bow backwards solo it would be ideal as an RX gear load hauler on the Green or Missouri Breaks or etc, and I would probably solo the Cronje rather than the Penobscot next time on a large-gear run on a gentle river. The extra length would be appreciated with portable toilet, potable water and glamping gear storage.

Cons: It would require some sheets and fairleads to sail as a bow backwards solo. It lacks custom soloization, with a center-seat in my preferred location, but soloizing the Cronje would eliminate the tandem possibilities and already existent outfitting. It should remain a solo-able tandem.

Biggest “sell it” pro: We just don’t use it enough, or often need to fill a solo/tandem niche, and something about seeing a well outfitted boat sit unused year after year just bothers me.
 
I agree about the need to "lighten up" the load around the house, and the topic encourages some spirited conversion between the missus and I (she watched 1 episode of hoarders and now everything I own needs to be thinned out) but man!, I am pretty sure that I would be looking elsewhere to accomplish that goal! It's not like you have TWO dedicated tandem canoes you know!

hope I helped more than hurt!

Jason
 
Beth, it is still for sale.

At $1200 for a little used, fully outfitted solo/tandem RX Cronje with sail and spray covers I was kinda surprised that no one jumped on it and didn’t advertise it further, thinking I’d keep at least one tandem on the racks, knowing full well that we would rarely if ever use it.

And figuring I’d try again next spring, even if that meant Craigslist.

PM me if you are interested.

Mike
 
The Cronje has been sold. Another happy buyer who got a helluva nice canoe for the price. Worth driving down from Boston through the New England snow.

PC020012 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

Happy trials Cronje, I hope to hear something about your further adventures come spring.

PC020013 by Mike McCrea, on Flickr

Next spring I will have two more boats for sale, including a little used, well outfitted Old Town Appalachian.
 
This made my morning and I had to share. I received an e-mail from the person who bought the Cronje. I haven’t sold many boats to strangers, most have gone to local paddling friends, so I regularly see my ex boats on the water.

Beth sent me a photo of the Cronje on a Nantucket beach and reports that it “paddles like a dream, solid as a rock, tough as nails”. She has named it “The Big Easy”. My favorite part of her message was this:

And you will appreciate this; after our first time out with it, we were just tying the boat on the car when someone says “you must know Mike McCrea!”
Turns out that the guy parked next to us was also a canoeist and he recognized your stickers on the boat!


I’ll be smiling all day.
 
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