not hammock related but i'm looking for a CHEAP canoe

**sir White Wolf** · 02-20-2009, 17:36

http://www.nextag.com/old-town-canoe/search-html

**Ramblinrev** · 02-20-2009, 18:06

hehehe I was thinking Heescha needed to define _his_ idea of cheap. But I agree that's a good sounding deal.

**6 feet over** · 02-20-2009, 19:52

Two ways to go about finding a cheap canoe:

1st: Drive around a lake/river area and check out people's yards that you see canoes in, and just ask them if it would be for sale. They may not really be interested in selling, but funny how people react if you flash two or three hundred dollar bills in their face. Have a receipt ready.

2nd: Post a "Looking to buy a used canoe" sign with an email or phone contact at several boat launches. Also ask local canoe/boat clubs if you can post your sign at their club house or event.

I got my canoe at a ****'s Sporting Goods. Their deal, and canoe, was better than what an canoe rental place offered for a used canoe.

**heescha** · 02-20-2009, 21:07

my idea of cheap? IDEALLY under $300!

**canoebie** · 02-21-2009, 07:33

Originally Posted by Cannibal

How about:
"17' coleman canoe in great shape $300.00 obo"

The place is thick with deals like this.

Unless you are going to be doing strictly lake canoeing, and limited at that, steer clear of the coleman!! The keel design makes the keel exposed to the first thing you hit and it takes all the wear on a very small area. It will not last very long. In addition, it floats and maneuvers like a bath tub.

**Ramblinrev** · 02-21-2009, 08:15

You certainly don't want to do river/white water work in a coleman, but beacuse the float like a bathtub they have the capacity of a NYC garbage scow. (The handling characteristics of one too.) But they are stable and usually pretty wide at the beam. My biggest objection to the Colemans is if they are aluminum they ring like door chimes every movement you make. If you want to sneak up on fishies youu can kiss it off. The vinyl boats are just that... Formed vinyl with thwarts. You dent that sucker you can pop it back out, thats true, but there is precious little other frame work in it. Heavy lake waves can do a number on it.

A full length keel is hard to hide but it is good for tracking. A shoe keel is more skittish and harder to track but more responsive. No keel .... well your paddling technique had better be superb if you need to go in a straight line against a side wind or you'll find yourself skipping like a rock across the water.

**Doftya** · 02-21-2009, 08:16

Save up and get a real canoe....

Don't get me started on what a real canoe is...

There are a lot of other websites that talk about this, or you can go to forum on www.myccr.com for other opinions as well.

But seriously, save up and get a real canoe. Paddling a bathtub is not fun, and carrying one is worse.

**canoebie** · 02-21-2009, 08:29

Originally Posted by Doftya

Save up and get a real canoe....

Don't get me started on what a real canoe is...

There are a lot of other websites that talk about this, or you can go to forum on www.myccr.com for other opinions as well.

But seriously, save up and get a real canoe. Paddling a bathtub is not fun, and carrying one is worse.

Well, I won't get you started, but I will definitely affirm what you are saying. The beauty and function of the craft is defied with the likes of a Coleman while the experience of a great canoe is like none other. You don't need to spend three grand, but don't expect much for three hundred unless you get really lucky.

**Ramblinrev** · 02-21-2009, 09:05

Originally Posted by canoebie

The beauty and function of the craft is defied with the likes of a Coleman while the experience of a great canoe is like none other.

I understand what you are saying and to a degree I will agree. But I think that sounds a little harsh. Allow me to offer an analogy if you will. People rave about the finest cuts of of meat. Well, I was raised vegetarian in 1950's and for the life of me I can't tell the difference between ground beef and filet mignon except for the texture. The darn stuff tastes all the same to me. Nor can I tell the difference between chicken and beef except for the color and the labeling on the package. Chicken and turkey might as well be identical except for the size. Once it's chopped up you can forget it. I wouldn't know one from another.

My point is, if you have the discrimination to tell the difference, there is a huge difference. If you don't, then a Coleman is as good a craft as a Mad River or Old Town. Life is full of trade offs. Even outside the hammocking community.

**Take-a-knee** · 02-21-2009, 09:22

A lot depends on what your intended purpose for the canoe is. The 17 ft Coleman/Pelican square stern is a SUPERB drift/float craft for smallmouth rivers, it is stable enough to stand in and cast but still light enough to get and and drag it through shallow sections. At about #120, it would strain Hercules to portage it, so Quietco would be out of the question.

Having said that, if there is such a thing as a "Universal" canoe, it is a 16 ft, 35in wide tandem canoe with a symmetrical hull (both ends are mirror images) and about an inch or so of rocker (bottom curvature). Every canoe maker makes a boat like this, Mad River Explorer, Wenonah Adirondack, Old Town Penobscot are examples. I have the Adirondack and love it. All these boats are made of Royalex. The Old Town Discovery series is made from a slightly heavier plastic that is cheaper to produce, if you don't plan to portage a lot, it'll do fine. A lot of Discovery boats wind up on the used market.