View topic - General Advice on buying a used canoe

I've seen lot's of ads for canoes and am thinking about perhaps going to look at one or two. But as a relative newbie I don't know what I should be looking for in terms of things like "cosmetic damage' vs "actual/serious damage"

I am sticking with kevlar canoes so any advice would be appreciated.


I know some things are personal preferences such as how the canoe handles in the water under load. But I don't think I am experienced enough to have opinions on those things. Right now I would like to get one that isn't beat up and is reasonably priced (less than 1500.00).

i am looking for something that I can do some serious tripping with (not a cottage canoe). So I've been attracted to the 15-17 foot kevlar boats.

Here's something that I am almost embarrassed to ask:

If you go to someone's house to look at a canoe and you aren't near a body of water how do you know it doesn't have a leak??

Most kijiji canoes are fairly damage free. A kevlar canoe would generally need significant hull damage before leaking.

All canoes are going to be scratched up. Most will have spider cracks in gel coats. This is all not a problem. If you spot an area that looks unusually beat up or has a patch you could ask questions or walk away. At 1500 you should not be seeing major damage.

Leaks would normally only come with patches or other obvious damage. But not always I guess. It is an issue buying used that you don't get to paddle it first - but that's something you just take as part of saving money on used.

You have to look it over carefully and see what you find. Spider cracks are nothing serious unless maybe the whole thing is covered with them. More serious scratches, dents, nicks and cracks should be fairly obvious. You also go by the make and model and the reputation of it.

$1500 should get you a pretty decent boat.

Where are you located?

What you can do if you can't test-paddle...

- pick it up and portage a bit for comfort, weight and balance.

- if it's built strongly enough (maybe not with an ultralite) and the owner will let you, on a lawn, sit and kneel at both bow and stern seats to check for room and comfort.

- brimg tripping packs to see if it has enough room for gear.

- look for rotten wood, and loose or deteriorating hardware, gunnels, thwarts, seats, deckplates and yoke.

- flip the hull upside down and press down with the heel of your hand checking for soft or mushy spots... the hull should be firm and resilient, like it is when new. Large soft spots in the hull mean it's had some serious damage done in the past. If it's repairable, more $$$ may be necessary, or it'll be too much repair work and weight..

- shallow scratches and gouges can be repaired easily.

- deeper gouges and abrasion that have exposed the kevlar layer might mean the sun and UV could have weakened it... abraded kevlar often fuzzes up, doesn't sand smooth easily and might be difficult to repair.

Good luck, as time goes on you'll recognize which brands and models are more valuable. You can always sell an old one for an upgrade.

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West GTA.

As an update I ended up buying an Alchemist Myth (and I'm excited)

New or used? I saw an Alchemist southbound on the QEW Sunday, that brand always seems to slip my mind when I'm looking.

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Have canoe, will travel.

Used. Four years old. Minor scrapes but nothing serious. One "ding" on the hull that I quickly patched with a little 5 min Epoxy.

Took her for a quick paddle this AM. No leaks!

Would post some pics but I don't know how. When I figure it out I might (someday)

Now to plan some trips!!!

How did you end up finding it?

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Have canoe, will travel.

Kijiji!!

Congrats on your canoe! It looks like a very cool boat. I've never seen one in the states. Enjoy!

Thanks!

I picked up a well used Nova Craft 16' Prospector in expedition weight TuffStuff today. Needs a bit of work but I won't feel to bad as I bang my way down a river in it! Thanks for the tips on what to look for frozentripper.

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Have canoe, will travel.