Need Advice on Strip Canoe

Hello,

I need some advice, as I'm new to the world of wood canoes.

This canoe is for sale. The seller doesn't know much about it, other than it floats with no leaks and was made by the previous owner.

How much is a canoe like this worth (ballpark)? What should I look for in person when inspecting the canoe? Any ideas on construction material? The seller doesn't know anything.

 

Looks like a cedar strip & fiberglass canoe; these are home-built just about everywhere. Could be commercially made, too... any maker's mark on it?

Things to look for:
How bad are the scratches in the bottom of the hull, the left side of image #2? If they're into the glass cloth, repairs might be bit more difficult that you like.
What does it weigh? How much canoe are you willing to pick up, to load onto your vehicle, or carry to the launch, or on portages?
It's worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. See this post: http://forums.wcha.org/index.php?threads/how-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth.57/ in our "FAQ" forum.

Hope this helps?

 

Thanks for your reply.
I know it's worth what someone is willing to pay, so let me ask you, what would YOU pay? Thanks, I do appreciate your insight.

 

I'd do $300 but don't take that as gospel. It may be worth a grand for all i know.

 

I'm in MN, lots of those, "Strippers", have been made here (The local canoe club has been selling plans and the building book for these sense I believe the 60's)
Also, before I learned about W/C, I made 3 strippers, 2 were passed on/sold.

To me, that canoe looks pretty crude, so it's value here (and to me) is very low.
You also know little to nothing about what design it is or how it paddles.
IF there is no or little real damage, maybe the $300 Dave mentioned, if there is glass damage, it goes down from there.

 

It is certainly a home-built canoe, and all things considered, the wood looks decent but the fiberglassing job is rather crude. The outside was never sanded smooth and it's hard to say from the photos what sort of workmanship was done on the inside. It seems to be in better shape that a lot of the used strippers that we see, but the biggest issue is likely to be what type of resin was used for the fiberglassing. Epoxy resin is, in general, going to form a much stronger bond to the wood, making eventual delamination quite rare, while polyester resin, especially in home-builds is much more likely to delaminate and let water into the wooden core. That will very often eventually destroy the canoe and it is not an easy issue to fix. Unfortunately, there are a lot of old polyester resin strippers out there, as epoxy didn't become common for them until maybe 1980 or so. I would think that the $200-$300 range might be reasonable if the entire hull is free of delaminated spots, but I wouldn't go higher.

 

JMC,
I am over in Middle Tn. I saw the posting for this canoe. It is hard to put a value on them. Most people that follow this forum are builders or have built one so we are not willing to pay what a "non-builder" would. The price he has listed it for is what you would pay for material, more or less. If you have any woodworking abilities at all you may want to consider building one yourself.
Feel free to contact me if you have more questions or want to know about the areas chapter.
My information is in the Chapters listing under Kentucky/Tennessee Chapter.
Good luck
Norm

 

I agree with the others. Having one too many of these crudely built canoes brought to my shop for a quick fix up only to find the glass is coming off, I would think that for a few dollars more, you could build one yourself and do a better job. Resin very rough and looks like gunwales not nicely done on the ends.

 

The Truth ? It appears to be poorly made.


I'd pass.