Where Can I get A cheap open Canoe?

Question

Does anyone know where I can get a canadian open canoe for less than £200? All the ones I've seen are branded and cost from 400 to 1000 pounds ..

Answer 1

Where do you live?  I assume the UK as you are noting pounds. Contact the BCU! Inquire at your nearest Canoe Club. Do you really want a cheap canoe? One that has been discarded by some one? Canadians come in many sizes..specify the length you want. Specify whether two person or single. Whitewater or Quiet water. Light or heavy.

Answer 2

I'm not sure about the term "Canadian" canoe.  Is it something special compared with a standard canoe?

One method is to keep your eyes (or your computer's) open for a good used canoe.  Ebay has a British version.  If it is similar to the US one, you can add distance from a location in your search criteria so that you don't find one 800 km away from you.  Shipping costs on a canoe can be a killer.  I bought two kit built kayaks for about half of the price of the kits (not counting all the other supplies and work) last fall.

There are also www.craigslist.org sites in GB.  There are RSS to mail web sites that would give you an email once a day when new items meeting your text search criteria show up.

The alternative is to build one yourself.  Swapping your work for cost.

Look for information for "skin on frame", that is the method used by North American Indians.

www.qsl.net/ws8g/canoe.htm is a log of one person's work building a canoe along with a reference to the book where he got the design.

I have seen information that "Building Skin On Frame Boats" by Robert Morris is a good book.

www.svensons.com/boat/?p=RowBoats/Litt... has free plans for a canoe.

http://www.svensons.com/boat/?p=RowBoats... free redwood canoe plans

www.clarkcraft.com/cgi-local/shop.pl?t... sells plans for a canvas covered design.

www.shearwater-boats.com/canoes.htm sells lap sided canoe plans.

http://gaboats.com/boats/ sells canoe plans and kits based on using tyvek skin.  They also have a forum at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Airolite_B...

Answer 3

I would try http://www.paddling.net/

I, ve had good luck selling boats here, never bought one though. I assuming you already tried local classifieds and E-bay. Good Luck

Answer 4

If your up for a project, you could check out http://www.bateau.com/freeplans.php for their free canoe plans.  I have built this canoe and it is a fairly easy project if you have some building skills, space to do it, and some free time.  I scaled the plans up by 10% and it came out to about 15 ft long.  If built right it will last a long time and be cheaper than buying one new.  Also it gives you a really good feeling of being able to show off your "hand-crafted" project.