Canoes

Looking to get your own Canoe?

You don't need to supply your own canoe, but maybe you want to head out on a family only trip?

• You can find awesome deals on Offer up and Facebook Marketplace in the winter 

• You may wish to come talk to our canoe team first to avoid buyer's remorse

  • We have learned the hard way what NOT to buy for Scouts

What to Look For

• • Flat bottom

    • Great for river canoeing

  • 15-16 feet

  • $200-400 range

    • You may need to go up to $600 for a really nice canoe - but if you shop around, you can get a good one for $400 or less

  • If you can find a Royalex one, get it or let us know so we can 

  • Information on: Canoe Shopping

What to Avoid

• • Fiberglass

    • These can crack and sometimes come with leaks (inspect carefully and run hand down both sides and bottom of hull)

    • Scouts tend to abuse canoes by dragging them and pounding them on rocks - Fiberglass is easily damaged by Scouts.

  • Keels

    • Not a big fan of keels

    • They don't really help a canoe travel straight

    • Not ideal for rivers

      • Get hung up over rocks

      • Can crack open

    • A keel is not a showstopper for a lake canoe

  • 17 foot or greater

    • Too long for what we do

    • More difficult to maneuver

  • Inflatable

    • The affordable ones you find used are likely not durable enough to be considered safe for Scouts

  • Sit on Top Canoes

    • They have their perks, but do not protect Scouts from freezing cold water

Used Canoes

You can purchase an entire fleet for the price of a single new canoe.  The fleet may not look pretty or be perfect, but you can hit the water for some awesome adventures.

Places to look:

• OfferUp

• Facebook Marketplace

• Craig's List

What to look for:

Depends on what you end goal is

• For lake boats, you want something that floats

• For river boats, you want something that has a flat bottom and can take a hit

• For general use by unskilled scouts and adults, you want something durable

Economy Fleet:

Is cost your number one priority?  A boat that floats is what you are looking for

• Fiberglass

  • Plan to repair as they are damaged

  • When shopping - carefully run the entire hull with hands looking for cracks

  • Easy to repair - talk to one of our Adult Leaders who took autoshop in school

• Coleman Ram-X (15-16 feet)

  • Difficult to damage

  • Can be repaired with a heat gun and milk jugs

  • Very Heavy

Forever Fleet:

Looking to have durable boats that last forever without repair or protection?

• Old Town Discoveries

• Coleman Ram-X (15-16 feet)

• Argument can be made for metal canoes - especially if another unit is selling off their gear and you can get a deal

Adventure Fleet:

Is Adventure your thing and you want to hit more than just flat lakes and lazy rivers?  You want something that can take a little abuse but is also not too heavy.

• Material: Royalex (old school) or T-Formax (new stuff)

• Flat bottom (No Keel)

• 15-16 feet

• Know what laminates look like

  • Inside and outside skin of canoe have different colors

  • Certain old brands were made in Royalex - look it up

  • Royalex may have small dents in it

  • May have "bleed" where vinyl is worn through to black ABS

  • Does NOT have built in flotation at ends (Royalex floats and doesn't need extra flotation)

  • Doesn't have ribs or texture on inside - classic for fiberglass

  • Thicker than poly

• Brands:

  • Too many to list

  • EasyRider - Seattle company and lots of them around.  Look for 15-8 Ouzel

  • Wenonah - not so many around and are usually expensive

  • Mohawk - also made fiberglass canoes so know the difference

  • Old Town PAC canoe - 12 footer for experienced Scoutmaster - must say "PAC" on it

Future Adventures Fleet:

• Start off with what you can find, and then replace them as you find "treasures" locally.

• Start:

  • Coleman Ram-X fleet with maybe some fiberglass canoes

  • Later sell for $200 each as they are replaced

• Replace with:

  • have team monitor marketplace for Royalex canoes

  • expect to spend $300-$550 for each one

Well Known Canoe Manufacturers

• Old Town Canoes

  • Largest and best known American canoe manufacturer.

  • Make Triple-Ply polyethylene boats

  • Boats look great and can take a lot of abuse

  • Boats are really heavy

  • Old Town made a 12 foot "PAC" out of Royalex - this is a great find for a solo Scoutmaster canoeist

• Wenonah Canoes

  • Handcrafted on the banks of the Mississippi River in Southeast Minnesota

  • Well known canoe manufacture

  • Make a mix if composite and laminate boats

• Esquif Canoes

  • Canadian company run by Jacques Chasse

  • T-Formex Boats (developed by Jacques Chasse)

  • Sold at REI which allows for a 10-15% discount if you are member and using an REI credit card and want the option to return it if you made a major mistake.

• Mad River Canoes

  • Founded by 1971 National Whitewater Open Canoe champion Jim Henry.  Moved to North Carolina in 2001

  • Sell a mix of Canoe types

    • Polyethylene canoes are built in Greenville, South Carolina, in a factory managed by Mad River’s parent company Confluence Outdoors

    • Composite Explorer canoes are built in South River, Ontario by Swift Canoe

    • T-Formex Explorer is made in Framption, Quebec at the Esquif factory

  • The Explorer canoes have been made in Royalex, Triple Tough (TT) polyethylene-foam-polyethylene, fiberglass, kevlar and now in T-Formex (starting in 2017)

  • They also make recreational canoes in regular polyethylene

  • Canoe production was halted or paused in 2022

• Nova Craft Canoes

  • near London, Ontario, Canada

  • Several different materials

    • SP3 - triple ply poly

    • FIBERGLASS - fiberglass

    • TUFFSTUFF -  basalt and Innegra fibers

    • TUFFSTUFF EXPEDITION - heavier duty version of our standard TuffStuff

    • ARAMID LITE - Twaron fabrics

    • BLUE STEEL - carbon fibre hybrid material (ultralite and expensive)

• Marathon Boat Group Canoes

  • aka Grumman canoes

  • Metal boats

• Merrimack Canoes

  • Hand crafted canoes

• Hemlock Canoes

  • Hand crafted canoes

• Navarro Canoe Company

  • Made to order in Kevlar, fiberglass or a combination of fiberglass and Kevlar

• Sun Dolphin Canoes

  • Sell polyethylene boats

  • Affordable and very durable boat

  • Warp if left in the sun

  • Heavy canoes

  • Great for cub scouts

• Pelican Canoes

  • Plastic Boats

  • Great for cub scouts

Retired Canoe Manufacturers

• EasyRider

  • Seattle company made both fiberglass and Royalex boats. 

  • The 15-8 Ouzel is a nice all around boat to get

• Mohawk

  • Made both fiberglass and Royalex boats

Pack Canoes

Looking for something really portable?

• Alpacka Raft

  • Packrafts Designed and Handcrafted in Mancos, Colorado

• SOAR Inflatable Canoes

  • inflatable canoes

  • neoprene material 

• PakCanoes

  • Preinforced PVC skin held under tension by an interlocking framework of tubular aluminum

T-Formax Canoes

T-Formax is very similar to Royalexf which was widely used in canoes until 2013.  The vinyl laminated ABS foam make for very versatile canoes that can take a beating, while still being lighter than poly or metal.

Unfortunately, the old Royalex Canoes are a bit of a challenge to find and T-Formax is expensive. 

• Esquif Canoes

  • Tandem - Esquif Prospecteur 16 Canoe

  • Scoutmaster Solo - Esquif Adirondack

• Wenonah Canoes

  • Down River / Prospector 15

  • Down River / Prospector 16

  • Scoutmaster Solo - Wilderness

• Mad River Canoes

  • Explorer 16 T Formex

• Buffalo Canoes

  • Jasper, Arkansas

Kevlar Canoes

Light weight for easier portage and loading and unloading.  These are generally too expensive to consider for scout units.  But Scoutmasters with extra personal money to burn can consider getting a one for themselves.

• Northstar Canoes

  • Race Ted Bell and designer David Yostin  La Crosse, Wis.

• Souris River Canoes (Canada)

  • Resin can either be vinylester, polyester or epoxy.

• Savage River Canoes

  • Ultra-light racing and tripping canoes for 35 years

  • woven Kevlar fabric with a fiberglass skin

• Hellman Canoes

  • Master instructor Bob Hellman

• Nova Craft Canoes

  • near London, Ontario, Canada

  • Several different materials

    • SP3 - triple ply poly

    • FIBERGLASS - fiberglass

    • TUFFSTUFF -  basalt and Innegra fibers

    • TUFFSTUFF EXPEDITION - heavier duty version of our standard TuffStuff

    • ARAMID LITE - Twaron fabrics

    • BLUE STEEL - carbon fiber hybrid material (ultralite and expensive)

• Clipper Canoes – Canada

• Swift Canoes – Kevlar and Carbon

• Navarro Canoe Company

• Class Five Canoes

• Hemlock Canoes

• Langford Canoes

• Lincoln Canoes

Plastic Canoes

Option for those with limited budgets or want something really durable.

• Nova Craft Canoes

  • 3-layer polyethylene plastic know as SP3.

• Old Town Canoes

  • Triple layer poly - Polyethylene and thermoformed polyethylene.

• Esquif Canoes

  • Esquif has plastic canoes for whitewater use

• Mad River Canoes

  • Polyethylene recreational canoes

  • Some of Explorer canoes were made from TT (triple layer poly)

• Tahe Outdoors

  • Estonian Company with HDPE kayaks and Canoes

• Clearwater Design Canoes

• Sun Dolphin Canoes

Metal Canoes

Looking to take on some heavy abuse?

• Grumman Canoes (Marathon Boat Group)

• Linder Canoes (Sweden)

• Osagian (Denmark)

• Alumacraft Canoes

• Swift Canoes

• Sportspal Canoes – Meyers Boat Company

  • Adrian, Michigan