Just Gotta Gloat A Bit...

[Al Agnew]

My tandem canoe, an Old Town Penobscot 16, has had a long history. I first bought it nearly 20 years ago, and used it for about 6 years, putting a LOT of wear on the bottom. I ended up putting skid plates on to cover up the wear, and used it for a couple more years before getting a new one. I kept the old one for another year or so before selling it very cheaply--$100--to a friend. He let it sit out in his yard for about three years before deciding that he was never going to get much use out of it, so I bought it back for the same price I sold it. Meanwhile, I'd put a lot of wear on the newer one, and after keeping both for a couple of years, I ended up selling the newer one rather than putting skid plates on it, and kept the old one, using it for another several years.

By now, the bottom had become very worn, with splits down to the foam layer in several places. I'd patched it a re-patched it, and this year I decided I was just going to have to get a new one. The old one was and is still usable, but not only is the bottom very scarred up, the cane in the seats has long since disappeared, to be replaced with the redneck's all purpose fixit...duct tape.

When I first bought the old Penobscot, it retailed for about $900 and I got it a little cheaper because of a minor cosmetic blemish from a long since disappeared canoe dealer in St. Charles. Now, Penobscots retail for nearly $1500. I hated the thoughts of paying that much for a new one, but didn't expect to find one for much cheaper than that.

This past weekend, out here in Montana, the REI store in Bozeman was having a "garage sale" of used, blemished, and returned items. Mary and I and her brother and his wife went to look for some camping and backpacking gear. There, sitting on the concrete behind the store, were two Penobscots. I walked up to the first one, which had a couple of very minor dents n the bottom, and checked the price...$600! But as I looked a little closer, I discovered a major warping of the side that was hidden at first, with a badly bent gunwale. No way I wanted that one. So I walked over to the other one, which also had a couple of small dents in the bottom. I checked it over carefully, noting one other deep gouge on the side near the front, above the waterline. The gouge didn't go through the vinyl outer shell, so would not affect the canoe much at all. The original stickers and tags and cardboard protection of the stems was still on the canoe...it had obviously been damaged in shipping. Nothing on it was any worse than what I'd expect to put on it in the first few trips down the river. The price? $745 (and Montana does not charge sales tax!)

I got a new canoe! Now I just have to figure out how to get it to Missouri...

[eric1978]

That's a great deal, Al...but I got ya beat. Paid $545 for my Penob 16RX. Looked like it went down about two miles of river, practically new. Gotta love Craigslist.

Now if I could just find a new Vagabond for that price...

[jdmidwest]

Dang Al, won't it fit on top of the Prius?

[Al Agnew]

Yeah, but it won't fit on an airplane...we've been flying out here the last couple of times. What I'm hoping for is for a friend or relative to drive out and visit us with some kind of vehicle that can carry it. Mary's brother is planning on driving out late in the fall, and I think he'll be able to take it back. Or else we'll drive when we come back in the fall.

I do have racks for the Prius...have used it several times to transport the old Penobscot, and surprisingly, it has very little effect on gas mileage.

[jdmidwest]

My 4 Runner seems to get better gas mileage with a yak on top of it too, as long as the wind is not blowing.

How far is the drive, I may be up for a road trip this fall....

[Al Agnew]

About 1450 miles from our house in MO to our house in MT. Takes about 21 hours driving time. September and early October is prime trout fishing time!

[jdmidwest]

No wonder you fly, I calculate over $500 in fuel to drive it round trip at 19mpg.

[Greasy B]

Al,

My girl friend and I are staying at Chico Springs for a few days early next month. Maybe we can work something out.

Mike,

[Al Agnew]

Mike, that would be great! And you can come and visit us while you're out here, even if you can't carry the canoe back. We're 30 minutes from Chico. In fact, we were just there for an early morning soak in the hot springs pool (dang, they raised their prices...we used to get a book of day passes for $3 apiece, now it costs $7.50 a day.)

[BilletHead]

Al if you and Mike don't come up with a plan let me know. The Mrs. and I will be out pretty close to you in a couple of weeks with the Kayak Koffin. I knew I should of made a third story on it:) Have you ever fished Big Creek West of Meditation Point on farm road 2500? How about Mill Creek East of Pray? We have done well on those two creeks before.

BilletHead