Thanks, I feel better now. 

From what you wrote I think a person could do well with a budget of $1000 to include a serviceable used canoe, which could probably be sold again for about the same price when it came time to upgrade.

It’s a little overwhelming to go shopping for this stuff without having some idea of what to spend. Of course by the time the plastic clears the wallet it’s often too late for reason.

I wouldn’t mind getting a tandem canoe too. I’ve been looking, but nobody has any great deals on used ones so far.

Tax return time always makes my wish list grow by leaps and bounds. New bike, new canoe, new PFD, GPS, maybe a tent, so many things I would like, so few dollars to buy em with. Oh well.

Keep us posted on your canoe search.

All the answers are valid but I think a lot of people would be discouraged by the high end range of the numbers. I was cruising through some local ads for boats and it seems that 99% of them were for some sort of motorized boat including a lot of jet-ski powered boats. That seems like a shame since we have some really great places to canoe around here. Maybe people feel like they need the sound of a loud motor to drown out the voices inside their heads.

Sometimes I wonder if people are afraid of the effort it might take to develop skills or even the desire to physically test themselves. Power at your fingertips can be rather seductive I guess. I found several canoes for sale locally for under $500 dollars, some that came with a few extras to boot. I imagine they were being sold by people wanting to “move up” to something that goes faster and makes more noise.

It’s generally a good idea to buy the best quality on the first go around but I don’t think many people are likely to do that. Many can’t fathom any sort of ten year commitment or relationship. No one I have run into recently seems to think that far ahead about anything. It would be great if more people did because then there would be a lot less waste.

I’m hoping we can figure out some ways to get people interested in things that will have a more positive effect on the world and themselves. I’m beginning to see it around here with bicycling and I hope people will extend it to other outdoor sports as well.

No one mentioned a rack system for the car….new has got to be 2-300 for a name brand. I think it’s worth the money for the peace of mind…having done homemade ones and used Yakima, I’ll take the Yak anytime.

The canoe accessory for a Yak rack is pretty inexpensive, so it’d end up around $300 for the rack. Foam blocks and straps run in kits from $20 to $70.

I don’t think that the price point that I put out there is that high–lots of newbies spend Here’s a new list on the middle of the road. This will get you a canoe that is worth owning, unlike a Coleman or Pelican.

Bell Northwind Royalex $1519

Bending Branches BB Special Bent Shaft $79.99 each

MTI Cruiser Lifevests $55 each

Accessories $200 – $300

That’ll put someone in a boat at about $2000 with a good supply of paddling accessories.

Good job BlackRaven, shows you can enjoy a new sport without out spending a ton of money.

I’m all about saving money where I can, and spending the money where it matters.

We bought our Wenonah Aurora used for about half the cost of new.  It’s in great shape, but was pre-scratched just enough that it saved me from grimacing every time we hit a shallow rock or run it into shore.  I really love that boat, and it was the best $600 I have ever spent.

We’ve been using the factory rack on our Escape and I have a single raised bar coming from my trucks hitch with a crossbar on top and use foam blocks on the cab.  The hitch thingy is the generic version of the Yakima GoalPost and work just fine with some additional straps for extra support.  I did grow tired of the foam blocks on the roof of the cab though, so I kept an eye on craigslist and pieced together two old Yakima SST towers and a 58″ crossbar for $25 dollars.  I eventually want to get two canoes on my Escape, so once again I started trolling craigslist and just scored 4 Yakima locking Railrider towers (not the newest generation, but still in great shape!) with 3 of the locking cores for $40 dollars (a replacement core is only $12 bucks from Yakima).  So all I need now are a pair of 78″ crossbars, and even if I get them new I’ll have a great rack slightly used for a little over a hundred bucks. 

I guess what I’m saying is that there are great deals out there if you don’t need the “latest and greatest”.

On the other end of the spectrum I spent $170 dollars on a beefy whitewater paddle from Sawyer and I like it so much I’m going to get their top end flatwater paddle which costs almost as much.  We started off with a couple of Bending Branches paddles that cost $50 and $65 dollars at REI.

I also like to have higher end PFDs (better quality and more comfortable fit), but I still managed to get a great deal on ours.  I scored two Astral Grunion PFDs off of steepandcheap.com for $60 dollars a piece.  If you haven’t been to steepandcheap.com, welcome to my addiction.

On top of that:

$500 for a used solo WW canoe (old Dagger Genesis)

$40 misc dry bags

$20-$30 straps

$50 for a kit to hang one canoe

$30 for a pair of saw horses for the other canoe

$40 for two pairs of contoured knee pads for the tandem canoe (self-adhesive)

$60 Two kids sized Bending Branches paddles

$40 Two kids sized PFDs

That puts me about $1900 for two canoes, 5 paddles, 4 PFDs, lots of accessories, and whole lot of fun on the water.  Really, we got started on the water with a good used boat, PFDs, and decent wooden paddles for less than $900.

All in all I agree with what Dennis said in another thread.  Probably one of the best investments in my family that I’ll ever make.