Pine Canoe

[SWebster]

I have a Bent Pine (or curved pine, it's pine anyways) canoe hand made by Ron Lord of Warren Manitoba in 1996 (Brass plate on the front of canoe says this). It has possibly rattan or wicker seats (2) and a brass keel and I have been told it is balanced to be tip proof. This canoe has never touched the water. It has been suspended from the beams of a garage ever since it was brought home in 1996. Other than a little bit of dust it is in perfect shape. The garage was never used for anything more than storage so no car exhaust or anything has ever been near this canoe. As much as I would love to transport this canoe back to Ontario for my husband and I, I would much rather sell it to someone who is a canoe enthusiast and would appreciate it's beauty and craftsmanship. Problem is I am having a hard time figuring out it's value as I can't seem to find anything online about Ron Lord. Would you have any ideas about a fair asking price?

I would appreciate any input you may have for me

P.S. It is a 16' canoe

 

[Benson Gray]

It will help if you can attach some pictures and dimensions so we can tell what type of a pine canoe you have. The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=57 has some general information about valuing old wooden canoes.

Benson

 

[SWebster]

I have added some pictures

I hope these pictures will help And it is 16'

 

[Nutkin]

It looks like Cedar, not Pine. The gunwales appear to be Oak, as you can see ray flecks that Ash doesn't have. There also seems to be some Mahogany to either side of the name plate. That coaming might be Pine, however. HArd to say what the wood of the decks is, maybe Cherry or Walnut.

It looks to be a nice job, I wonder if there is a cask of Amontillado behind those bulkheads...

No idea what a canoe like that is worth.

 

[Benson Gray]

Your canoe is what is generally described as a modern 'strip built' canoe and appears to be a reasonably well made one. You can see several similar ones listed here at http://forums.wcha.org/forumdisplay.php?f=48 in the classifieds and on eBay.com at prices ranging from about $600 to nearly $4000. I am not an expert on strip built canoes but my guess is that something in the $1000 to $2000 range would be a fair price for your canoe. Others here may be able to offer a more informed option. Good luck with your sale,

Benson

 

[Roger Young]

I was just about to offer some thoughts very similar to Benson. Many strip canoes of a similar size available today seem to be priced somewhere in the $2000 - $4000 range. Yours is brand new, or at least in 'mint' condition, since it has been unused. It appears to have been well put together; the maker was proud enough of his workmanship to attach his name to it.

Depending on how much you have invested in it, and how quickly you need/want to sell it, I would think asking perhaps $2500 is not unreasonable. You can always take a lower offer. However, the season is drawing to a close and a new owner won't be getting a whole lot of use out of it until next year.

As a bottom line, if it were mine and I had any thoughts at all of doing some canoeing back in Ontario, I'd strap it to the car and take it with me, if I were you. It would be a real shame, in my opinion, to part with it for anything less than $1600, because I simply don't think you'd ever find a comparable replacement later on. Driving to Ontario may add a few bucks extra for gas, but the canoe won't lose anything in value; and will likely remain as valuable even after you use it, carefully, for a few years.


Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

SW,

I'd also encourage you to keep it, it's a nice canoe, and seems to be reasonably built. (I'm not a fan of staples and joints in the strips but it doesn't bother others.)

As to value, that depends on where you are and if someone near you wants it.

Here in the MPLS MN area, I believe $1500 would be a very good price, but you'd have to wait a while to get it. (there are lots of strippers built here every year and no shortage of ones being sold.)

Out east you'd probably get more.

Dan