Used canoes in Alaska?

Arcticfox

Arcticfox

New member
Summer time is planning time. So here is another question for you Alaskans:

We might be a few Swedes going for a float trip/paddle down the Noatak River during August 2007. Since the budget is tight we are looking at options to get canoes (or rubber boats?) at a decent price when in Alaska.

Is there a place to buy used canoes (that can be counted on, there won't be time for E-bay or such at the time) or as an option, if you buy new stuff is there a resonable chance to sell the them used somewhere?

And, well, for a float trip with the scope to get out in some wild country with chances for a few mountain hikes over a few days each, some fishing (for food and fun, but not a super priority in itself) and some ptarmigan shooting, would you think the Noatak up in the Northwest would be a good choice? None of us minds tundra or remoteness. I know there is only Chum Salmon as far as salmon goes, but we can live with that and go for dollies and grayling.
 
Hey Arcticfox , I have a canoe sittin on the side of my house that is a little beat up but dosent have any holes in it and i use it every year without problems. You guys are more than welcome to take it out on your trip no cost(well maybe a 12 pack of beer). as far as buying used ones up here there is this Alaska outdoors Forum http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/ . they have a swap and sell section on there just post what you are looking for and hopefully someone will have something . I could also keep my eye out for some canoes in the paper. just let me know how many you need and what you lookin to spend .

well good luck with your trip plans and if you guys spend any time in Anchorage I will PM you my # and try to find you guys some Silver Salmon or trout arround my neck of the woods.

good luck
TrapperTodd
 
With Alaska being the outdoor state it is, I would think there would be rental places all over the place. If you rent then you don't need to resell the canoe after you use it. Just a thought. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Thanks for the offer TrapperTodd! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gifWe will be looking the canoe options over before next year comes around, and it would be great to have a contact over there! Also it would be fun to have a go at Silver Salmon... The Noatak doesn't really seem to be much of a salmon river.
The reason we are looking for a way to buy new and sell used, or buy used, is that rental seem pretty expensive. At a few hundred dollars a week for four weeks, I figure one may as well buy! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Hell, IF you guys happen to buy a scanoe (flat back canoe for a motor mount)I would more than likely buy it from you guys after your trip is done. Im in no hurry to get one this year so maybe we can work out a deal. That takes care of two canoes /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif.
 
That would be great, let's just keep in touch and see how things turn out! I think we will be going on that trip but it is still a year away...

Thanks again! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Also, does anyone know what to expect a bushplane can do in the way of transporting canoes? Can four guys with two canoes get out in one plane, or is it a two-flights deal? (I guess that will include counting on options in the size and cost of planes too?) Do pilots charge a lot extra for a strapped-on canoe?

Ulf
 
Most planes can only carry one or two people plus gear. A beaver can haul more. Canoes are not suitiable to take in by plane, most of us use rafts. Independent Rentals in Fairbanks had a commerical grade pontoon raft a couple of years ago for rent during the hunting season. Some outfitters have rafts to rent, but I have heard some real horror stories about them. Test The Waters in North Pole also rents rafts for hunting. If you would like their phone number get back with me and I can look it up.

Personally I use a Sevylor HF-360 with the caduria nylon boot. The boot is very important, it is what takes the punishment. Without the Boot this boat would be useless. I have used mine for two float trips in the Brooks Range, and my hunting partner has used his for five trips. I just bought a new boot for his, the boot was beyond repair and needed to be replaced. His boat is still in fine shape with no tears, rips or punctures. These boats are 12 feet long with 1200lbs capacity, and only weigh 48lbs. We load our gear into the center of the rafts, in such a way that we can sit on the front and have a good back rest. It's like sitting in a recliner at home. We then use a kayak paddle to steer us down the rivers and keep us out of sweepers. When we kill a Moose we cut willow poles about like your wrist and lay them across the boat, then with a cross piece on each side we tie it all togeather with parachute cord. We then stack the meat on top of the frame so that air can circulate underneath. At the end of the float the willow poles become fire wood. Rafts do a lot better than a canoe, they bounce off rocks most of the time with no harm done. I also have a 2.7hp Cruise N Carry outboard for mine, it's nice when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction. But you have to keep the bears away from them. I'll try and find a picture of my rig. I have a Coleman Scanoe but I never take it hunting, too noisy and hard to get around with. Plus I hate going swimming in September, and it seems I always end up getting wet with the canoe. The Raft is about $160.00 at Sportsman's Warehouse here in Fairbanks, but they have been out of the boots for several months. I picked up a boot for my partner's boat last month in Anchorage. The boot is $89.00, patch kit $5.00, and a air pump $10.00. That's no more than some outfitters charge to rent their gear.
 
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The raft sounds like a good option too, not very expensive and easier to haul. A raft with equipment for a few hundreds in Fairbanks sounds very reasonable. I will look into that. Maybe it will even be worth the freight cost to bring it home when it is deflatable and not very heavy.

Mostly that trip would be fishing and seeing the country, but hopefully also some ptarmigan and grouse shooting. I hope it will actually happen.
 
Artic fox,
Try this. Alaska Raft and Kayak for rental. 1-800-606-5950. Or email them at info.alaskaraftandkayak.com. Transporting rigid hull with aircraft is not feasible. Aircrafts big enough to carry them internally are too expensive to charter. Aircrafts that carries them as external loads cannot carry passengers, FAA regulation and probably insurance policy. A book you might want to read is FLOAT HUNTING by Larry Barlett. You can get it here on www.pristineventures.com. Good luck. BTW, our moose (elk) are bigger than yours.
 
264WSM,

That's some good information, I'll look into that!

Bigger moose, huh? Well, OK, that is only too true! :) But we still have the numbers! That ought to count too...
 
Artic Fox,
Ya know any decent price hunt for wild boar in Europe? Poland, Czech, etc...? Been wanting to go on one of those. Thank you.
 
I live a little too far north to bee much involved in wild boar hunting, but I know several people that went to the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Poland for hunts that weren't too expensive. Usually they don't kill huge numbers, but usually I understand most guys get one or a few wild boars on those trips. I'll ask a friend that I know hunted the Baltic states once or twice and see what he says.

Also the wild boar have become more common in the south of Sweden and I believe there are pretty decent hunts organized there too. I've been down there and shot a couple. I don't think we have quite the numbers though and market prized hunts would be a bit more expensive. I'll ask a friend down south that is a forester and hunter if he knows any places.

Cheapest is probably baited hunts, nighttime. Then hunts with a few guns and dogs to get the pigs moving, then the driven hunts. Driven hunts are more a thing in those eastern countries though. And top of the list are probably driven hunts down in southeastern Europe were numbers are far greater and they shoot big numbers on the hunts.

I'll post back with what I find!
 


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