I have been looking at purchasing a 12ft tunnel hull flat stern canoe.  What do you guys think is a fair price to pay.  When I called them they stated to come down and make an offer on it because they are getting out of the canoe business and will only sell power boats now.  They have about 12 canoes left that have been sitting for a couple of years.  I went to his store and offerred the guy $300 for it since it has been sitting for years unsold.  He came back with a counter offer of $350.  I gave him my number and told him to call me if he really was ready to sell the canoe as I have the cash to purchase right now.  Now mind you I really do not need a canoe as I have a bass boat and the canoe will only be used a few times a year.  I just want one for the local ponds/lakes that I can't put my bass boat in.  My sweetheart of a wife told me to go buy one for my Christmas present from her but to try to keep the price under $300.  What do you guys think?  Should I just pay the extra $50 plus 4.5% tax or hold firm for a couple of days as I know it is not going anywhere?  

It depends on the materials it's made of and so forth and so on.  350 isn't too bad but again, it just depends.  What brand are they?  If he has 12 canoes he's been holding onto for awhile, they'll likely still be there if you decide to do some research before you purchase.

The canoe is fiberglass and I do not know the manufacturer.  I don't think I have seen tunnel hull canoe before.  I didn't even know what a tunnel hull was until I looked at it the canoe today.  It is a channel in the middle of the hull to help make the canoe more stable in the water.  I agree the canoe is not going anywhere so I have time to do the research.  My guess is the guy will most likely call me tomorrow in an attempt to sell the canoe as it is hard to sell these in the winter months, not to mention they have been unbale to sell them the last two years.

Hey

I have been looking for a canoe for the same reason. I'm going used. IMO you can get a fantastic canoe for $400-$500 dollars anywhere (Dicks for example). Is this guy willing to throw in what you will need to use the canoe? (Oars, PFD's, a canoe buddy, clip on seat, you get the point). At that point I think it would be worth the $350.00. If they are really going out of business (canoes) they won't want to blow a deal and poabably will throw in all the acessories. That's worth $350.00 right?

Good luck ans enjoy that X-mas canoe!!

bassinajr

I am thinking that maybe I will go back tomorrow and make a counter offer asking them to throw in the accesories and make the whole package deal $350. I think they would most likely jump on that counter offer. I do have the nice PFDs so I guess I would need the oars and at least seat cusions. What is a canoe buddy?

12 ft is a short canoe.  The tunnel hull makes it more stable by virtue of its square sides more so than the tunnel itself.  But 12 is still short for two people.  For a solo canoe or the occasional passenger it should be ok.  I prefer aluminum canoes because they are lighter.  You can still put a trolling motor on a non flat back and it works fine, but you will want the battery at the other end.  If you plan on rowing the non flat back is faster and more efficient.

Don't forget to check http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/us/nc boats for your area.

I did find a couple of similar canoes online and they sell for around $525 (new). So I guess the $350 price may actually be a fair price to pay. I am going to give the guy a couple of days to think about it first as I am not in a hurry. The canoe holds 700lbs and only weighs about 70lbs so it will be easy to get it on my 4Runner and then take it off and put it into the water by myself, thus the reason for the short canoe.

I never heard of a tunnel hull canoe. But, if you don't already know this, there's some great bass fishing to be had in those small ponds and lakes that are off-limits to motors and bigger boats. Sure, try and strike a bargain, but a couple of years from now it won't matter whether you paid $300 or $350 or had a paddle thrown in when you're fighting a fat bass and once again congratulating yourself for this great purchase.

One of the places I want to put a canoe in has some hogs.  I have already caught a 5.5lb and a 5.25lb LMB fishing from shore, I am guessing I can pull out a much bigger one if I put a canoe in it.  I am most likely going to go back before Saturday and buy it for $350 if they don't call me back first to accept my $300 offer that I made them earlier today.  They have my name and number to contact me and I figure I will let them wonder for a day or two if they made a mistake by not selling it to me today.

Canoe is over priced at 12 feet.

Watch the classified ads - I have seen plenty for $100 - $150 for 16'.