Hans, curious about your thoughts on a used boat being offered by Hemlock Canoe Works. It is listed as follows:

#W994 Sawyer/Swift 222 Cruiser, SuperLite Kevlar, Jet Blue
18'6" long, 36" wide, 58 lbs.
Natural Ash trim, cane seats w/bow slider, Teal yoke
Slight Use ('90 Prod) Like New
$1295.00

Here is a link to the listing; you can scroll down to view the canoe. It is a beauty, but I am a bit weary of the 1300 dollar price tag for a canoe that is nearly 30 years old. Your thoughts?

I own a 222 in fiberglass, no foam core, weighs in at about 90#. It's the first canoe I bought fresh out of college. It is the finest tandem on the water that I have paddled. Basically every bit as fast as my MNII but incredibly seaworthy and can eat a month's worth of gear- has stayed upright and relatively dry in extremely difficult conditions. On one trip with three novices I was with the weakest in my MNII when we crossed Bayley Bay in tremendous following seas. There were people windbound on shore yelling that we were certain to go over. It was all I could handle in the MNII, the two novices in the 222 stopped paddling to argue about who should do what and hull took it all with aplomb.

The 222 became my whitewater tripping boat and has been down the Steele, the Kopka (4 times), the Gods and an occasionally terrifying trip in record high water on the Bloodvein.

Other than weight the only drawback of the hull is a fairly full bow that can be difficult for very small paddlers.

On the Kopka....

I wish I could find one under 45#

Maybe call Dave and ask him about it. I'd value his opinion as much as anyones. In fact if you bought that canoe from him, it would be worth your while to go pick it up vs shipping. A wealth of knowledge you'd be tapping into. That said, that seems like a lot of boat. You have some big expedition in mind. Lol.

quote nctry: "Maybe call Dave and ask him about it. I'd value his opinion as much as anyones. In fact if you bought that canoe from him, it would be worth your while to go pick it up vs shipping. A wealth of knowledge you'd be tapping into. That said, that seems like a lot of boat. You have some big expedition in mind. Lol. "

I figure I need something big to haul your ass around in!!