I have a line on a 16 ft Old Towne Discovery royalex canoe circa 1980.

I want a BWCA canoe that can be used for ~5 days tandem trips multiple portage’s but nothing crazy.

First question: do you think this is the “right” canoe? I’m on a budget so trying to stay under $1k.

Second question: is the $800 asking price reasonable?

Thanks

Make sure the hull is not UV degraded. I once offered a 23 yo royalex OT Tripper on trade at Rutabaga in Madison WI and the owner checked the hull for brittleness as I recall. He told me royalex degrades over time. My boat was always stored inside. The trade in value was low but he told me he offered 60% of what he thought he could retail the boat for. I sold the boat myself for well more than he offered.

The price seems rather high for that old of a boat. Plus determine whether this is made out of royalex or cross link poly. I don't know if OT ever made these boats in royalex. Check the hull ID number stamped into the hull near one of the ends just under the gunwale. The last two digits indicate the year of manufacture.

Way too much for that canoe. The Discovery Series came out in the mid 80s and as I recall I paid about that much (new) for my Discovery 17 then. They're heavy, oil can, but slide over rocks and are bomb proof. Not made of Royalex btw. I wouldn't pay over $400 for this canoe

The Old Town Discovery is (or was) made of Crosslink material, not Royalex. I think the Crosslink may be called something else now but I'm sure you're dealing with an older canoe. The Penobscot series was made of Royalex. That product has changed, too. I had a Discovery 164 that weighed 74#. The same length Penobscot weighed 58#.

NOT royalex, Discos are poly. 1980's? The seller definitely paid LESS than that $800 NEW, so the price is ridiculous too. RUN from this person. It's a ripoff and the seller is dishonest to ask that for a used Disco, much less a used 1980's Disco. There are plenty of decent canoes you could use for the BWCAW between this site, Craigslist, and Paddling.com that would be less than $1000.

Thanks for the feedback! So I just went and looked more closely at the photos and realized the side of the canoe is stamped with “PATHFINDER”.

Does that change anyone’s opinion? Apparently it’s a model that’s no longer in production...

I don’t think the seller is very knowledgeable...

Thanks

I have also owned Old Townes, and specifically the Discovery. As others have said, they are not Royalex, but rather 3 layer poly. I think they call it polylink. The upside is they are virtually unsinkable and will slide right over rocks. VERY heavy. I bought mine about 15 years ago in like new condition and paid about $400 to $500 if I remember right.

For $1000 I would look for a used Royalex canoe. There are a lot of Wenonahs out there (several on our Craigslist). There is a Wenonah Sundowner, 18 foot in kevlar on our Craigslist right now in great condition for $800. That would be a far better canoe for the money then any Old Town.

If it’s a pathfinder I am fairly certain those were royalex. It’s a smallish canoe but would work fine for five day trips if you pack light. I’d offer $500.

quick research showed that you are correct. ..apparently the Pathfinder was introduced in Royalex in 2003. I think the Penobscot Tripper was also Royalex or at least was available in it

That's over priced.

I owned a Pathfinder as well. My first canoe. I bought it used for about $300 in 1985. It's defiantly Royalex with a flat bottom. Not a tripping canoe by any means. A nice small steam day tripper though. Final stability wasn't very good. If you like it offer him $200. It's around 30 years old.

Pathfinder is Royalex and similar in design to the later Camper model. Pre 1989ish, before the EPA intervened, Royalex was produced differently and considered to be quite a bit more durable.

Well..... The Pathfinder is lighter (I believe 57lbs) so better than the Disco on the portage trail. As someone said, I'd offer $500. I'll link some reviews of the Pathfinder and Camper 15, which it was later re-named. As for me, I'm not a fan. It has a flat bottom and is rock solid stable. But it feels like paddling with an anchor to me? Of course, I just paddled it a mile or two on the river and was more than ready to switch back to my boat.

Remember, "Opinions" are like back sides, we all have 'em! But IMHO, the only two Old Towns that I would consider for BWCAW would be a Canadienne or a Penobscot; they both paddle nicely, OT used to make an 18 footer I believe that some folks paddled up in the BWCAW. Name escapes me and I never paddled it, so I can't give my opinion.

Are you going to be paddling solo, tandem, or a mix? Only BWCAW paddling or some rivers? This can help us help you on your quest!

OOPS, forgot the links! Here you go:
Pathfinder
Camper 15
Old Town Camper 15 P.net Reviews

Here's a little clarification on Old Town's Royalex canoes as of the 1994 Catalog.

Also, the Discovery series was always constructed with three-layer cross linked polyethylene, which Old Town marketed with their buzzword called CrossLink3. For the most part, it was as tough, if not tougher than Royalex. The Royalex material was more susceptible to abrasion than the cross linked polyethylene constructed canoes. The outer layer of Royalex is a thin layer of vinyl covering the ABS layers and the inner foam core. Although cross linked polyethylene constructed canoes were less expensive than Royalex, the trade-off was weight.

It's possible the seller is somewhat confused as to what he has. That is, saying he has a Discovery in Royalex is like saying you have a Corvette with a steel body. :-)

The first CroskLink3 Discovery series was molded in 1983 and cataloged as the Discovery 174 in 1985. The name Discovery was actually derived from the Space Shuttle Discovery, which made it's successfully completed it's maiden voyage in 1984. The Discovery 174 quickly replaced Grumman 17's, and many other aluminum canoes at summer camps and in rental fleets in subsequent years.

Ironically, 1985 was my first year at Rutabaga and we literally sold hundreds of Discovery 174's in 1985. We sold a lot of Discovery 174 canoes at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Sports Show during the show's ten-day run in early-March every year. If I remember correctly, we were selling new Discovery 174's for a "Sport Show Special" price of $479.00! After a few years of Old town cranking out thousands of Discovery's, the unit price and Rutabaga's dealer pricing dropped to the point we were selling Discovery's for as low as $399.00 on sale!

Hans Solo

You do not want the Pathfinder for a 5 day fully loaded BW trip. I did a 2 day over night with it and doesn't have enough capacity and the hull shape is a problem. It's a day tripper on small rivers canoe

HansSolo,

Thanks for the catalog scans. Very interesting.

ockycamper: There are a lot of Wenonahs out there (several on our Craigslist). There is a Wenonah Sundowner, 18 foot in kevlar on our Craigslist right now in great condition for $800. That would be a far better canoe for the money then any Old Town."

Please show me where I can find used royalex or kevlar canoes for less than $1k. This is the only one I've seen here in MPLS in months that isn't aluminum. (Yes I know ppl have lots of opinions about AL too but let's leave that to the other threads)

jbreeggs: "

ockycamper: There are a lot of Wenonahs out there (several on our Craigslist). There is a Wenonah Sundowner, 18 foot in kevlar on our Craigslist right now in great condition for $800. That would be a far better canoe for the money then any Old Town."

Please show me where I can find used royalex or kevlar canoes for less than $1k. This is the only one I've seen here in MPLS in months that isn't aluminum. (Yes I know ppl have lots of opinions about AL too but let's leave that to the other threads)"

It takes patience and searching these sites daily, but THEY ARE THERE. You have to look, send e-mails, make calls, and maybe drive a bit. In the last 2 years I've purchased these used canoes and their approximate prices. None exceeded $800:
1-Royalex Novacraft Pal $800ish
2-Royalex Bell Morningstar $800ish
3- 'Glass Mad River Independence $750
4-Royalex Bell Rock Star $600



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I wouldn't want to portage a 60 pound canoe in the BWCA. But... if you can get your own canoe, that's probably preferable to renting over time.

I tried to sell a 17’ Penobscot on this site last year. Listed at $500, months would go by with no response. I took a best offer as I have enough canoes. FWIW we used to carry heavy canoes all the time without giving it a second thought. I regularly carry my 16’ wood canvas canoe in the bwca.

jwartman59: "I tried to sell a 17’ Penobscot on this site last year. Listed at $500, months would go by with no response. I took a best offer as I have enough canoes. FWIW we used to carry heavy canoes all the time without giving it a second thought. I regularly carry my 16’ wood canvas canoe in the bwca."

Yep I carried a Disco 17 over 52 portages on one trip. I think they went close to 80lbs. Won't do that now.

I offered a couple of hundred bucks...they seller hasn't responded in over a week but the post is still active.

Maybe I'll wait until the canoe auction at MWM in late April...

Blatz: "

jwartman59: "I tried to sell a 17’ Penobscot on this site last year. Listed at $500, months would go by with no response. I took a best offer as I have enough canoes. FWIW we used to carry heavy canoes all the time without giving it a second thought. I regularly carry my 16’ wood canvas canoe in the bwca."

Yep I carried a Disco 17 over 52 portages on one trip. I think they went close to 80lbs. Won't do that now."

I took my Disco 17 to the BWCA ... Once! Mine weighed 84#s. It was a great canoe for non-portaging trips, however. Great paddling and capacity.

I do currently have 16' Bell royalex Prospector for sale. Old new stock, ie a couple years old but never used. $1,100 firm. I got it when ORC Bell cleared out their warehouse after going out of business.