BWCA Bell CJ Solo Boundary Waters Items For Sale or Wanted
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hoosconnie
member (15)member
  
10/03/2021 10:33AM  
I bought this canoe used from Rutabaga in Madison a few years ago. I am the 2nd owner of it. It is in good condition for its age. The salesman at Rutabaga seemed to think it had been stored under cover, and it has been stored in a garage since I've owned it.

I put on a new gel coat when I got it and replaced the seat (I believe I still have the original seat if you wanted it). There was 1 soft spot in the kevlar in the bow of the boat up near the gunnel. Per the advice of Rutabaga, I wicked epoxy into this area when I was putting on the new gel goat. It now feels solid.

The boat has some surface rock scars on the bottom, but no deep gouges. It also has a detachable portage yoke.

It's a solid solo tripping boat that can handle a load. I've paddled it through some serious wind and waves without getting wet. I got it during a time when my wife's work schedule didn't allow us to go on trips together. That has now changed, and this boat just hasn't made it on the water lately, so it's probably time for someone else to have it.

The boat is stored at my family's cabin in lower Michigan, near Coldwater, Michigan. I have additional photos and videos available too.

Asking $800



 
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golanibutch
distinguished member (181)distinguished memberdistinguished memberdistinguished member
  
10/15/2021 05:07PM  
Man, beautiful boat. Great price. I have too many boats
 
10/18/2021 03:58PM  
Do you have an accurate weight on it?
 
hoosconnie
member (15)member
  
10/18/2021 05:30PM  
Thanks, golanibutch :) I hope someone new will be able to enjoy it!

bumabu - I have never weighed it. I can tell you anecdotally that it feels lighter than our Nova Craft Pal, which is 42 pounds per the manufacturer.
 
stringbean
member (23)member
  
01/15/2022 11:02AM  
Beautiful boat, too bad it's not closer to the Twin city area.
 
rkidder
  
01/15/2022 03:47PM  
Is this still up for sale? I’m curious about the actual specs, too, if you have them. The Google machine is less than helpful.
 
davejessop
  
01/15/2022 06:57PM  
Hello. I'd like to come and get this boat. I'm in Chelsea MI, about an hour away.
Call or message me at 7344983314. Thanks, Dave
 
01/16/2022 10:29AM  
I think I hit the Mother Lode for info on the Bell CJ Solo! From paddling.com:

written by Cliff Jacobson himself on another forum:

Hello PG:

The Bell CJ has an interesting history. It began life as a wood-strip canoe I built with the help of my friends Bob Brown and Darrell Foss. IT was similar to your boat but had curved back stems and about 3 inches of rocker at each end. It was my first solo tripping canoe, built around 1979, if I recall. I sold the design to Old Town who straightened the stems and removed the rocker (big mistake!). They called it the Old Town CJ Solo. At the time, it was one of a very few true solo tripping canoes on the market. Old Town sold only a few dozen CJ’s and I got the mold from them and gave it to Ted Bell who lightened the construction and generally improved the canoe all around. He named it the CJ Solo and it was Bell’s first successful solo canoe. It has been out of production now for I’d guess about 10 years. It was a good canoe—high volume, relatively fast and very seaworthy. But by today’s standards it is simply too big for most people, and the zero rocker and square ends make turning it a chore. Still, it’s a nice canoe, though not in the league with the top Bell’s and We-no-nah’s of today.

The more you paddle solo canoes the more you come to realize that the CJ is bigger than you need. I weigh barely 130 pounds and that old CJ is way too big for me. Indeed, even the Yellowstone Solo or older Bell Wildfire is marginally too large for me. The little Bell Flashfire is really a more perfect fit for someone my weight. But, I still prefer the YS because of its versatility—reasonably fast on the flats, pivots on a penny in rapids and is very seaworthy in big waves.

Your Bell CJ is a fine old canoe, and a good boat for a beginner. When my daughters were little I installed two extra seats in it and the girls paddled it like a tandem canoe. They could really move that boat: my wife, Sharon and I had a Sawyer Charger (18.5 ft) at the time and the girls could keep up with us if we didn’t push real hard.

I think you’ll enjoy your CJ. It won’t depreciate any more than it already has. You will probably be able to sell it for more than what you paid for it five years from now—that is, if you can bear to part with it.

You’ll find some references to the old CJ in my book CANOEING WILD RIVERS (revised edition). The newer versions of this book (EXPEDITION CANOEING) reference more recent designs.

Enjoy,

Cliff Jacobson
 
hoosconnie
member (15)member
  
01/16/2022 07:50PM  
Everyone must be stuck inside and dreaming of spring :)

After no interest in this boat for 2 months, 4 people contacted me in the last 2 days. The boat found a new owner this afternoon. Thank you all for checking it out.
 
01/16/2022 09:07PM  
I wonder if you might share with us if those 4 parties who turned up in the last two days learned of this beautiful boat on the Facebook Groups Midwest+ Canoe Trader or Sawyer and other Michigan canoes?

There was a lively discussion regarding this particular boat, and the model in general, on Midwest+ Canoe Trader, and may have sold to one of the moderators there.

Thanks and congratulations!


https://www.facebook.com/groups/midwestcanoe
 
hoosconnie
member (15)member
  
01/16/2022 09:54PM  
I was not even aware it had been posted there! Appreciate whoever did that. I'm not sure if the buyer came through there or through BWCA.
 
01/16/2022 10:09PM  
'Twas I, hoosconnie, NMJim.

I love learning about all things water, canoe, and so on, so in my spare time am looking at a lot of net. As a fan of Bell and Northstar canoes, yours certainly caught my eye for value in quality.

So I posted over to the two sites I referenced in an earlier shout out to you. [I also emailed you, but one never knows.] As a result of posting in Midwest+ Canoe Trader FB group, I got an inquiry for your contact info, which I happily supplied while urging that person to join bwca.com.

I don't think that person was the buyer, but he did say he joined up.

It is all part of the happy work of building our community. Which of course may go a long way to protecting the BWCAW.

Again, congratulations on your sale.

And other sellers, think about posting to more than one site!
 
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