I have seen a Mad River Malecite 16.5' Kevlar canoe for sale locally. It looks in great shape but I'm unsure on the vintage. They are asking for 850.00 with two St Croix paddles.

Can anyone tell the year for this? It comes with wood gunwales .

How easy is it to put in a center seat for solo use?

This would be my first canoe purchase and I'm quite uneducated. Is that a good value?

Thanks for any help or opinions
Tim

Ask them if it has a hull I.D. plate. If it does most likely the last two #'s in the hull I.D. will be the year it was built, that's pretty common and many builders adapted it.

At first glance, here in canoe country that's a very attractive price even for old kevlar. Looks to be in good shape...drive it to MN and sell it for 2x that number this summer. :-)

sns: "At first glance, here in canoe country that's a very attractive price even for old kevlar. Looks to be in good shape...drive it to MN and sell it for 2x that number this summer. :-)"

I second this advise. If you decide you don't want it you could almost certainly turn in for more in the Spring.

Northwoodsman: "Ask them if it has a hull I.D. plate. If it does most likely the last two #'s in the hull I.D. will be the year it was built, that's pretty common and many builders adapted it."

A hull ID is a requirement for any commercial builder. The Coast Guard administers rules pertaining to boat identification.

https://uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification.php

More important than the year is the condition of the hull. From the pictures, it looks to be in good shape. If the canoe has been stored out of the sun then it should still have good life in it. The wood gunwales should be cleaned, sanded and then given a few good soaking coats of Watco wood oil.

The asking price is fair but of course there is plenty of room to negotiate. You are buying the canoe during the peak season for selling canoes so don’t waffle too long. Good luck!
Tom

sns: "At first glance, here in canoe country that's a very attractive price even for old kevlar. Looks to be in good shape...drive it to MN and sell it for 2x that number this summer. :-)"

I agree. I have the same Mad River and if it was for sale here in Wisconsin I would be picking it up today.

Buy it

It is a good price.

Use a yoke seat for a center seat. about 100 dollars.

I put in a center seat and it is pretty easy. It probably took under an hour. Measure twice, cut once.

Looks like the gunnels have some serious rot going on. Factor gunnel replacement into the cost, and see what you come up with?

Jim

I agree about the gunnels. Notice how the inwale at the bow seat hanger bolt has pulled down below the level of the outwale. The inwale has gotten a little spongey from water getting into the wood at the bolt hole. It might last a long time, or it might come apart at a bad time, like in the middle of a trip.

Two very nice paddles. The laminated one is probably a Mitchell made for Mad River.

If the hull is stiff with no soft spots the price for the package is good, even with the old gunnels. I would press the gunnel point, but would be unlikely to walk away from the purchase. I do my own gunnel work, so the expense of replacement would not be much. If you are not interested in replacing gunnels yourself you need to ask around for cost to have someone do it.

tumblehome: "

Northwoodsman: "Ask them if it has a hull I.D. plate. If it does most likely the last two #'s in the hull I.D. will be the year it was built, that's pretty common and many builders adapted it."

A hull ID is a requirement for any commercial builder. The Coast Guard administers rules pertaining to boat identification.


https://uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification.php

More important than the year is the condition of the hull. From the pictures, it looks to be in good shape. If the canoe has been stored out of the sun then it should still have good life in it. The wood gunwales should be cleaned, sanded and then given a few good soaking coats of Watco wood oil.

The asking price is fair but of course there is plenty of room to negotiate. You are buying the canoe during the peak season for selling canoes so don’t waffle too long. Good luck!
Tom"

I knew that they had to attach a hull I.D but is it a requirement that the last two digits are the year that it was produced?

Just something to think about. Yesterday morning a Souris River 18.5 foot kevlar was listed on Facebook Marketplace for $1600. I couldn't find it by afternoon. I assume that someone noticed it, thought it a fair price, and bought it.

Northwoodsman: "I knew that they had to attach a hull I.D but is it a requirement that the last two digits are the year that it was produced?"

The format is defined in the regulations requiring it. There is no manufacturer interpretation. So yes that is required.

WRT the boat, the price looks good and as noted the gunnels need some work.

Wood gunwales are not that easy to repair. The first problem is getting the replacement material. It is hard to ship long pieces of lumber. It costs a lot. They often have to be scarfed into two or even three pieces. It is possible to make some but most gunwales have a bevel and other measurements that have to be taken into account. You could consider vinyl gunwales.

A nice canoe and a fair price but the gunwale problem might stop me.

Regarding the center seat. If the canoe is symmetrical (others probably know that information) You may want to consider sitting in the bow sitting backwards. The problem with just adding a center seat in a tandem canoe is the added reach in the center of the canoe for paddling

BonzSF

I look the canoe up online and the hull is symmetrical. I paddle my Explorer turned around sitting in the bow seat. It works well as a solo that way. If the gunwales are bad I would replace them with aluminum gunwales. It isn’t difficult to do and you would drop about 3#. If you have a trip plan this year you could pick them in Ely. Spirit of the Wilderness repairs and sell canoe repair parts. If the canoe was anywhere in Northern Minnesota I would be racing you to get it. If it is as good as it looks it would be a great canoe.

Carl

I had a couple of Malecites and really loved them as my 1st canoes.

You can turn it around and paddle from the front seat, but make sure you have some weight in the front or you will weather vane like you are on top of a barn.

I would suggest a waterproof dry bag that you can fill with water and empty at portages.

If the ash gunwales are solid $850.00 is a very fair price.

I wouldn't be scared off by those wooden gunwales.

You can some of the liquid wood hardener and use it on the soft spots, if necessary.

That could easily be a 20 year old boat and you don't need to be fancy with the wooden gunwales.