I’m looking at a used canoe . They say it’s a Souris River Kevlar model S-8. It’s a Tandem. 15’ long. 36” beam. Little to no rocker
I’m having trouble figuring out what it is
The hull plate is painted over and unreadable.
Anyone have any idea what it is and what it’s worth?
Thanks

The specs don't really match any Souris River specs. Call Wayne at Souris River Canoes - he'll know.

Is this the red and yellow one on Craigslist near San Francisco? I wondered if it could be an early prototype and sent SR the pics a few months ago and he was pretty sure it wasn’t one of theirs. He was going to send me more info on why but I didn’t hear again. It would interesting to hear the rest of his reasons. I didn’t have the supposed model number.

Yep, That's the one. The S-8 is my fabrication. It actually says "Kevlar 8". I don't know where the "S" came from. it is 178" long, 14'-10". It looks in great shape but when they painted it, they painted the hull plate too. they want $650. I was thinking of throwing a lower number at them.

Color me confused. So it is or isn't a Souris River?

It looks like it’s wood strip canoe that has been painted. You can see where the strips are glued together.

Carl

Wood strip was the analysis on the FB canoe trader forum too. I wondered if it could be a wood strip mold for an early effort by someone working with Kevlar. While it says Kevlar on it, I don't know at what point that got included in the paint job. I suppose drilling a small hole (e.g. for a bow line) would be instructive. Not sure how they would feel about that. But if it is light and paddles well, maybe it doesn't matter.

The previous owner said that they remember it being a Souris canoe. So it is a pretty vague story.

I’d say offer a lower number and see if you can get a test paddle at Shoreline Park. A few months ago the price was $300 higher so they may be in a mood to move it.

Another take. I think it is a one-off from a wood/canvas canoe. The impressions of the strakes are wide, maybe 2 inches, unlike a woodstrip with typical 3/4 inch strips. Somebody used an old woodie as a mould covering it with SaranWrap and laying up a kevlar hull over it.

Might be a real nice boat.

sedges: "Another take. I think it is a one-off from a wood/canvas canoe. The impressions of the strakes are wide, maybe 2 inches, unlike a woodstrip with typical 3/4 inch strips. Somebody used an old woodie as a mould covering it with SaranWrap and laying up a kevlar hull over it.


Might be a real nice boat."

That’s another thought I had. The Northstar Seliga mold was made that way. The hull of a new Seliga has marks from some of the copper nails heads from original wood canvas boat used to make the mold.

Carl

Wow you people on this board are great!
Thank you all for the insight. I put in an offer and haven't heard back. I would still check it out before forking over the cash. But I would give it a good home. I have an indoor space for it. Probably use mostly on lakes and our local tidal slough (though we call it a river). For camping , it would up in some higher altitude lakes in the Sierra. They are mostly granite shorelines and I would have to wetfoot. And If I get it, thinking of conversion to a solo.
I can't wait to start gathering information for next year's Quetico foray.
Merry Christmas and Seasons greetings to all.

Please let us know how this pans out for you, and if you do get the boat please post some additional pics so we can see for sure what's going on.

Did you ever hear back and/or check out the canoe in person?

Update
The canoe has been sold.
To ME! I went with just a few criteria. 1 it had to be sound with no rotting wood. 2, it had to weigh under 50 pounds 3 , no visible damage or abuse. Very little damage to the hull an no holes.
It looks in great shape and it comes in at about 45 lbs.
They took my offer of 500 including the paddles
(Unfortunately the paddles are jr size and smaller than jr size)
More to come thinking of a conversion to a solo

BonzSF: "Update
The canoe has been sold.
To ME! I went with just a few criteria. 1 it had to be sound with no rotting wood. 2, it had to weigh under 50 pounds 3 , no visible damage or abuse. Very little damage to the hull an no holes.
It looks in great shape and it comes in at about 45 lbs.
They took my offer of 500 including the paddles
(Unfortunately the paddles are jr size and smaller than jr size)
More to come thinking of a conversion to a solo "

Congrats on the new canoe! Enjoy it and provide an update on your experience. :)

Cool. Enjoy!

Canoe update
So a final update before I head over to the repair forum. I’m wondering if the first owner was saying “Sawyer” , not Souris.
I've looked for an obvious serial or hull number and can't find anything. Where would be the best place to start looking?
Me: this is the first canoe I've ever bought. I don't know much about canoes at all really. My experience is mostly with the Grumman aluminum tanks we used on the Russian River.
But after two trips to the BW, I really wanted my own. I liked throwing a canoe on my shoulders and walking to different lakes. I hope I didn't make a mistake or get in over my head.
Canoe dimensions and condition.
15’ tandem, 35” beam, asymmetrical hull with 1” of rocker,
19” bow ht, 14” mid height 19” stern height. 47 Lbs.
$500 with two paddles 48" and 42"
Foam core design with painted wooden gunnels. The canoe wall thickness appears to be about 3/8".
Seats are wood frame with vinyl seats. One thwart in the center, right on the balance point. The wood is varnished and looks clear. no knots or rotting.
The bottom is very rough from the repair/painting.
There are several Bubbles or delamination on the inside. A 16" oval at the feet of the front seat. and a couple of 2"-3" x 10" places It looks a lot like they correspond with damage or hits to the outside of the hull. Some places on the outside also feel like a bubble and are thin. I'm thinking to poke a small hole or slice and fill the void with epoxy from the inside. But I'm afraid it might melt the good foam still in there.
What kind of epoxy or filler should I use in there?
Any thoughts or advice. Is it worth working on it or is it just a hole in the water in which to throw money? This is my first canoe that I've bought and don't know what would be involved in repair. I don't want to spend a lot but would like to try camping out of it. so I want something seaworthy.
I can't post pictures for some reason but I'll post them to my profile.
Thanks for any and all help.
Tim
Edit, I can't seem to load any pictures right now. Keep getting an error message from the site

Pictures

Gunnel showing foam core and delam below

Seat and thwart

Rough bottom and repaired area. It's feels very thin bubble in some areas.

More rough bottom.

Delams


interior view

I'm thinking I might have screwed up and wasted $500 on a basket case.
Please tell me it might be salvageable.
Thanks
Tim

It appears this is a one-off homemade foam strip build. Now that you own it, it's time to get it ready to use. If this were mine I'd sand it inside and out and cut out the glass bubbles with a sharp utility knife. If there are bubbles on both sides in an area, just repair one side at a time. This canoe appears to be made very rough, so I wouldn't spend much time trying to get anything perfect. Repair the bubble areas with overlapping layers of 4 or 6 oz glass and good epoxy, west systems, raka etc. After the repairs, the next important thing is to buy some paint in a pleasing color and cover up the ketchup and mustard. I'm thinking a dark green over everything. Don't buy expensive marine paint. Use either rustoleum or an oil based enamel from Lowes or Home Depot. The important thing is to get it ready for the water and use it. Good Luck!

mkdixon: ". After the repairs, the next important thing is to buy some paint in a pleasing color and cover up the ketchup and mustard. I'm thinking a dark green over everything. important thing is to get it ready for the water and use it. Good Luck!"

What you don't like the Red and Gold?? Go Niners

I was thinking of poking a little hole on one side of it and another at the other side (of the bubble that is) Then pump in some Sikaflex in one end and push the air out the other. A couple of sand bags to flatten it out while it sets. Sand and paint the outside and get it in the water. God knows we got enough around here now. Every vineyard and field is practically a lake right now!
Thanks for the advice.

Glad that you got some good advise above. I’m curious about the foam core material. What are the walls? Are they Kevlar as advertised or something else. It is a pretty light boat and hopefully you can get it fixed up for long term use.

I expect a few other people to weigh in if they realize this is now about repair. Also, on Facebook there is a group called Canoe Outfitting & Repair that has a good number of people who do this sort of thing.

So in case anybody wants an update. I've done the repairs and gone paddling in it.
It is definitely a foam core boat. The hull thickness is about 7/16 to1/2".
The "kevlar" claim is still dubious. on the bottom , it looks like a gel coat with very thin layer of , Fiberglass(?). It was pretty easy to slice through with my knife but it could be a very thin layer of kevlar. I did all repairs on the outside and haven't touched the inside. (yet)
So the repairs....(sigh). The bottom was so rough because the repair material appeared to be vinyl roof patch. Some of the areas had some sort of mesh material embedded in the vinyl. There were places where it felt very thin and flexible I started peeling it off and repairing there. I used my theory of Sikaflex construction sealant to "glue" it back together. I then tried Silicone caulking to fill some of the smaller voids and filled the scars (from cutting it open) with the Sikaflex. I stopped peeling and sanded down the edges. Then sanded the heck out of it and painted with some exterior latex house paint. I thought the oil based paint wouldn't stick to the vinyl or it would crack with the flexibility. Then I turned it over. The gunnels where two pieces of wood that sandwiched the hull. You could see the ends of the foam strips in the middle. It had been painted but chipped and cracked real easy. That exposed the foam to the elements and made it possible for water to get between the hull. I cleaned out the old paint and pushed the foam down to make a 1/4" deep groove. then put a bead of siliconized caulk to fill it up. I used blue painters tape to keep it neat.
I took it out today and it worked quite well. I sat in the front seat backwards to solo it. No leaks and glides along just fine. So a sub 50 lb boat for $500 seems like a good deal. Though it's not for whitewater. It's sure is easy to load and launch. Now I have to go camping!

Good job on the repairs. Light, inexpensive, and good to paddle. I agree, that's a win. Hope you have lots of fun with it. Maybe you can't take it to the South Fork of the American, but it never had the hull shape for that anyway. Looks like you could have a good time on a lot of the other water around our area.

I wouldn’t even go down Cache Creek. It’s strictly a flat water boat. Luckily I have a tidal slough right here. And I can fish for stripped bass and sturgeon on the incoming tide.

Enjoy. No sloughs near us but we are trying to drive down to Elkhorn Slough for the otters more often.