Had the same idea this spring, called in advance to verify they had over a dozen 15' Scott's (was looking for a smaller 2nd canoe) My son and I drove up on the first day, but didn't arrive until 3pm, and there was not a single canoe left of any size.  The impression I got was that noon would have been too late even.

If you go for it, plan to be there before opening.  Not sure if any board members were in on the action, and can provide more feedback.

Keep in mind, you usually get what you pay for, (and that each decent patch will add 1-2 lbs potentially) but any canoe is better than no canoe!!!

Lots of other outfitters sell off boats too, check with any in your range.

As for kijiji, kevlar canoes aren't easy to come by, or seem to disappear quick.  Be prepared to search and drive a decent distance, depending where you are.

GOOD LUCK!

Urgh... I attended The Portage Store's Annual Spring Used Canoe Sale. To make a long story short, be there before the sun rises. Even though the sale clearly states that it starts at 8AM, people will have already physically taken the canoes off the racks and will stand next to them.

I wanted to get a used Souris River for my husband for graduating, but we didn't even have a chance. I was VERY disappointed with the planning, time and effort to attend that sale. We arrived at 7:30AM.. it wasn't early enough. There was already at least 20 people there and all but a few canoes spoken for.

Let's put it this way, if you were selling off a bunch of used canoes on a Saturday, but someone showed up Friday night with cash in hand, would you refuse the sale?

I wrote a blog post about the whole ordeal.
http://wabooseadventures.com/2015/05/11/the-canoe-that-got-away/

Yeah, it frustating when events like these are so poorly organized. The semi-anual MEC Gear Exchanges are the same way (in TO, at any rate). It bothers me when you arrive early to line up for the first-come-first-serve tickets to be handed out (used to be at 9:00 but often earlier in recent years ) and then at 11:00 am when the doors open there is no attempt at policing the entry to the sale. Its just a free-for-all with people pushing their way through ahead of their ticket number. Even people who arrive just before 11:00 and don't even have tickets manage to worm their way through the crowd and gain entry in the first group. A few years back there was a young collage-age girl who couldn't have weighed much more than 100 lbs that got pushed to the ground by the crush and could have been seriously hurt if I didn't use my size to hold the crowd back long enough to allow her to gain her feet.

cbskillz wrote:

That story is enough to make me seriously reconsider my plan. The Killarney sale posted by Marko might be a better option. I'll have to do some more digging!

Full disclosure, I work for AO. No need to wait until spring, it is used canoe season at our Oxtongue Lake store. Not allowed to post a link yet, so follow these directions:
algonquinoutfitters dot com > events > sales >  used canoe, kayak and SUP sale

 

AO_GordB wrote:

cbskillz wrote:

That story is enough to make me seriously reconsider my plan. The Killarney sale posted by Marko might be a better option. I'll have to do some more digging!

Full disclosure, I work for AO. No need to wait until spring, it is used canoe season at our Oxtongue Lake store. Not allowed to post a link yet, so follow these directions:
algonquinoutfitters dot com > events > sales >  used canoe, kayak and SUP sale

 

Thank you! Might be there in Oct, if all goes according to plan! Hopefully there are some left......

http://algonquinoutfitters.com/events/sales/used-canoe-sale/

Why is posting links not allowed... works for me, click the link button to the right of youtube and paste the link in. Some nice canoes there, I'd drive over if I had the time.

The forum system only allows the posting of links and photos after a user has already made a few postings. I think it's part of the system's effort to discourage commercial spamming.