17' 4" Old Town Dicovery - How much should I pay

[nofishfisherman]

I have the chance to buy a 17'4" Old Town Discovery (early 90's). I am wondering what a fair price for one would be. It appears to be in really good condition and from what I understand about these canoes is that they are pretty much indestructible.

What are your thoughts on these canoes- good or bad. Would this be a good canoe for occasional BWCA trips with wife and dog and maybe kids in the future.

Any thoughts would be great, thanks.

[Duffman]

The Discovery was my first canoe, I loved the fact that you didn't have to baby it, it took punishment and came back asking for more. But after twenty years it just became too heavy for me to want to deal with all the time. It handled the load of me the wife and hound for a few BWCA trips with no problems. But my days of portaging that pig any distance are behind me.

As for price, check on Craigs List to give you some ideas what they are going for used.

It's a popular canoe model, others should be able to chime in on this subject as well.

[Quetico]

I'm with Duffman. It was my first boat. They take a beating. I would never want to portage it.

Just keep the F-150's off them. That's probably the only thing that can't handle. I just wish someone had told my sister that before she accidentally drove over mine.

If your going to be doing much portaging with them, get the Penobscot.

If you want to try out a Penobscot sometime, let me know. I'll happily take you out fishing in mine. You can try portaging it and see how it handles.

[traveler]

Ditto the Pnobscot...the discovery is a beast to portage! But it will work, and it IS pretty tough, and a very stable fishing canoe. How much? I could see paying 300 if it looks decent. How much are they new nowadays?

[nofishfisherman]

The guy selling is wanting $400 for the discovery. Seemed like an ok deal but not amazing. I like the idea that it is really stable and large as I can see it being used as a family canoe in the future and i would also like to fish out of it. However I can only afford one canoe right now and I also want something that I can portage without killing myself.

I've looked at the penobscot in the stores and that has always been the one I've had my eye on. I think I'll keep looking to see if I can find a used one around somewhere unless they drop the price of that Discovery 174.

Thanks for the info.