Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) My son Jared and I went to look at this canoe 2 days ago (it was advertised on one of the internet used item buy/sell sites, and was only about a half hour drive away). We got there, looked over it critically, the seller went down on his price to 250 dollars from 375, so I bought it and we took it for a test run on Lake Oolenoy. It is an old canoe, built in 1974 by the then-existing Sawyer canoe company, made of fiberglass, 18 feet long, 3 feet wide at beam. I am not sure what model it is, possibly the Guide Special. I am pleased with the purchase. It is a good canoe. Anybody happen to know a lot about old Sawyer company canoes that could help me pinpoint the model? I have done some internet research, but there is only so much info available about such old canoes from a no longer existing company Edited September 25, 2018 by Dread Pirate Robert 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) Took this pic from that canoe on Lake Oolenoy during the test run. Pickens County, SC, near Table Rock Mountain, about 4 miles from my house. Edited September 25, 2018 by Dread Pirate Robert 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) Sorry DPR, I can't help with the model, but I love getting out on the lake and that is one heck of a shot of Lake Oolenoy . Edited September 25, 2018 by Lucas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) Took this pic from that canoe on Lake Oolenoy during the test run. Pickens County, SC, near Table Rock Mountain, about 4 miles from my house. Wow, that is beautiful country! A friend and I used to canoe a lot in high school and college but all I remember was that Sawyers were supposed to be good canoes! (Sorry, not much help, I know.). You were smarter than we were- We have three kids and at one point I decided we needed a canoe that fit everyone. We got a good deal on a used great big Grumman (and my back has regretted it ever since! A lot of lifting onto the car roof!) Actually my kids had a blast with it as they got older and fit all their friends in. It's too big to mess around with now and I have been working on Mr. blues with the idea of a 2 person kayak instead. Wishing you and your son wonderful adventures! :) Edited September 25, 2018 by blueschica 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Out of curiosity, I googled Sawyer to see what I could find Here's a pretty good discussion, and they mention the models and how to ID some of 'em http://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=forum.thread&threadId=913394&forumID=15&confID=1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) Took this pic from that canoe on Lake Oolenoy during the test run. Pickens County, SC, near Table Rock Mountain, about 4 miles from my house. Wow, that is beautiful country! A friend and I used to canoe a lot in high school and college but all I remember was that Sawyers were supposed to be good canoes! (Sorry, not much help, I know.). You were smarter than we were- We have three kids and at one point I decided we needed a canoe that fit everyone. We got a good deal on a used great big Grumman (and my back has regretted it ever since! A lot of lifting onto the car roof!) Actually my kids had a blast with it as they got older and fit all their friends in. It's too big to mess around with now and I have been working on Mr. blues with the idea of a 2 person kayak instead. Wishing you and your son wonderful adventures! :) There is no one perfect canoe for all purposes. Sounds like you got a good canoe for your family at that time. I had a small canoe as a teenager, growing up in Marlboro County, SC. Mostly paddled it on a swampy lake/pond with alligataors in it on the upper end where the main creek came into it, though elswhere a few times also, including on the Pee Dee River. I have not owned a canoe since then until two days ago. I have used them many times in the years in between, either renting one for a specific outing or using my brother's. We had some memorable canoe/camping experiences in my brother's big canoe, with the two of us and my two young kids and his one. The thing is big enough to hold about 1,400 pounds of weight capacity. I never have gotten into kayaks. I have tried them. I prefer canoes. Edited September 25, 2018 by Dread Pirate Robert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 I have been working on Mr. blues with the idea of a 2 person kayak instead. Let me try to persuade you to go for a lighter canoe instead, since I happen to believe, and my two children agree with me, that a canoe is superior to a kayak in just about every way. There are lots of smaller, lighter canoes on the market than the full family beast you described above. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 (edited) Out of curiosity, I googled Sawyer to see what I could find Here's a pretty good discussion, and they mention the models and how to ID some of 'em http://bwca.com/inde...mID=15&confID=1 thanks for that. it is similar to other such site I have read, trying to id the particular model that I have bought. I still don't know the answer, and perhaps never will, and I am good with that. A mystery canoe with a shark face. Cool. Anyway, all those sites have in common that the old sawyer canoes were generally loved by the people that owned them. There seems to be a consensus that Sawyer was known for making good canoes. Edited September 25, 2018 by Dread Pirate Robert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goose Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Here's some Sawyer Canoe catalog pages... http://bwca.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=photos.view&viewusername=HansSolo&catid=5079&journalname=Sawyer%20Canoe%20Company-canoe%20specs%20%26%20catalog%20pages 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueschica Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 I have been working on Mr. blues with the idea of a 2 person kayak instead. Let me try to persuade you to go for a lighter canoe instead, since I happen to believe, and my two children agree with me, that a canoe is superior to a kayak in just about every way. There are lots of smaller, lighter canoes on the market than the full family beast you described above. I'm glad to hear from someone that has had experience with both! Yes, it's mainly that we need something smaller and lighter. We have always enjoyed canoeing, except for a few creeks around here that are too shallow, where we sometimes go tubing. :) :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 Here's some Sawyer Canoe catalog pages... http://bwca.com/inde...& catalog pages Yeah, I saw that in my research. It is from the info on that site that I concluded that my canoe model might be the Guide Special 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Pirate Robert Posted September 25, 2018 Author Share Posted September 25, 2018 I have been working on Mr. blues with the idea of a 2 person kayak instead. Let me try to persuade you to go for a lighter canoe instead, since I happen to believe, and my two children agree with me, that a canoe is superior to a kayak in just about every way. There are lots of smaller, lighter canoes on the market than the full family beast you described above. I'm glad to hear from someone that has had experience with both! Yes, it's mainly that we need something smaller and lighter. We have always enjoyed canoeing, except for a few creeks around here that are too shallow, where we sometimes go tubing. :) :) Seriously, what is the advantage of a kayak over a canoe? There is none, unless perhaps one is hunting whales in the arctic ocean with a harpoon, and the closed shell nature of a kayak might help keep one warm instead of freezing to death in the ocean spray. Frankly, I consider the current kayak craze to be just a silly fad. The canoe is a better boat for almost all purposes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldRUSHfan Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 Here is a site about the company from a person who LIVED in Oscoda, Michigan, where the 'factory' was, along with the man who started and owned it, Ralph Sawyer.http://sawyerstoryblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/ralph-sawyers-oscoda-mi-canoe-factory.html If it is 16 ft. it's the Cruiser, if it's 18 ft., it's a Guide. I love the Tiger mouth decoration, probably a borrow from the American Volunteer Group, the group of pilots sent to China early in WW 2 to fight the Japanese air force, that had 'Tiger mouth' decorations on their aircraft, Curtiss P-40 Bs more info than you probably want or need...lolI've been to Oscoda, but never hung around to look through the town. Went to dinner there at a place that's no longer there as far as I could find out, but Bob's or something like that, you got a LOT of food for decent price. speciallizing in spaghetti, anyway....Big closed Air Force Base just NW of it....Hope this helps! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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