I borrowed a friend's canoe for an eight day canoe trip (Bowron Lakes, BC --
it was great). Upon returning we discovered a nickel-sized crack/hole on
one end (above water line). I told the guy beforehand and I mean it that I
would accept responsibility for any damage.

We both know a guy who does fiberglass work who says he can fix it up just
fine.
However, the owner of the canoe wants to return it to the manufacturer (less
than an hour away) and get it professionally done, sanded, painted,
rebuffed, etc., to the tune of $220 or so. The canoe is at least ten years
old, and is in good shape but hardly pristine. He got it for free.

I'm having a hard time reconciling to covering such an expensive repair on
an older canoe in this situation. What's the right thing to do here?

He did offer to sell it before we even left for $800 Canadian. It's a 16'
fiberglass Clipper Ranger. I haven't done the work yet to see if that's a
good price, but it seems on the high side. New ones can be had for $1180
(CAD).

What do people think?

JF