Steve, other folks seem to like aluminum canoes a lot, so your family
will. When I sold a 15Foot aluminum in pristine shape for $300,
original purchase price, in Annapolis, MD, last year, I could have sold
20 the same day.

Having owned and paddled a couple of aluminum canoes, it seems to me a
major challenge is getting both stems, the inevitable seams at each
end, into the same plane. If not well-matched, an angled stem in a
heavily-laden canoe will veer off track on a long reach.

I bought a 17foot aluminum canoe from Sears in the 1970's; I mention
this as a datapoint - it weighted over 70 pounds. I could cartop-lift
it then, but don't have the strength now. Be sure you have a plan for
final overall weight, lest you build a miniature "Naval destroyer".

;=)

Denny Hugg