I've just purchased a 16' Prospector. I've also been to their factory and
spoken with Mark Watson.

I researched the market fairly extensively before making a decision and
since my requirement is mainly recreational I was not prepared to pay the
prices quoted by Swift, Scott, Evergreen, Old Town etc. etc. I have looked
at used Swifts in the past and have been frankly disappointed at what they
have offered. The cost savings do not seem much considering the beaten up
nature of most of the boats.

Watson boats are hand laid up and seem well generally well constructed. They
have a few canoes on sale and you might (like me) find a Prospector at about
CAD $100 off. The current book prices are $799 for the Prospector single
keel and $689 for the triple keel. Without doubt part of the reason for
their low prices is their overhead. Their premises are small and very
modest. However, they have been in the business for over 30 years and seem
to enjoy a fairly good reputation locally at least.

Regards,

Roy

I'm in the market for a new/used canoe. I've been paddling increasingly
over the past couple years and would like to get one for this year.

I'm not looking at spending alot of money initially, and I will be
renting the canoes before I actually buy one. I'll be heading up to
Swift in Muskoka over the next week to see what they have. Budget is
realistically around $1000 (Canadian), so that pretty much means
used/demo/rental from Swift.

I just found Watson canoes (www.watsoncanoes.com), and seeing as they
are about 20 minutes from here, I was going to go check them out. They
say the boats are hand-laid fiberglass, and the 16' Prospector is 58lbs,
which seems manageable.

Anyone know anything about these guys?

Any assistance appreciated,

Thanks

Brian

CORRECTION: The name of the Watson 16' boats is "Voyageur" -not
"Prospector".

I've just finished reading "Fire in the Bones" and have "Prospector" on the
brain

Apologies,

Roy

"araby" wrote in message
t.cable.rogers.com...
I've just purchased a 16' Prospector. I've also been to their factory and
spoken with Mark Watson.

I researched the market fairly extensively before making a decision and
since my requirement is mainly recreational I was not prepared to pay the
prices quoted by Swift, Scott, Evergreen, Old Town etc. etc. I have looked
at used Swifts in the past and have been frankly disappointed at what they
have offered. The cost savings do not seem much considering the beaten up
nature of most of the boats.

Watson boats are hand laid up and seem well generally well constructed.
They
have a few canoes on sale and you might (like me) find a Prospector at
about
CAD $100 off. The current book prices are $799 for the Prospector single
keel and $689 for the triple keel. Without doubt part of the reason for
their low prices is their overhead. Their premises are small and very
modest. However, they have been in the business for over 30 years and seem
to enjoy a fairly good reputation locally at least.

Regards,

Roy

I'm in the market for a new/used canoe. I've been paddling increasingly
over the past couple years and would like to get one for this year.

I'm not looking at spending alot of money initially, and I will be
renting the canoes before I actually buy one. I'll be heading up to
Swift in Muskoka over the next week to see what they have. Budget is
realistically around $1000 (Canadian), so that pretty much means
used/demo/rental from Swift.

I just found Watson canoes (www.watsoncanoes.com), and seeing as they
are about 20 minutes from here, I was going to go check them out. They
say the boats are hand-laid fiberglass, and the 16' Prospector is 58lbs,
which seems manageable.

Anyone know anything about these guys?

Any assistance appreciated,

Thanks

Brian