The Great Getaway: Run Your Own Canoe Livery!

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Sources
Aluminum Canoes

Alumacraft Boat Company
315 W. St. Julien St.
St. Peter, MN 56082

Grumman Boats
P.O. Box 428
Marathon, NY 13803

Michi-Craft Corporation
P.O. Box 1138 
20,000 Nineteen Mile Rd.
Big Rapids, MI 49307

ABS Canoes

Blue Hole Canoe Company
P.O. Box 179
Sunbright, TN 37872

Mad River Canoe, Inc.
P.O. Box 610
Waitsfield, VT 05673

I suggest that you try to buy all your equipment from the busiest retail outdoor center in the nearest city. (You won't be purchasing enough merchandise to warrant wholesale prices from manufacturers.) The retailer might give you a slight discount, but more important, he or she will probably refer a lot of business in your direction, which in the long run will more than pay for the initial cost of equipment.

Your major outlay will be for canoes, which can cost from $300 up, depending on material and make. Of the various types of canoes on the market, aluminum ones are generally considered the best for rental purposes. They're quite durable (though "dentable"), maneuverable in most grades of water, and easy to care for. Grumman Boats (see the access list for the company's address) is about the largest and best manufacturer of aluminum craft. Its standard 17-footer (a good length for two passengers) retails for around $450.

If price isn't a problem, and if you're dealing primarily with white water, you might want to think about ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) canoes. These sleek, extremely tough cruisers, which retail at around $700, are excellent at finessing rapids and are some of the finest canoes on the market.

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