I bought a used 'blemished' Kaynoe (the same basic polyethelene canoe as the Old Town Discovery 119) about 2 years ago from the local classifieds, for $175 in like-new condition (paddle and life jacket included!). I was impressed with it's light (44#) weight, especially after lugging a 75# 16' canoe around for several years. After two trips on the local lake I tossed that awful plastic monstrosity they call a seat and built a lightweight wood frame seat, topped it with a section of plastic lid from a storage bin (light, strong, waterproof, cheap), covered it with a piece of sheepskin for comfort, lowered it 4" with drilled out dowels under the gunnels, and moved it forward slightly for better weight distribution. A center thwart fashioned from a piece of 4" oak completed the retrofit and made carrying it much easier. I like this boat. With a good J-stoke it's manageable even in lake chops but it really shines in mild/slow water. The perfect boat for sneak hunts during bow season and fishing smaller ponds/streams. My next project will be to set it up for rowing...need to do some homework on that.
For the money and for an easy-to-load one person small watercraft that has room for gear but won't break the bank, this little plastic workhorse is darned near unbeatable. Too bad it doesn't come in a 14' version... it might just be perfect, lol.
