Piranha Royalex Prospector Open Canoe

Piranha Royalex Prospector Open Canoe. I’m finally selling my old Royalex Piranha Prospector. It’s 15’6 and has vinyl seats and gunwales. It’s had a hard life and was folded in two in rapids about 20 years ago. The previous owner (Lester Matthews - retired coach) unfolded it and made an ash reinforcement that was sweated and bent to shape.

You can see this under the yoke in the pics. It has worked perfectly as a repair and the boat functions normally I felt that the big crease around the bottom of the boat could let water into the layers of Royalex and so took an angle grinder to the crease and filled it with G-flex, thus making the repair stronger than the boat. This was three years ago. It worked. Watch the videos on the G-flex website.

It was designed for repairing Royalex. They cut a boat in two. Stick it together with G-flex - the boat breaks elsewhere - not the repair - which is stronger than the boat. My point is the repair doesn’t look pretty, but is rock solid! It’s also below the water line so most of the time you can’t see it.

Since then, It’s been heavily loaded on several trips since, including the Great Glen last year, where it was sailed with a Solway Dory Expedition Rig. It’s also been on several Wye trips and a number of trips, including white water with the Open Canoe Association Fully loaded it was moved past locks on the great glen, on a c-tug trolley with so signs of bending, etc. It’s a strong, solid, if slightly tatty boat (but a boat should be “used” and scratched in my book). It’s fully rigged for expedition, with an airbag and block. The airbag has no repairs and holds air for many months.

The foam block is good too. I’ve done Canoe rescues last year in it as part of my canoe coach courses. The bags work as they should! The boat was fully re-laced last year with new rope running through plastic tubing to make clipping in easy. It has floating rope painters at both ends!

The keel rubbing strake is coming off, although I may get chance to stick this back down before selling. It just needs a bit of Evostick. (Just done - but it really could do with a new one). I’m selling it as I have bought a new Silverbirch, that I can manage better on my own. My kids are also disabled and can’t help me get it around the back of the house.

You can see from the Pics that next to the Silverbirch it’s VERY similar. Same length. Similar width. Similar rocker. This canoe is just heavier!

I’ve had this boat a few years now, after my friend sold it to me, to get me started. I’m sure it could help someone else getting into the sport. . . It’s a Prospector and holds weight well, sails beautifully and is at home in white water. Being Royalex it also floats too!

Even with its repair it’s still so much better than most of the flat bottomed “river barges” available on classifieds board! It has a decent rocker, so when you edge it, it turns quickly. Let’s face it. It’s a Royalex Prospector and they are now like Rocking Horse shit. I’m based in Birmingham.

2 miles from M6 Jct 6 (Sphagetti Junction) I’m not going to let it go for silly money. It still has value to me as a spare boat to take friends canoeing in. On 06-Sep-23 at 18:27:14 BST, seller added the following information: I have dropped the reserve to £225. So, airbag and buoyancy block would be £100-120 to replace. There is new lacing in plastic tube all around boat.

Plus bow and aft lines. So reserve means you are probably paying £100 or less for the boat itself!! I’d keep it myself, but need to get a lighter boat for my disabled kids to use. I struggle to handle this boat onto a roof alone.