Gazelle Canoes

[Tyguy85]

Originally Posted by stevedonkey

I know this thread is old, but it pops up when people search for "Gazelle canoe" so I figured I'd write here. Gazelle Canoe was my grandfather's company. Well, the company was actually called Fiberglass Plus Recreational Industries (FPRI) located in Kennebunk, Maine and we made Gazelle brand canoes, Indian of Maine truck caps as well as the occasional fiberglass part for amusement park rides (like the log flume rides at Fun Town and Canobie Lake Park) and even sometimes for airplanes.

Anyway, the canoes are essentially the same as the more popular Old Town. I think the mold was basically the same. We sprayed and rolled the fiberglass by hand, so not sure if that makes them better or worse than machine-made fiberglass products. The square stern are indeed intended for a motor, and if I remember correctly, the serial numbers for those ones will all end in SS. The serial number is indented in the gelcoat I believe near the bow on the right-hand side (been a while, so I might be wrong).

We sold them new in the late '90s for $499 including aluminun paddles ($50 extra for nice wooden ones). I think we went out of business around 2002 I think, so any canoes or truck caps you find will be at least that old. If anyone has any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Hi there, thanks for the info! Curious if you also made royalex canoes? I am considering buying one that is in great shape. The owner said it was a Gazelle royalex model but all of the research I have found was that Gazelle only made fiberglass models. Hoping you can confirm or deny that? Thanks!

[OutdoorLover]

You can't buy new Royalex canoes these days anymore, but there is a company in Quebec that is making canoes from a close cousin that's supposed to actually be a little better material - 10% lighter and more scratch resistant, and still with the same ruggedness, light weight, and reasonable cost... if you're interested, the company is called Esquif, and they call the material T-Formex, and they do have some dealers in the USA.

https://esquif.com/en/

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Back around 1975, there was a couples canoe club in Bucksport. Old Town was producing their first Tripper canoes and they were very popular. The hulls were Royalex. I bought a "second" at Old Town's spring sale where they unloaded their seconds". A year or two later, the canoe company in Eddington that made the fiberglass canoes painted like birchbark announced that they were going to make canoes like the ones Old Town made. He said they would be made with ABS plastic. Somebody asked what ABS as and I just couldn't resist. I said, "artificially bonded styrofoam. The speaker looked dismayed. I then said they were actually made with acrylonitrilebutadyenestyrene. He said I was right and how did I know that. I just said, "engineers, we cant help it."

Those two green trippers are still in the family. They have been on all the big rivers in Maine and many lakes and ponds. Old Town markets kevlar and epoxy kits to protect the bows and sterns of their canoes. They are still on both ends of both Trippers.

Old Town's outlet store is closed. I don't now if they intend to reopen it. I need to buy a replacement center thwart for one of the trippers. I could make one, but I have enough projects.

Tip:To ensure that the kevlar is smooth without sanding and varnishing, Get some saran wrap and stretch it over the saturated kevlar. Use a pin or ice pick to let the bubbles out and after the epoxy hardens the kevlar will be smooth as glass.

[Cuwi]

tyguy, did you ever figure out ore info on your gazelle royalex canoe?