Submitted: 11-15-2010 by Manuel Marques
I bought a used RAM-X 17 last summer, my very first canoe (well, I also have an inflatable Sevylor kayak, but I doubt if that counts!). Did a good deal - 250 euros for the canoe, plus 3 paddles and 3 life jackets. From the HIN I deduced it must be at least 17 years old.
I wished I had more time to go in the water with it, however I was able to do some nice river exploration with it. Didn't try whitewater, though - however, the previous owner (a recreational club) did a lot of mountain river descents, and the bottom of the canoe is all scraped up - of course, given that this is RAM-X, I'm not worried with the dents, which are at most 1 mm deep. They used the canoes (there were 4 for sale, now I believe they still have 2 left!) extensively, and that is noticeable - both buoyancy compartment covers are missing (I'll probably stick some wood panels there, once I get the measurements right), seats are a little cracked, but nothing serious!
With me and my younger brother paddling, it moved fairly fast, and when stopped one notices it is extremely stable.
I still plan on doing larger outings with the canoe (especially some which involve camping, given the large cargo compartment it has...), but first I need to get some proper vehicle mounts! :)
Works as expected, and it is doable for two men to carry for *short* distances - portaging it for more than 500 m is out of the question! |