Canoes & Equipment

Guests board shuttle buses on the store side of the highway ( photo rear).

Canoes and kayaks are all made of tough plastic, the only material which can withstand a long season of hard use. Canoes and kayaks take a tremendous amount of wear and tear as they scrap across rocks, get flipped and sunk, and ground across gravel bars. They sit outside under the hot sun all summer. They bounce and bang on trailers over rough back roads during shuttle runs. Metal or wood canoes cannot withstand this level of sustained abuse.

Guests are used to battered up canoes and therefore do not expect "fancy". In fact they'd rather have "old beaters" because they then don't worry about adding a few more scratches and scrapes. Therefore it does not pay to purchase new canoes. Most canoe operations purchase used watercraft.

Repairs on plastic watercraft is relatively easy. Southfork Resort has a special type of welder used for welding and patching plastic canoes. Most repairs are made during off season.

Canoes are stored on land in the storage area below the owner's home

The total number of float watercraft varies at any point in time. Some are too old to repair. Owners may find a good buy on used watercraft and buy several. On average Southfork Resort has about 70 canoes, 30 kayaks, 10 rafts, and 40 tubes. Again, it is important to note that these counts will vary. At the time of sale the owners will guarantee in the contract a set number of each.

The preferred brand for canoes is Old Town Commercial. These are 3-layer outfitter canoes are designed for the rough use rental canoes experience. Southfork uses either 15'8" or 16'9" long Old Town Commercial grade canoes. The preferred kayak brand is Jackson Kayak.

Lifting plastic canoes seven feet up onto a trailer can be accomplished by the average person. However, it goes a little faster with two people. Each canoe weights about 80 pounds, but it is not necessary to lift the full weight in one thrust.

Shuttles are either vans or school buses having various seating capacities. The normal trailer inventory is 8 canoe trailers. Used vehicles are purchased for use as canoe shuttles. It is not cost effective to use new vehicles

Commercial Driver's Licenses - School bus drivers must have a commercial driver’s license if they drive a vehicle designed to transport (seat) 16 or more persons, including the driver.

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