Wow, I haven't priced new canoes for some time but had no idea they're well over $2K now! That amount would come close to covering the material cost of building a cedar strip canoe. The labour is another matter.... it takes time & patience.
I've been paddling since I was a teen. 1st canoe was a fire engine red 16' St. Maurice fibreglass. Next came a 17' Lund aluminum. Don't recall the weight, too long ago, but I do remember car topping the Lund myself. I purchased a 2hp Johnson & mounting bracket for that one too. Got me across one lake quickly so I could portage to a smaller one that held trout.
Strangely I have no photos of the St. Maurice, but here's the Lund. If I were to go with motor today, it would be electric.
While living in Ottawa a buddy of mine built a Bob's Special cedar strip canoe & ever since that building my own was on the bucket list. A year after moving to Vernon I got started. Stretched the 15' design length to 16'. It's based on a vintage Chestnut design, altered slightly for modern cedar strip construction. Several years ago I built another, this time standard 15' for my daughter & son in law. This spring I finished a Rob Roy solo for myself. Smaller, lighter & faster but the trade off is reduced stability & cargo capacity. My 16' Bob's weighs 56 lbs, the Rob Roy weighs 36 lbs.
Big Bob & Little Bob on the day I had Hummingbird ready for launch.
Rob Roy solo, Das Boot piggy back on Bob's
Rob Roy on launch day, my favourite alpine lake. It's propelled using double paddle like a kayak & seat is just off the bottom same as a 'yak.