Here’s a fowl offering on facebook Marketplace: the seller has owned this pelican paddler for ten years, but is willing to part with it for $2500. The pelican formerly nested at the Julia Davis Park in Boise, Idaho; it remains shored in Boise, waiting for an opportunity to ply the waters of your pond. The Julia Davis Park was founded in 1907 when Thomas Davis, a pioneer, deeded forty acres of his land located along the Boise River to the town. Davis stipulated that the area should be named after his wife in perpetuity. Continuing donations of land have brought the park up to about 90 acres. Always a prime family recreation spot, the park now features waterways, a zoo, rose gardens, picnic spots, and museums. Its paddle boats have been a big draw for decades. Nowadays, the boats are conventional pontoon shapes, but years ago, swans and pelicans ferried people across park waters. References to birds in the flock ceased after 2016.
Research suggests that a company called Adventure Glass may have made these paddlers from fiberglass. Hard to know without pinging the seller for more information, but we can tell you that the paddle mechanism will involve much effort for very little forward progress. Reviewers who experienced the “animal boats” say that five minutes of fierce work will barely take you anywhere. Even the company running the modern operation at the park, Discovery Center of Idaho, warns that if you want a tour of the entire perimeter of the lake, you’d better rent your boat for an hour.
This example is a two-seater, but four-seaters were also available (life jackets recommended!) This one’s head/neck looks like one piece, with the body bonded together around a seam. No word whether it leaks, but if you’re halfway handy with fiberglass repair, a fix is cheap.
So, what should we think of the price of this bird? Perusing paddle boats turns up two at almost twice the price, though one is a four-seater, and they’re both new. This Blue Heron is available for $4700 – and can be optioned with a motor at extra cost! – and this two-seater Duck comes in at $4500. I’m no bird expert, but $2500 for a vintage Pelican with a bit of history seems reasonable to me, though I’ve never actually contemplated owning a paddle boat. What do you think?
That Blue Heron looks more like a grey swan 🦢 lol. Good stuff Michelle.
Michelle!!! You have surpassed any ideas I may have had when you said you were working on some upcoming unique stuff!! Good Grief!!! You seriously surpassed any ideas my brain could have come up with.
When you said, ” $2500 for a vintage Pelican with a bit of history seems reasonable to me.” You had me laughing. I have no clue what these should be priced at, but hey, if your in the market for a Vintage Pelican paddle boat, well, Bob’s your uncle on this one. Thanks again Michelle, we always enjoy your write ups. And, I just wanted to say that……. This write up really “Floats my boat”.
Ok, enough of the Bad Dad Jokes tonight. I’ll just see myself out.
This pelican is ideal for someone who do doesn’t want a high maintenance chick.
This looks like something a drunk guy would bring home from the auction.
I absolutely love this!! If it were a goose, rather than a Pelican, I’d be figuring out transport costs. If I get desperate enough to have one, I can always buy the duck and paint it Canadian Goose colors.
It takes these off beat BF’s to get a comment from me these days, but this one definitely is deserving. Thanks Michelle
“Duck, duck, pelican” doesn’t have the same ring.
This would creat quite a stir at cars and birdseed🤦♂️
I knew who had written this up before even opening the article! And, wow, if I had any kind of water, I’d be buying this. How cool!
You cannot be serious!
A decoy ?
Take the string head off your weed-eater, replace it with a propeller and you’re good to go!