An Avon Mark III Squareback Pro was a very popular boat back in the late 70's / early 80's until Avon came out with their symmetrical Pros, and then their line of self-bailing boats. Commercial outfitters loved them as they could be used as oarboats or paddle boats. These are "bathtub" boats (not a self-bailer).

This is a 1983 boat. I purchased it to use with my very small commercial rafting company on the Forks of the Kern in California. The boat has 4 footcups (2 in the bow, 2 in the middle section) and an Avon Handle (for the guide's foot) in the stern. This boat was very lightly used commercially as in 1986 I purchased Avon SB Adventurers to use for my small company. Since then, the boat has been lightly used privately as I have used either my SB Adventurer, or a 16' SB Pro that I purchased.

As you can see from the photos, the boat is in incredible shape for a 20+ year old boat. That's a trademark of Avons - with proper care, they will last a lifetime. There are no blown baffles, all the tubes hold air. There is one small patch on the floor (see picture) and two small wear marks on the inside of the floor (from a frame).

This boat has many extras that Avon eliminated to keep the price of their boats down in later years such as pockets in the bow and interior safety line. I also glued on extra D-rings so there are 6 on each side of the boat. All valves are in excellent condition and have valve caps.

The first frame is a slantboard frame - I also heard them referred to as an "ARTA Frame" (a California term) or a "Longhorn Frame" (here in Colorado). The frame breaks down into 7-pieces (for our Forks of the Kern trips, all the equipment was loaded on pack mules and hauled down a 2-mile trail to the river). The frame is assembled with 2" nuts and bolts.

The first frame can be an overnight frame or a day frame, and includes a 3/4" plywood deck as well as a 3/4" poop deck that hands in the stern. An advantage of these frames is your gear is packed low so the boat has a low center of gravity. I have used this set-up for 1-day trips up to a 21-day Grand Canyon trip.

This frame also includes a separate foot bar so the frame could be used in the stern so people could paddle up front, or to use as a day frame (no gear carrying capacity).

The second frame is a Down River 3-bay frame with a trailer frame. Photos of this frame are here. The drop bags are made by Tuff River Stuff out of Salida, CO. The lace-in thwarts would need to be removed from the boat (pretty easy to do). This frame breaks down to the two side sections and the 4 cross tubes. Decks are included; straps are not.

The price of this boat/frames package is $3,095. I will not break up the package. The boat is located in Fort Collins, Colorado area, so any shipping costs would be additional.

You can contact me at - I'm happy to answer any questions. Email me your phone number and I will be happy to call you back.

Thanks for looking.

Paul