A Find!

[Chris Coose]

Went out into the woods today to look at a couple of boats for sale. I suspected there would be a treasure. I was delighted to look upon a type of boat that I'd never seen before.
She is of traditional wood/canvas construction, 16', double ended, kinda beamy and set up for rowing with three thwarts. Like a peapod with canoe ends.
She'd been glassed with polyester and the glass was mostly pealed away, revealing 25% of the 3/16" planking needing replacement and one cracked rib.
At the MBBS there was a new Old Town wood/canvas
sailing skiff on display. I checked the price on their 7-1/2'skiff. It is $5,300.

Don't want to pass on these beauts. I had to have it, despite my better judgement.
Photos tomorrow.

[Donn]

Guess nobody's interested in boats here anymore...looking forward to the pics.

[Chris Coose]

How you doing on your projects? I recall seeing a paint strip job under a carport.

[Paul Scheuer]

Any idea of the age or the builder ? Looking forward to the pics. If you don't already know, there's some wood/canvas expertise in the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association at WCHA.org. They do a realy good job of identification.

[Donn]

Originally posted by Chris Coose:
How you doing on your projects? I recall seeing a paint strip job under a carport.It's stripped, and waiting for a spot in holzbt's shop.

[Scott Rosen]

Spring is here and love is in the air. ;)

I look forward to the pics, Chris.

[Todd Bradshaw]

From the 1971 Old Town Canoe Co. catalog:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/p4298b8ad5c45912c95288e5680a2afdf/fc66ce75.jpg

[Chris Coose]

mmmmmmmmmm

I like this, "avaliable with reinforced plastic instead of canvas."

Looks like the boat. Old Town put numbers on their interior framework. Their archives go back to day one, if you have the number they can tell you the date the varnish was applied. I looked but didn't see one.
Seats in mine are very different but it could be just a difference in age.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

Reminiscent of the St Lawrence Skiff says I... always wanted one of those.

[Chris Coose]

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/p389847c79bcbefa45cf7ed3f173ed47b/fc664991.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/p7816f688395b39fbf1c6df1de747aded/fc66492a.jpg

In this case, we are overjoyed that polyester resin fails miserably.

[ 04-03-2003, 08:56 AM: Message edited by: Chris Coose ]

[Donn]

That'll be a beauty! Is that blue the original finish?

[Chris Coose]

Donn that is the remains of painted FG cloth.
Lots of canvas covered boats got that treatment which doomed many of them.
I'm guessing that the interior was once bright finished.
Once you've done a canvas job, you find that it is about as laborous as a FG finish and about 10-20% lighter.
If I were at this boat restoration business full time, I'd have grabbed the neighbor craft as well

[Jerry Sousa]

What a lovely canoe! Good find man.

[AngWood]

Y'all are lucky to live where you do. We don't find wooden boats in barns around here.

[Ken Hall]

Interesting project, Chris, and a nice find. Good luck and keep us posted. Wonder whether the beaminess would make it less tippy....

[Chris Coose]

Ang,
Don't want to speak for the rest of my Maine brothers and sisters but I see that the abundance of wood- in trees and boats and buildings was a considerable factor in choosing to live in Maine. The ability to live near moored boats and use the 3,000 miles of coast and not have to have a giant annual income continues to be a reality.

This purchase has once again reminded me that a fellow could make a living at wood boats. When I set out for this barn trip, I felt that familiar thrill and gratitude that I do live in a place where these road trips exist and pay off.
BTW, purchase price (unnegotiated) $150

[On Vacation]

What a beauty. And yes what a nice example of polyester failure. And it one, two, three pulls it off, in the cheap resin game.!!!

[Mr. Know It All]

Great find Chris. smile.gif As I've said before Maine must be the center of the universe. :D
Peace----> Kevin in Ohio

[Paul Scheuer]

Nice project. Looks like you caught it in time. What was the neighbor boat ?

[imported_Steven Bauer]

Paul asked the question I was going to ask. Like I need more boats. smile.gif

Steven

[Paul Denison]

Wow, I like that canoe. $150 is a nice price. I wonder what it will take to restore it? New stem and keel?

[Chris Coose]

Paul,
Canvas, fasteners and weave filler $300.
planking and fasteners $200.
1/2 million hours removing paint from interior (optional)
Other framework appears solid. I'd have walked if it was otherwise.

This is a rowboat BTW. I can see myself drifting down swiftrivers and short pulls around the bay, seaking to molest game fish on the fly.

This fellow has
1922 18" Old Town canoe in need of canvas and some minor framework
A 16'canvas/wood outboard skiff, somewhat crude and of unknown origin.
Disclaimer here. I have no interest here cept to facilitate woodboat care.
e-mail me for further info and his contact.

[Todd Bradshaw]

Chris, most of the guys I know who restore old w/c canoes for a living remove the canvas and then cart the hull off to professional stripping places to get rid of the old varnish or paint on the inside. It saves a tremendous amount of time and the results are generally better than doing it by hand. Might be worth checking around or posting on the WCHA board to see if somebody in your area does them.