What's not to like about a vintage wooden canoe! Well, except for the maintenance factor of course.
This boat came to me in the early eighties via a friend who rescued it off a lake bottom in New York. It was structurally sound but in poor cosmetic condition. I started working on it before moving to Seattle and passing the project on to my dad. He completed the woodwork, re-canvassed it, and eventually drove it cross country when my parents moved to sunny Santa Barbara. It endured a few winters in my back yard- which just isn't a good thing, then another decade or so in a friend's glass studio. She eventually moved and so did the boat; to another friend's barn in Woodinville. Yesterday I picked it up and brought it back to Seattle where it is going to get a full rehab. From there? Maybe go spend its golden years with @OlyFarq.
The boat is a 1927 Oldtown 16' Model HW. A description I found online states: The HW model featured a completely flat floor as well as a very full bow and stern that afforded excellent stability in rough waters with high waves. The upswept ends were designed in homage to Native American bark canoes. At 65 lbs. with particularly great carrying capacity, this model was very popular with sportsmen who regularly moved from lake to lake on hunting and fishing expeditions. It was built with a traditional White Cedar hull and Honduran Mahogany fittings; seats, stem plates, and outwales. Per Oldtown it left the factory painted yellow with green "Greek Ends" which is how my dad finished it.
Now on to the renovation. Between its time outdoors and collateral damage in the glass studio it ended up with a failing paint job, a few canvas tears, and at least one cracked plank. I started working on it between storage in the studio and Woodinville, stripping it back to the filled canvas and pulling off the trims. My dad attempted to steam bend new outwales, but let's just say that mahogany is not a particularly good wood for bending. I currently plan to rebuild them using the strip laminating method.
I am contemplating re-skinning it. At the minimum I'd need to open the canvas up to repair the cracked plank, and while I'm at this, my OCD self might just decide to go full monty and replace the canvas. That would add a good deal of cost and complexity, but... see above. Here it sits in yet another friend's garage in Southpark where I'll do the renovations. I've worked out a trade deal to keep it here, because my 10x20' shop just hasn't the room to store the boat and do any woodwork. I don't think it's going to stay yellow. Stay tuned for more details!
This boat came to me in the early eighties via a friend who rescued it off a lake bottom in New York. It was structurally sound but in poor cosmetic condition. I started working on it before moving to Seattle and passing the project on to my dad. He completed the woodwork, re-canvassed it, and eventually drove it cross country when my parents moved to sunny Santa Barbara. It endured a few winters in my back yard- which just isn't a good thing, then another decade or so in a friend's glass studio. She eventually moved and so did the boat; to another friend's barn in Woodinville. Yesterday I picked it up and brought it back to Seattle where it is going to get a full rehab. From there? Maybe go spend its golden years with @OlyFarq.
The boat is a 1927 Oldtown 16' Model HW. A description I found online states: The HW model featured a completely flat floor as well as a very full bow and stern that afforded excellent stability in rough waters with high waves. The upswept ends were designed in homage to Native American bark canoes. At 65 lbs. with particularly great carrying capacity, this model was very popular with sportsmen who regularly moved from lake to lake on hunting and fishing expeditions. It was built with a traditional White Cedar hull and Honduran Mahogany fittings; seats, stem plates, and outwales. Per Oldtown it left the factory painted yellow with green "Greek Ends" which is how my dad finished it.
Now on to the renovation. Between its time outdoors and collateral damage in the glass studio it ended up with a failing paint job, a few canvas tears, and at least one cracked plank. I started working on it between storage in the studio and Woodinville, stripping it back to the filled canvas and pulling off the trims. My dad attempted to steam bend new outwales, but let's just say that mahogany is not a particularly good wood for bending. I currently plan to rebuild them using the strip laminating method.
I am contemplating re-skinning it. At the minimum I'd need to open the canvas up to repair the cracked plank, and while I'm at this, my OCD self might just decide to go full monty and replace the canvas. That would add a good deal of cost and complexity, but... see above. Here it sits in yet another friend's garage in Southpark where I'll do the renovations. I've worked out a trade deal to keep it here, because my 10x20' shop just hasn't the room to store the boat and do any woodwork. I don't think it's going to stay yellow. Stay tuned for more details!
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