Cold molded canoe

These were advertised and sold around 40 years ago, but I've never actually seen one. As far as I know, this 16' model with a single center thwart was their only model. It's been a long time since I can remember seeing any more of their ads. This one is from a 1979 copy of WoodenBoat Magazine.

cedar-creek.jpg
 
A couple of names come to mind. Plycraft is one. Haskell is another. Haskell was made in Michigan.
Sears sold one that had a brand name of Elgin attached to it....I think.
Max Anderssons is another. It is highly desirable and was built in Sweden or Norway.

I once owned a Haskell. It floated, but was rough. I can imagine that when it was new it would have been a real looker with quarter sawn white oak exterior veneer......ooooh those stripes!

Post pics... it’s the only way we can help you.
 
As Dave said, Haskell of Ludington, MI, was the first in the 1920s. They produced only a single 17' model. After WW2 there were many as listed above plus Dundee, Allied Aviation/Molded Products, and I believe Old Town made a few based on the Vidal process, and others. Show us pictures! Tom McCloud
 
Technically speaking, I believe,Haskell, Allied Aviation(Whirlwind), Yellow Jacket, and most others built immediately following WWII were hot molded. That means they had resin applied between layers and were then baked in an oven. Cold molding as the Cedar Creek Canoe ad suggests uses epoxy or a similar resin that cures at room temperature.
 
I remember reading a few (many) years ago of a strip builder that used a similar process. Can't remember the name though.
 
As Gil says there is cold molding and hot molding, I do not know what the temperature dividing line is between the two. The Vidal process did use a heat set resin that required baking, with Whirlwind being one example of that build technique. All these would have been built around/after WW2 when these (urea formaldehyde and other) resins became readily available. Epoxy, polyester & vinyl esters do not need to be heated for the resin to set. In fact, they give off heat as they set. Would building a stripper with Titebond III be considered cold molding? Then there is Haskell, which boiled plywood in water and formed it into a canoe shape over a male mold. The albumin adhesive had previously been heat-fixed when the sheet of plywood was made. Boiling in water made the 3-ply (1/16 birch/redwood/birch) flexible enough to de-form into a canoe shape. Just by looking at the canoe, it is often not obvious which technique was used. Tom McCloud
 
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