Penn Yan cold molded canoe maybe??

Obruni

New Member
Howdy all,

I was recently given a canoe that's been in the family since the 1960's. Before that, all I know is Grandpa bought it from a guy in Swain, New York.

Thanks to the many postings here, I found this: http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=1439&d=1145117275

I believe it's the boat and if I understand the history correctly it was made by Old Town, but sold under Penn Yan, which is a stone's throw from Swain.

There are many layers of sealant on this boat, but I believe the seats, thwart, gunwales, and keel are all mahogany. There is no identification on this boat that I can find and I've crawled all over it. The beam's about 32" and she's 16' on the nose for length.

I post here with a few questions in mind.

1) Do you think this is a Penn Yan molded weldwood canoe? Age?

2) Does anyone know how to repair this boat? In multiple places the veneer is peeling/failing. Screws have separated gunwales and hull -- lots of dry rot in there. There's also a 6" crack in the hull at the yolk. Every time I pick this boat up, she becomes a little worse off; everything feels very fragile.

3) Should repair prove to difficult for me, or too costly for someone else to do, would it be unbearably shameful to repair this boat enough to glass it inside/out and get her back on the water?


Thanks!
 

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You could be right in your ID. Close by PennYan on the east side of Keuka Lake is Dundee, and they produced a molded plywood canoe. The Finger Lakes Boating Museum at Hammondsport has one, and they previously had a photo of it on their web site, but this morning I see it only in passing as their homepage flashes from photo to photo. http://www.flbm.org/ If you are near the FLBM, compare those two. Tom McCloud
 
Looks like one that was brought to me a few years ago. I was told it was sold through Sears. Possibly made by Elgin.
After deciding it was too far gone for suitable restoration, it was used for a weenie roast.
 
It is a Sears Canoe.

Some pics and catalog page.

I have seen some good ones and some bad ones. The bad one would be good for a weenie roast.
 

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Hi Obruni
I never like to say something is irreparable and believe it could be done with enough hours and plenty of patience and the right materials.Would it be economically viable to pay someone to do it?..Probably not.
I would start by experimenting and seeing what you can get to glue back together.I think you need to find out what type of glue was used originally and either use that or modern adhesive that will reglue the ply where it is coming apart.I am thinking it might be possible to clamp it by making some clamping blocks out of insulation foam carved to suit and clamping them around the damaged areas.Once you have it a bit more rigid you can then repair any of the outer layer of veneer that has gone.
If there is a core that has gone around an edge it may be possible to dig out the rotten material dose it all with preservative and hardener and then maybe slide some new veneer and glue in from the side.
You need to be sure everything is dry so that if you do use resin either in repairs or as a covering skin you are not sealing in rot and moisture.
At the end of the day if was going to be fire wood I wouldn't worry about using modern materials in your repairs as long as you take note of the point above.
I am coming at this from a cabinetmaking perspective and I have had a lot of furniture restoration experience too.
Good luck
Alick :)
 
Spot on for the Sears canoe -- thanks.

I'll start taking her apart this summer and if repair seems feasible I'll give it a go. I'll scour the internet for cold molded repair, but if anyone has a particularly good resource for that, I'd be happy to hear it.

Thanks for your time and happy paddling,

Obruni
 
Posting images of the Weenie Roast Canoe... at the time, we called it a Viking funeral and the poor thing was given a final trip out onto the lake (although one end was gone, so it was tricky to paddle). Lots of toxic fumes during the cremation, so we didn't actually use it to cook anything other than itself. This happened at the yearly event at Jag Lake, sponsored by the Great Rivers Chapter (Illinois and Wisconsin) and open to All.

Kathy
 

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If anyone has written the book on plywood canoe restoration, I haven't found it. You may find some useful tips in the two stories I've written about plywood canoes that are in Wooden Canoe issue #179 (Haskell) and the current issue #199 (Allied Aviation). Lots of weights, wedges, toggle straps, jacks, hypodermic syringes to inject epoxy in between delaminated layers, etc., etc., and a lot of time will be needed. Every one is different, but it can be restored. Post photos and questions here as you work. Before glassing, consider the weight you will be adding. I know I can't lift a 90 lb canoe any longer. Tom McCloud
 
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