1940 Old Town Guide

[Gitchigumi Steel]

Hello,
I am considering purchasing a 1940 Old Town Guide. The canoe is in need of restoration. 7-8 ribs will need replacing, the gunnels need replacing, decks, and possibly a few planks. I am not sure about the canvas. The price is $250. The serial number is 128291 and it does come with the build record. I will be doing much of the restoration myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Help is easier to give if you can provide pictures. And if you can give the serial number (found on the floor ends of both stems at each end of the canoe), others here can provide you with a copy of the OT build record, which provides information about the canoe as originally built.

With the work to be done you have identified -- ribs,gunwales, decks, planking -- there is little point in trying to save 70-year-old canvas (assuming it is the original canvas). You will likely want to strip the interior varnish and re-varnish after the new ribs/planks are in place, and this is much easier if the old canvas is off, and having lasted years old, the old canvas owes nobody anything. All of this work is the kind of thing commonly done. Canvas replacement is an ordinary maintenance item, analogous to putting new tires on a car. Canvas can last and function for a long time, but it does not last forever.

You should get a copy of , "The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration, and Maintenance" by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok (through the WCHA store, Amazon, sometimes eBay), the "bible" of w/c canoe repair/restoration/maintenance. It will help you determine what needs to be done and what is involved -- factors that may affect what you are willing to pay.

From your description, and without seeing the boat or pictures of the boat, $250 sounds like a good, fair price. The canoe sounds as though it is readily repairable/restorable.

 

[Gitchigumi Steel]

Thanks for the information Greg, very helpful. And yes, removing the old canvas sounds like the way to go. I will try to get some pics posted ASAP.