Shell Lake Canoe

[bpolvo]

I was wondering what the opinion was on a 70 year old Shell Lake canoe 1166 71? I know the company sold a few times but how good were these canoes compared to OT? I haven't seen this one for sale and have no pictures but wanted to get some ideas as to value before I pursued this further. Owner tells me it's in good shape, no rote but needs restoration. Asking $200. Also, does someone know what the 71 stands for? I know the 1166 is a 16' Deluxe but can't out what the 71 means if anything.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hi Bob--

Some information on Shell Lake canoes can be found here:

http://dragonflycanoe.com/id/

Scroll to "Shell Lake" on the left. The "71" may refer to the sequence the canoe was built in, like the 71st canoe built in a particular year... maybe. I don't think we know for sure.

Shell Lake canoes are considered a decent-quality canoe. Many scout and church camps in Wisconsin had a fleet of Shell Lake canoes.

Kathy

 

[thompsonboatboy]

I really can not answer your question about Shell Lake Boat Co. quality vs. Old Town. I was told once by someone in the know that Shell Lake canoes were cheap knock-offs of Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. canoes!

An article on the history of Shell Lake Boat will be published in "Classic Boating" magazine later this year, probably the Sept/Oct 2009 issue.

Andreas

 

[MGC]

I was wondering what the opinion was on a 70 year old Shell Lake canoe 1166 71?

Bob, you should look at this thread I started a few days ago about this canoe. I went and looked at it. As noted, it needs decks, rails, some planking, a canvas. It's not in terrible shape but in it's best day it was probably not as nice as the OT that's for sale in Canandagua. You should look at that for an easier project.
This Shell was purchased in 1946. It's 63 years old and was "repaired" about 25 years ago.

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=4370
The "repair" included cutting through the inside rails on both ends to gain access to the rotted tips of the decks and then scabbing new tips on the decks. The cut rails were then reattached to three stacked strips of wood the were attached under the decks. The hand thwarts were attached to these strips.

I'm not too familiar with the Shell Lake canoes, but at the risk of offending anyone, I cannot imagine ever wanting one from what I saw of this one..clunky lines, awkward looking decks, not a pretty canoe. Most of the much more common OT's are (for me) more appealing. But, for uniqueness around here, maybe the Shell is worth a thought. If uniqueness is a motivator then take a look at the Thompson(I did not look at it, maybe a Shell) that is currently posted on Craigslist in your area.
http://rochester.craigslist.org/boa/1063853832.html

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Bob,

I would agree with most of what has been said, they seem to be copies of Thompson, they seem to be "cruder" then either T or Old Town, ie, the wood sizes are just a bit larger, the lines a bit less fair.

I have 2 18 ft Shell lakes, and they seem to support the above.

With that said, $200 is not much for a W/C, and any but a very rotted canoe should be worth it.

The real question is why are you getting the canoe and what do you plan to do with it, and after putting in the work needed to fix it up, will you be happy with it?

Dan

 

[Kathryn Klos]

The WCHA Classifieds

Reminding folks that there are some nice canoes on the classifieds of this site... some are restored and some aren't. I looked through them to see if there was a Shell Lake to use as "an example" and didn't find one, but there are at least two nicely-done (per the picture) Thompsons, at decent prices for restored canoes... and examples by many other builders.

Also want to say something about "comparisons to Old Town": OT made many models over the years, which served different purposes... and even the same model, in some cases, changed over the years. Even if someone asked for a comparison between an OT guide and a Shell Lake, it really would come down to the specific canoe. One of the cool things about old wooden boats is their individuality-- including how they've been used and abused.

But, "the man on the street (or beside the lake)" may say you'd be wise to put your money on an Old Town, given two roughly-similar canoes for the same price, and one being a Shell Lake. Part of that is the "name recognition" Benson discusses in "how much is my old wooden canoe worth" in FAQs on this website.

For me, it comes down to "what takes my breath away, makes my heart go pitty-pat, and makes my brains fall out"... which is one reason we have seventeen canoes I guess. But the first eBay canoe I bid on and was upset about losing was a pretty yellow Shell Lake.

Kathy

 

[bpolvo]

Thanks

Thanks to all of you for your input. I really appreciated how fast and openly you responded to my question. I guess this ad caught my curiosity when I saw the price. I'll think it over and decide if it's even worth looking at.

Thanks again to all who responded.
Bob