Ta Da again. A 1967 Old Town Otca...

Howie

Wooden Canoe Maniac
...rescued from basket-case-dom. Came out kinda nice. After 17+ canoes I'm starting to get the hang of this restoration thing!
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Looks nice from here. I've got a 1964 16' OTCA next in line for work. The quality of materials and workmanship certainly wasn't up to the standards of the older boats I've worked on in the past.
Jim
 
You see a quality difference? How so? I don't mean to say I doubt you, I just haven't seen it. Within the past year or so I've restored 1936 & 1939 Yankees, as well as this Otca (Otca's are essentially a Yankee... right?). I can't say I noticed any significant differences. Well... the newer Old Towns tended to use white cedar planking, right? And newer ones tend to have machine made seat caning. And this one came with aluminum stem bands - yuck. But the wood surfaces inside & out look the same, the hardware is the same, the tacks seem to hold just as well. The newer ones may weigh a bit more, so maybe the wood is a bit thicker...
 
It the little things as it often is. The screws on the gunnels were not 'clocked' , the decks (both cracked) one has the grain aligned for ad aft but the other is aligned with one of the gunnels. Never saw that before.
Jim
 
The Yankee is the low grade livery canoe; short, wide and flat bottom.
The OTCA comes in several lengths, an AA grade finish, long decks (on the older ones) and a shallow arch bottom.
Otca's are essentially a Yankee... right?

Having the grain on the decks aligned with the rails is common, it's so they can get 2 pieces from 1 blank.
one has the grain aligned for ad aft but the other is aligned with one of the gunnels. Never saw that before.

I had 2 17' HW's in a while back, one from the 20's the other from the 50's. They were very different, the older version was more "delicate", had face grain ribs (more flexable), and very nice planking, the newer had thicker cross sections, closer to qtr sawn ribs (stiffer) and the planking had more "flaws".

Dan
 
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Interesting... By 'livery' you mean that it was created to be used as a renter, so perhaps it was not as finely made. Thanks!
So that begs the question I suppose; which might be the 'better' canoe in terms of workmanship? An older canoe, say a Yankee from the 30's, or a more recent one, say an Otca from the 60's? Of course, age & storage conditions could easily change everything.
 
Yup.
Personally, I'd go for a older OTCA, of course when getting a W/C, you get what you get.
Dan

I agree with that....I have never been enamored with the newer OT's and especially those from the 60's and beyond. They are nicely built but they seem to lack character. They definitely look like they are heavier.

The hulls from the early 1900's are my preference. They tend to be more tender (so not for someone that likes a flat bottom) and are much more fun to paddle.
 
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