1906 Old Town Hw, 16', Aa Grade

[Howie]

Ta da... Just finished it yesterday. I'm told serial # 4376-16 dates it to 1906 (thank you Benson). Imagine - 112 years old. I believe Old Town started making HWs in 1905 so that would make it from the 2nd year of production.

The build sheet says it was delivered on 3/21/1906 to C.C. Smith at Paul Smith Station located in the NY Adirondacks . This was a rail road station built to service the nearby Paul Smith Hotel. This was all located quite near Paul Smith College where WCHA has held many of its assemblies recently. It's tempting to think that maybe this canoe was used at the hotel or by Paul Smith himself - but there's no way of knowing. Here's some interesting reading:
https://books.google.com/books?id=y...ge&q="paul smith station" adirondacks&f=false

 

[Benson Gray]

I believe Old Town started making HWs in 1905 so that would make it from the 2nd year of production.

The HW model was listed in their first catalog from 1901 as shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/25087/ by the Indian Old Town Canoe Company. Nice restoration,

Benson

 

[Howie]

Thanks Benson!

 

[Steve Lapey]

Could it be possible that C.C. Smith was Christopher Columbus Smith from Algonac, Michigan?

 

[Howie]

Seems unlikely - unless he had a reason to ship the canoe to the Adirondacks...

 

[Benson Gray]

Could it be possible that C.C. Smith was Christopher Columbus Smith from Algonac, Michigan?

It doesn't seem likely that a someone who was at that time a "master builder" of punts and skiffs from Michigan would have been vacationing in the Adirondacks and had a Maine canoe shipped to him there but anything is possible.

Benson

 

[Michael Graessle]

Beautiful build Howie. I am in my first restoration and trying to keep at it.

 

[mccloud]

Howie, Hope the 1912 OT that I'm working on, and we've corresponded about before, looks as good as yours when its done. I'll probably have more questions for you about this canoe, so hope you have taken copious notes. Only one q today: the decks on my OT had a slight crown. Can't tell from the photos, but did you put crowned decks on her? Tom McCloud

 

[Howie]

Thanks for the kind words. These decks are original and there is indeed a compound curve on the surface. I suspect OT made them by steam bending the 'up-bend' then sanding or shaping the side-to-side 'crown' when installed to make the edges flush with the rails. However, I have made new steam bent OT style decks in the past. I use 3 2x4 scraps screwed together and carved to the needed shape as a mold. I've found that if I clamp on the deck-to-be on the sides the unclamped wood in the center lifts up a bit from the mold - thereby creating a sort of crown shape to some extent.

I thought I had some pics of the decks before I installed 'em but can't find any. The 1st pic is one installed. The 2nd pic is from another OT I'm presently working on.