patrick corry
solo canoeist
My 1927 Old Town 50# is put aside for a bit after repairing rib tips and stem tips... and the 1938 50# is currently in center stage undergoing inwale repairs and re-fitting into the canoe once I have stripped varnish from the portions which will be inaccessible once re-installed. I couldn't avoid digging into two new canoes...
My brother has caught the old canoe bug from me and arranged the acquisition of two new-to-us Old Town 50#ers. Both are from 1957; #166105 shipped to Aurora, Illinois and #166209 shipped to Philadelphia, PA. According to the build sheets they are both 15' 50# canoes, but #166105 has some differences that make me suspect it's either a custom (though not indicated on the build sheet), or someone at the factory was having a bit of artistic license when building the canoe.
It's 'fuller' in the ends, or as some might say, the cheeks. The outwale is attached from the interior, through the inwale except at the decks where it's screwed from the outside as normal, note that the screws at the rear of the decks are huge- 2.5" long and #6 gauge.
And the outwales are D-shaped, quite nicely and without a rabbet, so the canvas top edge is visible between outwale and rib:
And, in the vein of variation between canoes of the same model, the second 50# canoe has quite a bit more recurve in the stem vs. the other 50#ers; seen here adjacent to my Atkinson Traveler:
Compare to the 1938 50#er stem seen here in the foreground:
One last interesting detail about the people associated with these canoes. The 1927 and 1938 canoes came from a gentleman in mid-Hudson NY who was a former CEO of the American Red Cross in Manhattan NY, and the new canoes came from the estate of a gentleman who was the CEO of the American Red Cross in Aurora, Illinois. The former gentleman at one time reported to the latter in his Red Cross career. These last two canoes were found not 3 miles from the farm on which my brother and I grew up! Small world indeed!
My brother has caught the old canoe bug from me and arranged the acquisition of two new-to-us Old Town 50#ers. Both are from 1957; #166105 shipped to Aurora, Illinois and #166209 shipped to Philadelphia, PA. According to the build sheets they are both 15' 50# canoes, but #166105 has some differences that make me suspect it's either a custom (though not indicated on the build sheet), or someone at the factory was having a bit of artistic license when building the canoe.
It's 'fuller' in the ends, or as some might say, the cheeks. The outwale is attached from the interior, through the inwale except at the decks where it's screwed from the outside as normal, note that the screws at the rear of the decks are huge- 2.5" long and #6 gauge.
And, in the vein of variation between canoes of the same model, the second 50# canoe has quite a bit more recurve in the stem vs. the other 50#ers; seen here adjacent to my Atkinson Traveler:
Compare to the 1938 50#er stem seen here in the foreground:
One last interesting detail about the people associated with these canoes. The 1927 and 1938 canoes came from a gentleman in mid-Hudson NY who was a former CEO of the American Red Cross in Manhattan NY, and the new canoes came from the estate of a gentleman who was the CEO of the American Red Cross in Aurora, Illinois. The former gentleman at one time reported to the latter in his Red Cross career. These last two canoes were found not 3 miles from the farm on which my brother and I grew up! Small world indeed!
Last edited:
