dambusa'41

[John Naylor]

howdy ,
i'm interested in a copy of the build card for my new project.... a " 1941HW Sponson Model , AA grade with a lot of trimmings , including outside stems , a floor rack and set up to sail " . That info courtesy of Al Bratton......the serial # is 131512 - 17 . It may be the original owner was C. P. Weekes , of Lancaster Pa. .
P. S. dambusa is Yahi for beuatiful and gentile

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Howdy John--

Old Town 131512 is a 17 foot AA grade HW model canoe finished between January and April of 1941. It has open mahogany gunwales and mahogany decks, thwarts, and seat frames. It was fitted with a keel, sponsons, a floor rack, a mast seat and step, and a rudder was attached. The original color was white. It was shipped to Swan Garage, Inc., of Buffalo, New York, on May 8, 1941. There's an inquiry on the reverse of the card from Charles Weekes dated March 26, 1979. No mention of outside stems on the build record, so they may have been added later.

Sounds like a nice canoe-- will you be taking her to the WCHA Assembly this July? The topic is sail canoes.

The scan of this record is attached below-- click on it to get a larger image. This scan and several hundred thousand others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/ot_records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to renew.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description don't match your canoe-- but it sure sounds like the I.D. is "for sure!". Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Kathy

 

[John Naylor]

howdy again ,
thanks kathy....i'm a real novice at this kinda thing.....though i've been canoeing in polyethalene tubs for about 25 yrs......so yeah ! that sounds like what i have hear , with the hardware that came with !!.... so a friend of mine hooked me up with this canoe , otherwise it was destined to be a set of bookshelves ...uuhhggggg!!!! it's been stored in a barn 25-30yrs. , has no canvas on it , a little typical rot on the tips ....i'm committing to a total restoration , either by myself ( though i'm not real handy and have never done this kinda thang before ) or by a professional i.e. al bratton.........i've gotten the wood and canvas canoe book al suggested , so that's a start..... next step is how to store it properly till actual work begins....i have it on it's gunnels with supports just fore and aft of the beam , the tips not touching......and just wondering , what does HW and the AA stand for?? again , i'm a novice ( sorry ) ....a july sail canoe party huh....i'll have to look into that!!! when and where and are newcomers welcome ??? peace john

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hi John--

Sorry I didn't explain the AA grade and HW model-- thought maybe you already knew what that meant, because you knew your canoe was an AA grade HW.

AA grade simply means "top grade"-- trimmed in mahogany, just as yours is.

The HW model is the canoe recommended for lake and big-river paddling... it's believed that HW stands for "heavy water". This model is the one most likely to be used for sailing and the one that, if sponsons were requested, filled that role best.

Sounds like you have a nice canoe. When I look at a build record, I like to think of the times in which the canoe was purchased... in the case of your canoe, right before the U.S. got involved in WWII. I imagine folks wanting to retreat to a peaceful place in those confusing times.

If you'd like to do any or all of the work on your canoe, there are plenty here to cheer you on and provide information. You might want to get your hands on "the bible of w/c canoe repair", which is Thurlow and Stelmok's "The Wood and Canvas Canoe"-- available in the WCHA store or eBay or Amazon or the library.

Denis and I attended our first Assembly two years ago and now we wouldn't miss it. Hard to explain why something is so all-around great... but thoughts of it help get us through winter in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. If you haven't watched the little video on this website, it's here (shows stuff about the Assembly as well as WCHA in general):

http://www.wcha.org/wcha_video.php

And information on this year's Assembly is here:

http://www.wcha.org/assembly.php

Newcomers highly-encouraged!

Kathy

 

[John Naylor]

kathy ,
yep! that's the book i recently purchased.....i guess the next step is to read the book and make a game plan.....thanks for clarifying the build card code.....i kinda try to put myself in the place and times of when it was built , the way things were , how poeple were , too.....my dad was a ww11 vet , and a boat lover , so at least i know where i got my aqua problem from !!!thanks and i'll keep you posted on any progress.....a white '41 sponson HW , AA canoe set with sails....sounds beuatiful.....i'd guess the sail would be white also ?!!! thanks again peace john

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Hey John

Question. You mentioned Yahi.
You mean Yahi as in Ishi?
Curious. Because I have a matched pair of the Max Greiner prints of Ishi 155/950. Interesting

Today, in about an hour, I made and spliced stem tips on my current project. If I can do it any one can.

 

[John Naylor]

hi dave,
yep ! that's Yahi as in Ishi .....where i get the dambusa reference from....we think our times are changing fast , how about that cat !!! from stone age to steam locomotive in a couple of weeks......and thanks for the encouragement..i don't think this canoe is in horrible shape ....beyond what was elready mentioned , when i transported it home last october . some of the brass tacks /nails fell out....but it sat in a barn nearly 30 yrs , and the one sponson was removed , but still in decent shape !! if i can figure out this new computer , i'll try to post some of my photos of the projert peace . john