Debating buying my first Wood/Canvas canoe

[bookpile]

Hi,

First post and I first started thinking about buying one of these this morning so I'm new to everything. I sold my Old Town royalex a few years ago and have been looking for a new canoe with a goal of getting out on the water this year. Budget is pretty small.

I've always love the looks of wooden canoes and stumbled across this this morning:






I was stoked but just got off the phone with the seller and he disappointed me by saying it has been fiberglassed over but the canvas is still underneath. If it has the canvas underneath how difficult would it be to remove if I wanted to go back to all canvas? He also said it has a very small leak that doesn't affect anything. He said it is 14' long and has no maker's name on it.

I have a fully equipped wood shop so I should be able to handle minor damage. Asking price is $300 so I'm thinking I could get it to play around with unless the advice here is to run for the hills.

Thanks,

Travis

 

[MGC]

Travis,

That looks like a Trail Craft canoe. Trail Crafts were kit built boats. Value for a Trail Craft is typically minimal and with glass over the canvas (really?) I would not give an awful lot for it. At the risk of offending folks that do have these types of canoes, my suggestion is that for your first and likely only wood and canvas canoe you should try to start out with something better.
Removing the glass is an unpleasant job and replacing the canvas will cost you several hundred dollars in material plus your time. Unless you really have your heart set on this boat you might want to consider spending a bit more for a different one.
I'm not sure where you are located? Check your local Craigslist and see what turns up....or look at the classifieds on this site.
If you do buy it, good luck with it. Hopefully you can get it back into shape. If the glass really is over the canvas it may be easy to remove.

 

[bookpile]

Thanks a lot for responding, I'm very glad I posted. After looking up Trailcrafts I believe you're right. I would have had no idea what I was looking at tomorrow, I think I'm going to pass. I'm located just outside of Philadelphia so if I wait long enough I should be able to find something.

Thanks again

 

[Dave Osborn]

What MGC said... That,....and patience and some guidance from the link below will get you a canoe.
Just so you know, getting your first wooden canoe can be addictive....
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57-How-much-is-my-old-wooden-canoe-worth

 

[Greg Nolan]

Trailcraft kit canoes typically had 3 or 4 sawn plywood ribs (depending on canoe length) over which several long stringers were placed and fastened to sawn plywood stems.



The canoe in the OP has some of the traits of a Trailcraft, but if it is indeed a Trailcraft, it was significantly modified by the addition of many small ribs. They may have been added to give more strength to the hull -- not really needed -- but in any event they would have added more weight to a canoe that was already not light. Or it may be a home-built modelled after a Trailcraft.

I built a Trailcraft kit many years ago, and found it to be only barely serviceable. It was not, in my opinion, either graceful in lines or sleek in appearance. Although a skin-on-frame boat, it was about as heavy as a traditionally-build wood/canvas canoe. Further, in my opinion, its performance left something to be desired -- clunky is the word I would use. I gave it away after a couple of years -- that was my opinion then, and still is, of what a Trailcraft should cost.

If this is a Trailcraft, as modified with extra ribs and a fiberglass covering over the original canvas, it would really heavy -- indeed, even if it were not a Trailcraft, I would bet that this canoe is a very heavy canoe for its size.

I join with the posts above -- you can do better -- look for another canoe -- good luck, because good wood/canvas canoe is a great experience.

 

[bookpile]

I did read the linked canoe worth thread which is part of the reason I was so gung ho about this one. I thought $300 for any wood/canvas canoe that was operable was a bargain.

Really glad you guys educated me as to what a Trailcraft is. I told the seller I wasn't going to come this morning.

Thanks again. I might have to pick up a cheapy modern canoe so I can at least get out on the water this year.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

If you live near a chapter of the WCHA, I suggest contacting them and joining their next paddling adventure. You don't need to own a canoe to do this, and you'd get some up close and personal experience with a variety of wood/canvas canoes and possibly a tip or two on where to find one that's within your budget.

 

[Greg Nolan]

I don't know where your are, but you should check the WCHA classified ads. Right now there are three canoes for $400 or less that seem to be useable and which, in my opinion, merit a look-see if you are nearby. They are all covered with fiberglass, which many of us consider less than ideal, but which nonetheless can keep a canoe useable. Fiberglass can be removed in the future when and if you have the time and inclination.

eBay and Craigs List ads are also sources for canoes -- I have bought a couple over eBay, including the one that I havge used for several years and am now restoring. But keep the maxim caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware -- in the forefront when looking at an eBay or Craigs List ad -- sellers often misrepresent what they are selling, sometimes from ignorance and sometimes deliberately, and the prices asked are often excessive -- often very, very excessive.

If you see an canoe advertised that interests you, you might send a private message to one of us to see what we think.

Also, even if you never intend to do any repair or restoration work yourself, you would do well to get, or at least look at -- "The Wood and Canvas Canoe: A Complete Guide to its History, Construction, Restoration, and Maintenance" by Rollin Thurlow and Jerry Stelmok, and/or "Building the Maine Guide Canoe" by Jerry Stelmok.

The first is often called the "bible" of canoe repair, restoration, and maintenance; the second is an excellent study of the wooden/canvas canoe and its construction. Both are available, through the WCHA online store, Amazon, and other book sellers.

Knowing how a canoe is built, and knowing haw a canoe can be repaired and restored, will go a long way to educating you about what you might be buying and whether any apparent flaws are serious or not.


Greg

 

[bookpile]

Good idea, it looks like there is an active local chapter for me.

Greg, PM Sent. I also just ordered the Wood and Canvas canoe book from the WCHA store.

I'm going to keep my eyes peeled.

 

[JClearwater]

Bookpike,
I have often gone by the maxim, "The sweet taste of low price quickly fades with the bitter taste of reality." Often times we are sucked into a purchase because the initial price was low only to find out later that the cost to get the canoe/car/boat/house into the condition we want is a lot more than we bargained for. If we spend a little more up front it usually pays off in the long run. Just my two cents worth. Good luck in your search - which in itself is part of the fun.

Jim C.