E-Bay Misery

[goldencub]

There's a 1955 18' Old Town - "Buy it now for $1000. Would make a good hanger or cut it up to make bookshelves." Sad. Al

http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-Town-Canoe-...ultDomain_0&hash=item27b86b2a62#ht_500wt_1156

 

[Kathryn Klos]

While the suggestion of dismembering a canoe for the bookshelf-trade can appear to be a sales tactic ("save this canoe before it's cut it in half!), it puts this notion "out there", for people to grab-onto as a possible money-maker.

If anyone wants really nice canoe-bookshelves, some of the current builders would be happy to put together a half-canoe with shelves, that wouldn't make anyone feel sad when they looked at it, because it never was a whole canoe.

I watch the auctions for expensive half-canoe bookcases, and they go off with no bids. I hope would-be canoe-dismemberers notice the same thing.

In a past discussion, someone brought up a point: if a family's treasured canoe was badly damaged, it might be nice to enjoy it as a bookcase in the home. That seems to be a different thing... more along the lines of salvaging, and re-purposing-- in a way that honors the history of the old canoe.

Kathy

 

[Steve Ambrose]

I hate going to my local BassPro and seeing the old square sterns sanding vertical, screwed to the wall with additional decor screwed to them

 

[Benson Gray]

I hate going to my local BassPro and seeing the old square sterns sanding vertical, screwed to the wall with additional decor screwed to them

I feel the same way about our local Cabela's but 'It's their canoe...'

The canoe on eBay that started this thread has been researched here twice at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=3309 and http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=5973 so it may be too far gone if multiple people have looked at it already and passed.

Benson

 

[Gil Cramer]

The seat shown in the photo is hand caned which, if original, seems unusual for a canoe built in the 1950's.

 

[Benson Gray]

The seat shown in the photo is hand caned which, if original, seems unusual for a canoe built in the 1950's.

The bow seat cane also has square corners which indicates that it has probably been recaned. My guess is that this canoe saw some hard use at the summer camp and the original bow seat was broken at some point. It would not be unusual for it to have been replaced with one from another older canoe.

Benson

 

[Kathryn Klos]

While on the subject of Old Town and cane seats, a nice fellow contacted me recently about his Morris. He found it some time ago (maybe 20 years) and, thinking it was an Old Town, sent the seats to OT for re-caning. He had called them and was told they had someone who would do hand-caning. When they got the seats, they did the work and informed him that the canoe was a Morris (he had sent pictures with the seats).

I thought this was interesting, given the fact that OT stopped jobbing-out the cane-work before WWII. But they must have had people to do this work when they got canoes in for restoration.

Kathy

 

[Brad C]

Speaking of Old Town seats

When did Old Town switch from hand caned seats to pressed cane?
My 1936 has seats with pressed cane seats and they look like the same vintage as the canoe. Certainly not a new replacement.
Brad C

 

[mccloud]

Old Town pressed cane seats

Benson posted an answer when I asked the question in regards to a 1939 Old Town I was working on. His answer, posted below, is excerpted from the archives at the url below:

>Hand caned seats were replaced with the pre-woven cane alternative as a >result of the introduction of minimum wage in the Fair Labor Standards Act of >1938.

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=2317

Tom McCloud

 

[Brad C]

Thanks Tom:
I should have known that the question was asked before

Brad C

 

[Kathryn Klos]

It's good to re-ask questions, as they come up, because you know others are wondering the same thing... and it helps us all remember-- especially when it comes to exact dates of things.