BrianE

New Member
I recently purchased a canoe from a person who told me it was made by their father... I took a chance and after looking at it and doing some research it looks like an Old Town OTCA. It seems most likely the father simply bought it and perhaps repainted it decades ago. The canvas, although peeling, is blue.

The serial number on the stem is 22140 16. Going by the information I've found, it seems it would have been built around 1913. I've seen other folks have their questions answered and "build sheets" displayed. The canoe is in fair shape, but clearly can be restored. I have "modern" canoes and bought this one only because the price was right. I've been told restoring can cost up to $2000+. If so, would I ever get my money out it? Or, after restoring it, would it be worth much more? I'm pretty handy with woodworking, have the space and have refinished a lot of furniture. I was mildly concerned about "destroying the value" by refinishing it.

PLEASE forgive me, my thoughts were when I bought it were - the worst thing I could do was cut it in half and make some bookcases... The best thing, put a few hours into the canvas with fiberglass paint (as directed by my friend who works in an auto body shop) and leave it by the pond to retrieve ducks this fall and not complain if it was stolen. If it is relatively rare/desirable I'd hate to ruin it and would just as happily sell it to a person who will appreciate it. The craftsmanship and design is beautiful. Thank you.
 
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The Old Town canoe with serial number 22140 is a 16 foot long, CS (common sense or middle) grade, Otca model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, twenty inch birch decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, spruce outside finish rails, a keel, and outside stems. It was built between April and June, 1912. The original exterior paint color was light green. It shipped on July 1st, 1952 to Northville, New York. A scan of this build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below.

This scan and several hundred thousand more 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/about-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html to join.

It is possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. I’m almost always in favor of restoring old canoes. There are many benefits to restoring an old canoe but they usually aren’t financial. If your goal is to make money then it is typically best to sell it unrestored. The messages at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57 may help if you want to value or sell it. The classifieds here at http://wcha.org/pp-classifieds/ are often the fastest way to find a good new home for a canoe like this. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions,

Benson
 

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Welcome to the WCHA. It sounds like you have a canoe -- a 1912 Otca with 20" decks -- well worth restoration. While perhaps not “rare,” it is not common, and would be considered desirable. Otca’s are attractive and one of Old Town’s popular models.

Refinishing and repainting canoes are standard maintenance tasks -- they will not destroy the value of your canoe -- old canoes may be antique, but they are not "antiques" like you see on the PBS show. Unless you have a truly rare, unique and very old canoe, most folks would do what is called for to maintain and repair it so it can be used. Repairing and replacing damaged wood is also regularly done. One of the beauties of wood/canvas canoes is that they are nearly infinitely restorable and renewable. Efforts in that vein will not usually produce a financial bonanza, but can give you a canoe that will more than pay off in use and enjoyment.

In addition to asking questions here, there are two good sources of information about canoe restoration which 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.

You might also want to look at , and "The Old Town Canoe Company" by Susan Audette and David Baker, a great history of the Olt Town company and its canoes.

These books are available from the WCHA store, or from Amazon, or are often on eBay.
line store.

Also, Wooden Canoe, our journal, has a wealth of information in its back issues. There is an index to the back issues -- http://www.wcha.org/journal/Index to Wooden Canoe.pdf -- and back issues are available for $4 through the online store, or the collection is available on a USB flash drive through the store -- http://store.wcha.org/Wooden-Canoe-Journal-Archive-on-CD-ROM.html

Don’t be bashful about asking questions here – we all do it, and those with knowledge are generous with their suggestions.

I'm not sure what fiberglass paint is -- but paints used for automobiles are usually not suitable for use in a marine environment -- at least on a wood/canvas canoe. Intended to be put on inflexible metal, they generally do not fare well on the flexible hull and skin of a wood/canvas canoe.

Ordinary exterior house paint or deck and porch paint are what is commonly used to paint the canvas; for a little more money, marine oil-based enamels are also good.

For wood decks, rails, and the canoe interior, use a good marine varnish, which will have ultra-violet inhibitors. While more expensive than ordinary varnishes, they are worth it -- ordinary varnishes, lacking such inhibitors, will fail rapidly. Most people avoid polyurethanes and other similar varnishes for the same reason.

Leaving a canoe unprotected out of doors is not a good idea -- left upside down on the ground will lead to rot of the decks and gunwales; if left right side up, rain water will fill the canoe. At a minimum, a canoe should be stored upside down on horses under some sort of cover.

An Otca canoe with 20 inch decks should be a very attractive canoe. Properly maintained and kept up, wood/canvas canoes regularly last for decades -- many over 100 years old are in regular use. (The canoe in my avatar above was built by Old Town in 1922.)

Without more information or some photos, it's hard to make any useful comment. But if your canoe is in basically sound condition, even if needing some repairs, a coat or two of paint may be all that is needed at present to keep it useable for a couple of years. See: http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?8906-Repaint-Tips

We would love to see some pictures of your new-old canoe.

Good luck with it.

Greg
 
Thank You!

Thank you for your prompt and helpful responses. After reading the descriptions, I am certain it is the Old Town Otca from 1912. It has the keel, etc. It is up on horses in our driveway, but subject to rain. I will cover it with a tarp. The canvas is loose on the bottom. Would it hurt to just pull it off? I am figuring it will need to be recovered anyway. None of the ribs are broken. I think it would be awesome to use duck hunting...
 
Thank you for your help and after reading the responses, I too would much rather have it restored than used "furniture." Regarding my thoughts of a bookcase, like Job, I must say, "I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." Thanks again.
 
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I can't see that it would hurt anything to take the canvas off, but leaving it on might provide some protection to the hull until you are actually ready to restore it. On the other hand, taking the canvas off would give you a clear view of the planking and its condition, and allow you to plan and obtain material if any of the planking need replacement.

Removing all of the canvas requires removing the keel, outside stems, and outwales, and storing those parts safely if they will be reused -- you could cut the canvas off without removing those parts, but you will have to take them off to re-canvas.

I have no direct experience with storing a canoe under a tarp -- I have heard that condensation under a tarp can sometimes be a problem -- someone else here might comment on htat.

Also, the time to strip old varnish from the canoe interior is when the canvas is off. If you have no broken ribs, you are lucky and get to avoid the significant task of removing broken ribs and replacing them. But be aware that broken ribs sometimes become apparent after old varnish is removed.

I'm not a duck hunter, but I see no reason why your restored canoe wouldn't be a great boat for the task. To the extent that quiet is desirable when hunting, a wood/canvas canoe is about the quietest boat you will ever find.
 
The inside is dusty, but looks great with no visible cracks or damage. I think I'll fill a bucket with warm water and a little Murphy's Oil Soap and gently put a sponge to it. I have a garage to put it in. The rails have a few coats of paint and one repair. It also seems some of the original hardware has been replaced. One of the brass strips that curve around the end is partly broken and the seats we covered with a thin pieces of paneling. My wife has done some significant caning work. We'll see. It seems like it would be a fun project.
 
Washing out the interior as you describe is a good idea. If your varnish is in good shape, you may need to do nothing, or perhaps just a fresh coat after a light sanding. Brass bang strips that are broken are usually replaced. Most people like bright finished rails rather than paint -- a matter of taste. A good repair might be left alone -- depends on what you think of its appearance. Re-weaving seats is a common task -- cane is pretty durable, but does need some care. When you say original hardware has been replaced, what are you referring to? If you mean the bolts holding the seats and thwarts, be aware that OT did not start using the diamond-headed bolts until about 1922.

I'm glad you are thinking the restoration will be fun -- a good sign that a fine canoe will be the result. I'm part way through fixing up my 1931 OT 50-pounder -- re-caned and refinished seats and thwarts, stripped interior varnish, removed outside stems, keel, gunwales, cut and bent new inwales; yet to do -- repair some planking, bend and fit several new ribs, new canvas and filler and paint, new interior varnish, and refinish and refit the removed wood pieces. It's work, but fun, and I'm looking forward to paddling the restored canoe this fall (I hope).
 
Welcome! Fixing up a canoe can be a great family project... something to create pleasant memories.

I don't have a garage, but keep two of my canoes on saw horses and under a tarp. They did just fine over winter, and I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan so get a lot of snow. I have one very large tarp and hold the edges to the ground with stakes through the grommets. In the winter, I'd periodically brush off snow so that the canoes wouldn't suffer from snow load. This horses-n-tarps thing is only a temporary way of keeping the canoes, and I have a plan for long-term storage, but wanted you (and others who might be curious) to know that it can be done. I'm currently having a canoe restored, and because it's rare and I have a considerable investment in it, this canoe will be staying in a friend's garage. If I didn't have a friend with space in her garage, I'd rent a storage unit and put all the canoes there.

Kathy
 
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