Hello

SLFigore

New Member
Hello,

I'm Stacey, and I live now in Charleston, SC. I joined originally trying to find information on two wooden canoes my dad has, and after looking around, I think I've found a great new hobby. I'm really looking forward to reading all the posts, and learning.

I have a lot of fond memories of canoeing on the river with my father and sister. I'm hoping I can restore his canoes, and continue using them.
 
Stacey --

Welcome to the WCHA. I think you will find that we are a congenial bunch of people with a common interest -- canoes -- using them, restoring them, collecting them, talking about them.

You might consider getting in touch with our Coastal Southeast Chapter and see what they are up to -- wcha_southeast@yahoo.com

Before making any decision about how to repair or restore your canoe, 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. Canoe repair and restoration often seem more difficult than it is. If you have some basic woodworking skills and a modicum of patience, you can do most any of the tasks that arise.

Since you have two OT canoes, you might also want to look at , and "The Old Town Canoe Company" by Susan Audette and David Baker, a great history of the Old Town company and its canoes. These are available from the WCHA store, are often on eBay, or from Amazon.

Back issues of our journal Wooden Canoe also have a lot of information and are available, and a link to an index to the back issues can be found on our website main page. They are carried by our on-line store.

Of course, these forums are a great source of information -- ask a question, and your will get answers from people who have faced almost every possible issue of repair and restoration.
Just be careful -- a casual interest can turn into a hobby, then an obsession, then an addiction. It has happened to a lot of us.


Greg
President, WCHA
 
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