Help Identifying

[Jackie A]

Hello,

My husband and I acquired this canoe for free. From what we know it was just hanging up in an Abercrombie & Fitch before we got it. Initially my husband wanted to fix it up himself but we’re being forced to move it from where we currently store it and don’t have anywhere for it to live. So I listed it for sale on Nextdoor and a very nice gentleman told me I shouldn’t sell it for $50 (my husband wanted to give it away for free). So hoping to get some help identifying where it might be from or who made it, and where I can turn to find a buyer who will give it a good home and restore it to it’s intended glory. Located in Los Angeles.

 

[pklonowski]

Looks kind of like a home-built canoe?

 

[Jackie A]

I know nothing, so what signs could I look for to be indicative that it’s a home build?

 

[pklonowski]

The thwarts (cross-braces) and inwales are almost square in cross section
The fit & finish of the inwales to the decks isn't very precise
The space between the outwale ends, just beyond the tips of the decks, are filled with some filler, possibly some sort of Bondo or adhesive
The stem bands are usually the last thing to put on the boat... these appear to have been installed with no canvas underneath... makes me think it was built just this far, so it could hang in a sporting goods store.

I could be wrong... Hopefully others will chime in.

 

[Benson Gray]

I agree with Paul that this looks like it was built quickly as a display piece. It could be converted for use in the water with some significant effort. A WCHA classified listing at https://www.woodencanoe.org/classifieds is usually the fastest way to find a good new home for something like this. The messages at http://forums.wcha.org/index.php?threads/57/ may help you learn more about how usable and display canoes are valued. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. Good luck with the sale,

Benson