Help Please - 1914 18' OTCA CS Dimensions (seats & thwarts)

[Gary]

Hi, could any of you wonderful folks out there help me with some dimensions please? My canoe did not come with seats or what I believe to be the original thwarts? See picture. I have excellent measurements as to where these go but not on their dimensions, sizes of seats bow and stern, lengths, widths of thwarts, and thickness of the materials used for each. I'm selecting my stock now but need these dimensions before proceeding.

Any help offered is appreciated, Gary

 

[Benson Gray]

The response to your previous question at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/14767/ has the locations. The build record for your canoe should show the wood(s) used in the seats and thwarts. Use the same wood as the decks if the build record is not specific since they usually tried to match the decks, seats, thwarts. The thwart stock is finished to a maximum of about 5/16 inches thick by two and 1/4 inches wide. (These became noticeably thicker sometime after the early 1920s so newer canoes have thwarts that are about 7/8 inches high.) The originals had much more shape than the one in your picture. I would encourage you to find another Old Town canoe in your area to model the details of the shaping for the thwarts and seats. The pictures at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?forums/32/ may help if you have no other options.

The seat stock is finished to a maximum of about one and 3/4 inches wide by 3/4 inches thick. The forward bar of the bow seat is a maximum of about 24 and 1/2 inches wide and the rear bar is a maximum of about 27 and 1/2 inches wide. The bars for the cane in the middle of the bow seat are a maximum of about 15 and 1/4 inches wide by nine and 7/8 inches from front to back. The quarter thwarts are a maximum of about 29 and 1/2 inches wide. The middle thwart is a maximum of about 35 inches wide. The forward bar of the stern seat is a maximum of about 20 inches wide and the rear bar is a maximum of about 15 inches wide. The bars for the cane in the middle of the stern seat are a maximum of about 12 and 3/4 inches wide by ten and 3/4 inches from front to back. (The thwart thickness and seat cane dimensions came from the 1921 Molitor shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/12325/ since my Otcas have the newer thwarts and sailing seats.)

Let me know if this doesn't answer your question. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Gary]

Hey Benson very helpful as usual, thank you. Yes I knew the type of wood they used originally from my build record and thanks to the reply from my previous question posted I knew where everything goes, but it's tough to tell the dimensions from pictures so your information should now have me all set, thanks again. By the way I'm deviating somewhat from the original materials, with birds eye maple decks.
Gary

 

[Benson Gray]

By the way I'm deviating somewhat from the original materials, with birds eye maple decks.

This should be pretty. Please post some pictures as you progress.

Benson

 

[Gary]

Will do with the pictures but don't hold your breath waiting as things are on hold for a bit as I recover from surgery on my wrist from an accident with a carbide blade, wasn't pretty. Finding it tough to do things with one hand, arghhhh.
Gary