Interesting Old Town

[chris pearson]

Sorry if I’m repeating myself, some have read this elsewhere. So, my $100 “rare” canoe is with me now. I bought a canoe from a gentleman in Honeoye Falls NY. I’m in Holland, Michigan so I had to work on logistics of getting it to me. Thanks Howie for getting it and ultimately getting it to Dave Devivo. Thanks to Dave for getting it to the assembly. And thanks to the Darga’s for driving it all the way back to me!!!

The canoe. Fiberglassed hull and rotted gunwales and decks, it is a project. The reason I wanted it was its tie to my hometown in Rochester. It has ribs stamped, “Long Boat Company”, which made boats in Rochester many years ago. I was hoping it was a Long made craft but discovered OT serial number on the stems, and is a 1922 Charles River model. Here is where it gets interesting. It was sent to a store called Scrantoms, I even remember it as a kid. Thanks to Benson, research shows the store started in1869 and sold sporting goods back then. So how did Long end up with it I have no idea. The canoe has professionally made mahogany 30” decks, combing and outwales that were not on it as ordered from Old Town as it was a CS grade canoe with short ash decks. If these things could talk. It is believed to be a livery canoe because of the company name only stamped in the ribs on the floor and remnants of a brass number on what’s left of the deck. The man I bought it from also told me the family he got it from were told it resided at a livery on Honeoye Creek.

 

[Todd F]

Chris, I am glad it is your capable hands.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Derelict canoe whisperer. I'm glad i'm not the only one. Except you're better.
way better.

 

[dtdcanoes]

A very personal right to choose and Chris chose to exercise that right. I say bang on, Chris and let me know if I can help further. I marvel and fear what a canoe can do to the unsuspecting . As Rollin said, " give me a rib from it and I will build a new one for you " , or something like that.
Dave

 

[MGC]

Frankly, I am grateful that one did not call to me. I gave it a good hard look when the listing popped up, the price was an attention grabber.
I thought I'd seen the last of it until I looked it over at Howie's. Yahoo.
That one should provide Chris with a handsome challenge.
Rollin's single rib permits some degrees of freedom. An accumulation of this variety poses a much greater challenge presuming a plan to reuse it.

 

[chris pearson]

Guys, diamond in the rough! And very interesting part of Rochester history!

 

[MGC]

Not quite on par with a Mortimer...

 

[Gil Cramer]

Chris,
Any wood butcher can replace a rib or two and re-varnish. For some people, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.!!!

 

[chris pearson]

Not quite on par with a Mortimer...

Mike, agreed. But I’m still excited about doing it. I have vision of what it’ll look like and to me, matters. Nuff said.

 

[chris pearson]

Mike, agreed. But I’m still excited about doing it. I have vision of what it’ll look like and to me, matters. Nuff said.

Not quite on par with a Mortimer...

I have info on Edwin Long and he was no slouch in the nautical design world. He even went to MIT. I’ll post later.

 

[chris pearson]

Chris,
Any wood butcher can replace a rib or two and re-varnish. For some people, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.!!!

Thank you Gil!

 

[MGC]

Gil is right on....the train wrecks are the ones you remember. I just picked one of my own, also covered in glass and also for sentimental reasons. I'll be kicking myself until it's done. Definitely post up the long history...sounds interesting.

 

[Dan Miller]

Not quite on par with a Mortimer...

Yeah, but what are the odds of acquiring one of those?

 

[MGC]

I've had three opportunities since living here ..only money stood in the way.
I'm not holding my breath.

 

[chris pearson]

I've had three opportunities since living here ..only money stood in the way.
I'm not holding my breath.

Mike, didn’t Bud Steeb’s grandson get Baby? I think he also had another one of Buds. Listen to this, one year I brought my Dad to the wooden boat show on Keuka. Our local chapter was there including Bud, and he had Baby. I thought my dad was gunna start to cry when he saw it. My dad worked at the boat house on the Genesee as a kid and remembered Baby. The canoe belonged to “Specs”, the manager of the rental livery fleet. Rumor has it that Specs would take Baby down to Florida and hook sharks in the thing! That’s what my dad told me anyhow. I think Specs sold the canoe to Bud when he got too old to use it. I’d absolutely kill to have that canoe but Buds grandson wanted stupid money for it!

 

[MGC]

I'm not quite to the point of killing but I will confess to very strong feelings. I think I have some pictures on my other computer. We should post a few for the uninitiated. There's perfection, and then there's Threehouse.
I was tied up in a planning meeting when Whapoose was auctioned, so I sent my wife to bid for me. When it got over 4 bills I had to let her stop. In hindsight, I should have kept bidding....you never know if you'll get another shot. And this is nuts, but when I moved here, there were a pair of them on Craigslist....I couldn't talk the seller down to affordability....again, hind sight. That's the problem with buying a pristine boat. These trainwrecks fit the budget so much better.

 

[chris pearson]

Somewhere I have a photo of Bud with Baby……

 

[Howie]

Glad it got to you safely, Chris. And glad I could help - especially since it caused me to meet Dave and is gorgeous canoes.

If I recall correctly, the fella you bought it from told me he got it from a lady who lived quite near him in Honeoye Falls. She told him that as a kid she lived with her aunt who owned the canoe (this was in the 40's or 50's I believe), and that she bought it from a canoe livery that operated in Honeoye Creek.

So it was a Old Town after all! What do you make of the interesting rear seat spacers? They look like they were cut from a canoe paddle!

 

[chris pearson]

Update….fiberglass gone, stripped out, new inwales roughed in, stems repaired, 2 ribs repaired.

 

[Dan Miller]

Someone clearly has a lot of free time. Good on ya, Chris!