Is this boat worth 200?

[ssfletch]

Hi all, new to this forum. I am interested in this project as a winter restoration project but have little experience with wood/canvas canoes.
The current owner says it came from Maine and is about 60 years old. He said it has a few broken ribs in the stern, a rotted/damaged plank and is roughly 12 feet long. There are serial numbers on the boat but I do not have them yet. He says it is an EM White boat.

He is asking 200.00. I will visit the boat later today and get some more pics to share before making a decision. It is apparently white cedar with an ash thwart (not shown) and has one caned seat in the stern. I have some general boat building experience but am not an expert by any means.
Is this a project worth starting?
These are the images from Craigslist....sorry for quality and orientation

 

[Dan Miller]

Is this a project worth starting?

Well now, that is a silly question to ask of the support group from hell...!

To paraphrase Gil Cramer, "every canoe is worth a couple hundred bucks, plus or minus a couple grand..."

In all seriousness, it is hard to tell from those pictures, but it looks like a decent canoe. When you get home with it, put up some more, bigger photos and you will get all kinds of good advice.

Dan

 

[ssfletch]

Good point and well taken. I guess my question referred to the more technical aspects of time and labor required to refasten ribs, repair planks, refasten cane to seat, and re-canvas and fill/paint the hull for the cost of the boat in it's current condition. Never having done this before, what level of skill/time is typically required for a restoration of this nature? I understand the contextual nature of each project but was just looking for some advice on if it was a project worth taking on for someone with general woodworking skills.

My guess is I'll buy the damn thing regardless. I'll post more pics when I get it home.

Thanks
Steve Fletcher

 

[Paul Miller]

I love Gil, he's like the Yogi Berra of canoe builders.

A good question would be; what are you going to do with it when you’re done?

Selling it will bring you a labor rate of about 25 cents per hour.

If you keep it the value is infinite and undeterminable. The physiological wellness benefit itself is immeasurable.

I write group health insurance for a living and you can not believe the number of people out there are mood enhancing prescription drugs. I don't doubt I myself would be on them if it were not for the therapeutic affect of working on wooden canoe wrecks.

Join the club, but be warned it is a disease,

I quit counting at about 50.

Paul

 

[Benson Gray]

The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?57 may help with your decision. E. M. White canoes from this era often had a date in the serial number as described at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?2715 if you can read it. The White catalogs from the 1950s did not list a 14 foot long canoe so you may want to verify the length. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Kathryn Klos]

I think most who take-on a canoe-restoration project have general woodworking skills and do just fine. Sometimes it's simply a matter of having the tools, and it's often possible to connect with someone through these forums who has a shop and has done this before, who'd love to have you come over for an afternoon canvas-stretching party. You may live near a WCHA chapter and would connect with many there. Then you'd have a group of new friends to attend your launching party, and you'd understand even more clearly why the disease is contagious.

 

[Greg Nolan]

I guess my question referred to the more technical aspects of time and labor required to refasten ribs, repair planks, refasten cane to seat, and re-canvas and fill/paint the hull for the cost of the boat in it's current condition. Never having done this before, what level of skill/time is typically required for a restoration of this nature? .... a project worth taking on for someone with general woodworking skills.

I think most here would agree that what is involved in restoring your basic w/c canoe can be done by someone with general woodworking skills -- IF you have the desire and patience willingness to take the time required to learn new skills as you go along (stretching canvas, steaming and bending wood, producing shapes other than squares and rectangles, etc.) and if you don't necessarily expect to do a museum-quality restoration on your first attempt, and if you are able to handle making a mistake or two (experience is just making mistakes and learning how to correct them or live with them) as you go along.

"My guess is I'll buy the damn thing regardless."

Shows the right attitude -- welcome to the WCHA.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Is this boat worth 200?


Yup.

 

[mdouglass]

B.O.A.T.=Bring On Another Thousand. Or, more specifically: Bring On Another $1,000.00.

Mark Douglass

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Okay, you've thrown down the gauntlet for acronyms - we restored an m38 Willys in what turned into a frame-off total job, hence JEEP: Just Empty Every Pocket. Who else has one?

 

[Treewater]

It's in good (enough ) shape and has an interesting planking pattern. Sure, I'll give $200 if you deliever it. More pictures and I might come get it if you hold it a year or so.

 

[WoodNCanvas]

Is this boat worth 200?


Yup.

Or to paraphrase Gil Cramer again, ".....plus or minus a couple grand..."

Seriously though I agree with Andre....

 

[Dave Wermuth]

I'd give $200. for it. Where'd you say that canoe was? -----

 

[ssfletch]

Where'd you say that canoe was?

In my garage... I went and looked at it over lunch, decided against it, then had to drive back after work and pick it up during rush hour. I should have known better and saved the second trip. Damn boats.

I'll post some pictures in the next day showing damage and general condition. Be interested on opinions and advice on IDing and dating. My main concerns are the 6 broken ribs and broken stem at the stern as well as some significant planking damage. Those ribs are trashed and are of course the most radically bent. However, I think this boat (named Tippy by the original owner) will be a great restoration project. The family I bought Tippy from was quite emotional as we gingerly put her on the roof rack of my truck. I promised them a chance to paddle once she is done. The fellow I bought her from remembers the boat from his childhood but doesn't have the time for the restore himself and watched the boat sit in his shed for 20 years after inheriting it from his grandfather. It obviously meant something to him and was tough for him to let her go, so I want to do a good job on this to celebrate Tippy's return and honor the obvious affection the boat held in these folks lives. I'll post pics later. -
Cheers,
Steve F.