Looking for Sponsons for my 18’ Old Town HW

[Boatnut]

My upcoming restoration project is a 1913 Old Town 18’ HW equipped for sailing. I would like to install sponsons (lost some time in the last 110 years). Based on my measurement of the distance between screw holes in the hull, each sponson would be about 13’ 7” long and the supports/brackets that attach to the planking and ribs are about 8” apart.

If anyone living on the east cost has some extras to sell, I will be driving from Maine to South Carolina and back April 20 to May 10 and might be able to stop by to pick them up, especially if you are not too awful far from the I95 corridor.

Matt Lutkus (mattlutkus@hotmail.com)

 

[Benson Gray]

See the link below for one option in Tennessee.

Benson

Old Town 18' Sponsons

Very nice.

www.woodencanoe.org

 

[Boatnut]

Thanks Benson. I saw this but it‘s pretty far from the coast.

 

[Treewater]

I've got sponsons for free online but other than they came from an OT I don't know much. if you're interested text 731 415 8156

 

[Todd F]

Matt, will reach out to a buddy of mine in Johnson City. He MAY be willing to swing by Tim to get them. Much closer to I95. Will let you know before you depart.

 

[Michael Grace]

Hi Matt,

A word of caution - sponsons were built on the canoe so any given pair might not fit exactly right for your canoe. Even ones from the same canoe are best put back on their original sides; otherwise the screw holes in the ribs may not match the D-shaped blocks of the sponsons. You can always add more material where needed but there might be a fair bit of fiddling involved. Go for it if you can find a pair! Another option, if you're familiar with how sponsons are constructed, would be to build your own from scratch. That might take less time and energy than tracking down a pair, getting them, and working to fit them to the canoe.

Michael

 

[Dave Osborn]

What Michael Grace said!
I added a pair of sponsons to an Old Town Square Stern that didn’t have sponsons originally, at the customers request.
Not only were they too short and needed to be lengthened, only a very few of the stations lined up with the ribs.
I got it done but there was a lot of fiddle mucking around to make it right.
I might suggest that you look for an 18”er with sponsons. There seem to be some out there, as most folks prefer shorter. Worth a look anyway.

 

[Todd F]

Will bight my tongue.

 

[David Satter]

I've got 2 pair in the rafters of my shop. I'll check measurements today and let you know. But I think any sponson you find will need a lot of adjusting to make them fit.

 

[Boatnut]

David, I appreciate your checking for me. As long as the length of the sponsons is pretty close to what would have been on an 18 footer, I don’t believe that adjustments to get to the 8” spacing (for every other rib) would be difficult. Matt

 

[Todd F]

Matt, no luck getting my buddy to get the free ones in TN.

 

[David Satter]

The ones on the left are 12 1/2 feet and 4 1/4 wide the other ones are 11 1/2 feet long and 3 inches wide but missing the ends so,,,,
I can't imagine the curve mating up with the curve on your canoe? Needed to get them down anyway to clean out the bee nests.

 

[Boatnut]

Todd and David, I really appreciate your help. I will continue my search. It will be a while before I get started on the canoe and will need the sponsons. My wood/canvas rowboat project is a little over half completed. Matt

 

[David Satter]

Cut and add length in the middle. Might work. Anyway, their here in the shop if you decide you want them. My contact info is on my site.
www.sattersrestoration.com