Need measurements off an early Old Town HW, circa 1906

[Howie]

I posted a few days ago about getting a nice Old Town HW from 1906. The canoe had two thwarts installed but the seats weren't - although I have them. I've just gotten the rail caps off and it's apparent that the existing thwarts are not original and were installed in incorrect holes. So that means I don't know the correct width dimensions for the canoe. So... Can someone give me the hole-to-hole distances for the seats & thwarts for an Old Town HW circa 1906?

 

[mccloud]

Howie, I've got a 1912 OT HW in the shop with the gunwale cap off. I know where the original seats and thwarts were located, but not whether the thwarts I have are original. Both stems and inwale tips were gone and I have noticed that the hull 'relaxed' out quite a bit. I can make measurements, but would like to see someone elses with known original thwarts. The earlier discussion about thwarts has been interesting. This is the first closed gunwale boat I have worked on, and have discovered that it is not as easy to slip new ribs in as with an open gunwale canoe. When OT built it, installation of ribs was easy because the top plank was not on. They used steel nails to attach rib tips, then steel nails to put on the top plank. Also steel screws to attach the decks to the inwales before the top plank was on. When I put this canoe back together it will have copper nails and brass wood screws. Tom McCloud

 

[pklonowski]

The thwarts on my 17-foot 1918/1919 HW are as follows:
Middle thwart: 32" overall length, 31&1/4" between the mounting holes.
The other two are identical: Overall length is 28&7/8', trimmed to 28&1/8" due to the taper closer to the stems; the holes are 27&5/8" apart.

Hope this helps!

 

[Howie]

Thanks folks. What I've done is cinch up some straps and force the profile to match holes in the seats, then cinch the center to the shape to what I think it should be. As it happens the canoe is just a few feet from a '39 Yankee so I used it for a comparison. The shapes match to within a 1/2" or so, so I think I'm good. Thanks again!

 

[mccloud]

Howie, Your canoe is a 16' HW, as is mine, a 1912. They have only two thwarts, and the two in mine look the same, so maybe they are original. Both are 28 1/2" long. Counting back from the bow, one thwart was positioned between ribs 19/20, the other between ribs 33/34. I have no bow seat, but the hole for the leading edge is just behind rib 14. The leading edge of the stern seat as just aft of rib 42.
The leading edge member of the stern seat is 18 3/4" long, the rear member 14", and the seat is 10 1/2" wide. Tom McCloud

 

[Howie]

Thanks Tom... Assuming your thwarts are centered to the canoe it must have 54 ribs. My '06 also has 54 ribs. Sounds like our canoes match! I do have the front & rear seats, and if I cinch up the sides at each thwart location so the seats fit I figure the thwarts need to be about 28 1/2" long, just like yours.
Could you take another measurement please - what's the canoes width at the center (ie, outer edges of the inner rails)?
Now, my problem is exacerbated by a 7/8" diameter hole that was drilled in the inner rails to accommodate an oar lock fixture. A hunk of steel was screwed to the inside of the rails in this area to help keep the rails profile and add strength. I've glued in a dowel to plug the holes - they should be dry tomorrow, so we'll see how the rails profile was affected by the repair attempt. And it'll be interesting to compare the width I get vs your measurement when I cinch the sides at where the thwarts will be located to be 28 1/2".

 

[mccloud]

My canoe has 52 ribs. As I posted earlier, because of tip rot the hull had 'relaxed', somewhat, but with the two 28 1/2" thwarts clamped into place, and the sides pulled in, the width at center to the outside of the inwales is 31 1/2 inches. It would not surprise me if it left the factory at 31". Like you I have plugged the old bolt holes because of rot adjacent to the steel bolts, splitting & cracking. Hopefully the epoxy will penetrate and tie everything together. TM..

 

[Howie]

Thanks Tom... 31 1/2". My problem is someone removed the original thwarts to make room for an Old Town rowing bench, and instead added thwarts that were too long. Subsequently the front ribs are badly splayed out. Like by nearly 3" - I can barely bring them to a 28 1/2" span by hand. I'm thinking of steaming the ribs in situ once I have the canoe stripped in hopes that they'll 'relax' and take a set to accept the shower distance 28 1/2" thwart size. Never done that before. Should work, though I'd need to time the steam time so one side doesn't get steamed more than the other.