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onausable

Curious about Wooden Canoes
I'm still exploring current and old posts on this forum. I discovered it while looking for information on Old Towne White Cap sailboats. I'm interested in finding one for sail and would appreciate any help. As a child in a Cleveland suburb the father of one of my elementary school classmates owned one and as youngsters we played pirates in it as it sat in the garage. His name was Bob Manry, a copy editor for the Cleveland Plain Dealer who sailed it solo across the Atlantic from Falmouth, MA to Falmouth England. I'm also interested on vintage wooden canoes as my wife and I have a 1920's log cabin on a scenic river in northern Michigan. Looking forward to soaking up the knowledge provided by members of this group.
 
Just had to reply to this.

Hi Onausable! Welcome to the forums. What a great story. Lots of w/c paddlers around here. And around where you live too. Lots of good info here. Many of us enjoy fly fishing your neck of the woods. Feel free to ask questions, check out the classifieds if you're looking for a canoe. You might want to consider the Quiet Water symposium first saturday in March. I think you can google QWS and get the story.
 
I lived in Cleveland in 1965 when Manry sailed across the Atlantic. It was big local news. His sailboat was a 13.5' Old Town called Tinkerbelle, the smallest craft ever to cross the Atlantic. He wrote a book about his adventures by the same name and I still have it on my shelf. Here's a picture of Manry and his slightly-modified Old Town.
 

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onausable

Welcome to our forum ! I also live on the Au Sable, on Cooke Pond if you
would like to see a few old canoes, I would be glad to show a few.
give me a call Dave Mc Daniel 989 362 9934 mornings
 
old canoes

David, I may take you up on your gracious offer come spring. With all the snow and cold temps I think I'll stay by the fire for now. We're on the Holy Waters between Stephan and Wakely Bridges.

Robert, I have the same book and just re-read it after many years. If anyone is interested, Tinkerbelle currently resides at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland. I'm planning a pilgrimage to see her soon as my folks still live in the area.

Dave, sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. It never occurred to me there might be some fellow flyfishermen on this sight as well. Duh! Can't wait for spring.
 
Holy Waters!

Mason tract, Holy waters, South Branch, North Branch, East Branch. All are so special. Have you checked out Rusty's site? There is a photo of Wood canoe Icon Skip Gibson and Rusty Gates in one of the pages.
 
canoe marathon

Dave, have you informed all the folks on the forum about the AuSable River Canoe Marathon? I think they need to have a vintage class for authentic wooden canoes. Maybe we should suggest it to the race organizers.
 
Tinkerbelle

Onasauble,

Your post is quite interesting. I belong to a wooden boat building club in Cleveland, Ohio...Cleveland Amateur Boatbuilding and Boating Society (CABBS) and we just had our monthly meeting this past Sunday. As a group project, it was suggested that we build a prototype of the "Tinkerbelle" and auction it off at a future function complete with the history of this craft.

Here we are: http://www.CABBS.org

I also have a good friend with a house on the AuSable complete with one of the AuSable River Boats...what a great fly fishing boat! He lives next to the former owner of the Pelican (Water Proof Box) company.

If we take on this project, your input in the early years would be a definite plus and maybe you would want to come down and supervise?

Great story, beautiful territory and great fishing!

Thanks for the post,

Ric Altfather
 
Tinkerbelle replica

Ric, If what you mean is a working replica of Tinkerbelle, I think it's a great fundraising idea and I'd be the first and hopefully winning bidder. The person you really need to get for assistance is Bob's son Doug. I believe he's still living in the Cleveland area. I would also contact the Plain Dealer I'm sure they would be interested in your project as well.
 
the race

I'd be interested in a vintage class BUT boats get broken in two sometimes. I paddled the C-1 race from Foote Dam down in '87. In my DY Special Sawyer glass boat. finished 6 of 7 and the fisrt five boats were racing c-1s. boat number seven was a stripper. they have a website. I have paddled a c-2 racing boat before. Very fast. My interests now lean more toward slower types of paddling. but I cannot resist picking up the rate when other boats are going my way. canoe racers are some of the most skilled paddlers you will see.
 
vintage class

I think a vintage class should start before the regular race and for a shorter distance. It should be held in daylight conditions to minimize the chance for collision and damage. Or maybe it would be enough to just have them on display in town on main street along with the vintage cars and other festivities.
 
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