Old Town 13945

[ChattahoocheeJim]

I just picked up this 17 foot 1910 Old Town. The build sheet says it had sponsons - no longer. I assume it had a full length keel - no longer.
The canoe needs new canvas and outwales, so I'm trying to decide if I should put sponsons on again. I have two other Old Towns that have sponsons and are 17 feet long (also needing canvas) so I have the templates available.
Are there any philosophical or practical reasons for restoring to original design?
Jim

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Hi Jim

I left my sponsons off and am glad. Lighter in weight. The sponsons were a selling point for unsinkability. Unles your canoe has provenance it belonged to Teddy Roosevelt or Ernest Hemmingway, or was particularly fancy or historically noteworthy, I would leave them off.

On keels. The current opinions are split about 50/50 now. A check of the serial number forums will show that at one time more than 90% were built with keels. I feel that there is no good reason to jump from a perfectly good airplane and no good reason to drill holes in the bottom of a perfectly good canoe. But some folks enjoy skydiving. Benson said it best when he said to leave it off and see how you like it. You can always add one easily later.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

One of many good reasons to attend a canoe "event" is to try out someone else's canoe--- without a keel, with sponsons-- whatever...

 

[ChattahoocheeJim]

I left my sponsons off and am glad. Lighter in weight. The sponsons were a selling point for unsinkability. Unles your canoe has provenance it belonged to Teddy Roosevelt or Ernest Hemmingway, or was particularly fancy or historically noteworthy, I would leave them off.

On keels. The current opinions are split about 50/50 now. A check of the serial number forums will show that at one time more than 90% were built with keels. I feel that there is no good reason to jump from a perfectly good airplane and no good reason to drill holes in the bottom of a perfectly good canoe. But some folks enjoy skydiving. Benson said it best when he said to leave it off and see how you like it. You can always add one easily later.

Thank you for you advice. I notice you have an HW canoe. That is what this is. I was just concerned if the hull was good for general use. "Yawl" design I think the catalog says.
The others I have with sponsons are fitted as sailing canoes so I think it's a good idea to keep them.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

18'

Mine is 18'. I can stand up and pole it, no problem. Quite stable initial and secondary. For solo work it handles nicely but responds sedately. Not going to do well in a game of dead fish polo. A chop and wind will make the solo paddler work. It is now a low ender and the rails are about 7/8" lower to account for the rotten rib tops. So it ducks wind better. Tandem it is comfortable. Carries a load. Is dry. I like it alot. I think that each canoe is a little different even from the same form. Each tree it came from was different so it stands to reason.
General use? You bet.

Thank you for you advice. I notice you have an HW canoe. That is what this is. I was just concerned if the hull was good for general use. "Yawl" design I think the catalog says.
The others I have with sponsons are fitted as sailing canoes so I think it's a good idea to keep them.