Howie
Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
Just finished the 1936 13' OldTown '50 Pounder' I picked up last December. My 51st restoration! Came out nice. As you can see, I'm eager to get it wet asap.
I covered this one with Dacron (my 3rd use of Dacron). Weighs all of 53#, even with a little floor rack I added (which added 2#). OldTown literature in at least one catalogue listed the 13 footer as weighing 50#. Nonsense: I suspect the truth is they weighed closer to 60#.
I had to replace 3 ribs at the center of the canoe. They were all broken along one side but the center portion was fine. Since they were already perfectly curved to fit the floor of the canoe, as well as the right thickness, they were perfect for the base of a short removable floor rack. I positioned the rack just behind the front seat 'cause that's where my feet will be as I'll be paddling the canoe 'facing backwards'. This 50 Pounder was made with slightly thinner ribs and planking, so I figure the floor rack will give the canoe some extra strength in this area. I also added a 2nd thwart and positioned the two left & right of center as I prefer to lift the canoe by the thwarts rather than from the rails.
Forgive the little seat spacers I made. It was winter. I was bored... I also replaced the original seats which used machine-made cane. I much prefer hand woven cane.
I covered this one with Dacron (my 3rd use of Dacron). Weighs all of 53#, even with a little floor rack I added (which added 2#). OldTown literature in at least one catalogue listed the 13 footer as weighing 50#. Nonsense: I suspect the truth is they weighed closer to 60#.
I had to replace 3 ribs at the center of the canoe. They were all broken along one side but the center portion was fine. Since they were already perfectly curved to fit the floor of the canoe, as well as the right thickness, they were perfect for the base of a short removable floor rack. I positioned the rack just behind the front seat 'cause that's where my feet will be as I'll be paddling the canoe 'facing backwards'. This 50 Pounder was made with slightly thinner ribs and planking, so I figure the floor rack will give the canoe some extra strength in this area. I also added a 2nd thwart and positioned the two left & right of center as I prefer to lift the canoe by the thwarts rather than from the rails.
Forgive the little seat spacers I made. It was winter. I was bored... I also replaced the original seats which used machine-made cane. I much prefer hand woven cane.
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