Old Town sailing canoe available

[Gil Cramer]

There is an Old town sailing canoe for sale on Craigslist in Ann Arbor, MI listed Aug. 6th. I have no financial interest in the canoe. It is listed as a 16' OTCA, but appears to be an HW model. The leeboards are the the early type from before 1932 or so. Sail looks like new Dacron. listed for $750 OBO. I don't know the seller, but someone please buy this canoe so I'm not tempted to. ( if this post is contraband,then please delete it). Gil

 

[MackyM]

Well Gil,
Have you thought about what you will bring to assembly next year? Macky

 

[Gil Cramer]

Well Macky,
I'll bring whatever canoe you send north for restoration. It's been almost 25 years since the canoe in the bonfire so maybe it's time to return to the assembly.

 

[chris pearson]

Aaaaa, yes, the canoe bonfire!

 

[GAN]

I'm planning to go take a look at the canoe tomorrow, and was getting on here to find out more about 1931 OCTA's. This canoe will be my first wood/canvas, and my first attempt at a restoration. I may have almost convinced my wife it's a project worth $750 or so. Almost.

Garrett

 

[Greg Nolan]

Looks like a good project to me (but photos often lie). See you private messages.

 

[GAN]

A beautiful canoe, but not quite in the shape I had been expecting. The ends were pretty rough, and from my novice eye would need new stems, some bow and stern planking and both outwales were crumbling with rot. Also a couple of cracked ribs and planks, covered with a liberal amount of wood glue. While I did specifically ask if the canoe had any rot or damaged areas over the phone, and was told not, I learned a few key steps to take next time prior to committing to a 200 mile drive - such as requesting high resolution photos of the bow and stern ends, and ANY blemishes or flaws present in the hull.

That being said, it was a neat little boat with a complete sail kit, and I do hope it winds up in the hands of someone looking for more than a revarnish and recanvassing project. Thanks again Doug for the inspection tips, it was a good thing to go in armed with at least some knowledge!

Garrett

 

[Greg Nolan]

Your novice eye was probably accurate. Many sellers of used canoes have no idea about what is involved in restoring a canoe, and those that do sometimes are not as candid (to put it politely) as they might be. Buying a used canoe is like buying anything used (horse, car, house . . .) -- the more you know the better off you are, the best "tool" is a healthy skepticism, photos (even hi-res) don't show everything. In other words, caveat emptor. Many of us here have learned these lessons the hard way.

I hope that at least the scenery on the drive was pleasant and traffic not bad. It may take a while to get the canoe you want, but it's out there.

You may want to take a look at this thread in the forums, and the links in that thread, for how a canoe that needs restoration might be used with a minimum of work while waiting for the time to undertake a full restoration:

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?9173-Restoring-the-canvas&highlight=yellow+greg

Greg

 

[GAN]

Great information on that thread and links, thanks again for the warm welcome to WCHA forums.

Garrett