Opinion of value

[Martha Sanders]

My trail association has been donated an antique canoe to auction off at our annual fundraising event in June. It's a 1917 Robertson that's been fully restored by Kevin Martin from NH. It's in beautiful condition. We have no idea how much it might be worth. Can someone offer an opinion?

 

[fernieite]

Welcome, Martha.
Man, what a historic and beautiful boat!
What about contacting the restorer, Kevin Martin? Wouldn't he have an idea of the value?

 

[MGC]

It's a nice boat. Have you considered raffling it?
Several clubs I belong to make as much as 20-25% of our annual income from raffles. If someone makes a significant donation, we print up tickets and assign each member a number of them to sell or buy.
The suggestion to ask Kevin for his opinion is spot on. He will know exactly what He believes it is worth.

 

[John Sand]

It's a real beauty. Wooden canoes seem to have fallen in value lately, but charity auctions in general sometimes generate high prices from people who want to support the organization. Good luck with it.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Excellent advice has been offered, But I'll throw out a number. My first thought was, WOW, that's a $3500 canoe. (retail). But you just never know. Mostly prices are considerably lower. Like around $2500 or so. It's a beaut!

 

[Mark Giovannetti]

I'm assuming but, quality restoration, beautiful looking canoe. To put a number on it I would say for fundraising purposes anything over $5000. Sorry Dave, your post came up as I was writing this. I believe these prices are too low for the amount of work that goes into a quality restoration. Maybe there's some defects here we can't see.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

No worries. No defects. Cost of resto is usually higher than retail value. I think, maybe. When it comes to value, you never know until after.

 

[MGC]

No worries. No defects. Cost of resto is usually higher than retail value. I think, maybe. When it comes to value, you never know until after.

Bingo.....for most canoes, expecting to get the cost of a restoration back is not realistic. Breaking even is generally an accomplishment. If you do the work yourself, that leaves some meat on the bones but unless a canoe has some pretty significant cachet, getting anything over $3 bills is an accomplishment these days. A quality pro restoration will cost you??? yes, all of that and maybe more. For most of us the value of our time is simply nothing, goose egg, nada, zip...... We all know the cost of the rest, canvas, filler, primer, paint, varnish, tacks, brass screws, brushes, thinners, what have you. Add in the cost of a decent canoe bought at the right price, most canoes will leave you upside down. This is in part why I choose to work only on boats I want to keep.

 

[dtdcanoes]

An interesting question always , it seems. I can say as one who has tried to replicate the high end so-called Boston Boat on their own , it is a daunting task. I think one would find that this design done professionally would be very expensive and if the gold line were indeed real gold as was the original treatment of these boats, you could certainly arrive at Mark's five thousand at a minimum . Now you need the boat to go with it. These boats are in the same category as the top line horse drawn carriages of their day with inlaid woods , polished paint jobs and designs done in gold. Functional art for some who enjoyed the gentlemanly hunt on the Charles. Some boats were even fitted with a fringed canopy to shade the lady. What ? As has been said....just say'n

 

[Dan Lindberg]

A pretty boat for sure and I tend to agree with the values already posted.
The cost do the restore is certainly more then its value.
Which is the reason so few Pros restore on speculation.

 

[chris pearson]

Even at a meager $40/hr, I tell my clients they will most certainly be upside down on the real value of the canoe when done. The major majority of my customer base is in it strictly for sentimental reasons. Unless you have a really rare and special canoe, flipping one takes time and effort. Not saying it can’t be done, but it’s harder now than it used to be. I usually say time and materials and guess at the restoration price with an understanding that it’s “a start” and I will discuss options if it is in jeopardy of going long…I always update the customer throughout the entire process. It’s a very laborious process especially when done correctly the whole way through……

 

[chris pearson]

Even at a meager $40/hr, I tell my clients they will most certainly be upside down on the real value of the canoe when done. The major majority of my customer base is in it strictly for sentimental reasons. Unless you have a really rare and special canoe, flipping one takes time and effort. Not saying it can’t be done, but it’s harder now than it used to be. I usually say time and materials and guess at the restoration price with an understanding that it’s “a start” and I will discuss options if it is in jeopardy of going long…I always update the customer throughout the entire process. It’s a very laborious process especially when done correctly the whole way through……

Oh, and folks still are more than happy to
move forward knowing this….seems good work is getting harder to come by these days….at least in the Midwest…….

 

[Martha Sanders]

Thanks very much for this info, everyone! Really interesting. I've emailed Kevin Martin to get his take on its potential value and any special details about the canoe. I'll report back what I learn.