OT OTCA 17' and OT 50 LB 11' Restorations

[JDarst]

Hello All,
I have been reading posts on the forums for a while. I started to restore a 11' 1933 CS OT 50 pounder about 6 years ago. I removed the fiberglass and stripped the interior and parked it in my shed to clear out the garage. I recently picked up a 17' 1924 AA OT OTCA and it inspired me to join the WCHA. I have always loved to be on the water paddling and fishing, but have never done so from a wooden canoe. I have built 5 stitch and glue boats and kayaks with my kids and now, hopefully, plan on restoring the OT's with their help. I have found this forum to be a wealth of information and I'm very grateful for the knowledge that the members have shared. I hope you guys chime in as these restorations progress. I plan on fixing them in sequence once the OCTA is fully stripped. I'll post pictures as I go.
Here's where we are with the OTCA.


Here are some pictures of the kayaks I did a ways back.


Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Dave Wermuth]

thanks for posting. It's very helpful to watch the process.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Your kids do nice work! And as long as you post (with pictures as things go along, we hope) there will be folks to help with problems that may develop. We all learn from what others are doing and from the questions they ask.

Greg

 

[JDarst]

I'm trying to find pictures of the decks for a 1933 11' fifty pounder. Mine were gone when I acquired the canoe.
Thank You,
Jeff

 

[Greg Nolan]

Don't know if this will help, but here are the decks on a 1931 15' 50 pounder:




The holes were not drilled by OT.

 

[JDarst]

Got a little work done today.

 

[JDarst]

These are my first restorations and I'm a little daunted by the work in front of me. The planking on the 50 lb is in decent shape, but the OTCA needs a lot replaced. The 50 lb has an area were there are about 8 broken ribs in a row with hull deformation. The OCTA has just two broken ribs at one of the stems with minor hull deformation. Both need stems repaired and ribs replaced/repaired. I'm wondering what is better for rib tip repair. Scarf and glue new tips on or fix with an epoxy paste. I'm concerned about the color difference with using the epoxy paste.
Thank You,
Jeff

 

[Howie]

I too am in the process of restoring a 50# Old Town (along with a 16' PennYan Owasco & 16' Old Town Otca). Here are some pics:



The decks on my 50#'er had some rot, but at least I had 'em to copy. The measurements are 8.75" along the sides (happily the sides are straight) and 7.38" at the wide end (tip to tip so to speak). That works out to be a 50deg angle, or +/-25deg from the center line. The arc for the hand grip measures 1.5" deep. It's .87" thick and dead flat, ie no taper. Guess you'll have to free-hand the grip's compound arcs yourself, but you can see from the pics that the radii are quite large.

I used red oak for mine but I suspect the original was ash. Oh - and you can get original decals from WCHA. Mine is a 1939'er so it has the 'black' type decal. The decal goes on the bow deck & oriented so you can read it while seated.

Hope this helps...

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Rib tips: Not too hard to splice and you'll be glad you did if the tips are bad. I don't worry about original ribs that are split, but if they have rot I splice. A cordless multi tool with blade can do it. A belt sander or angle grinder can too. I just generally use a chisel. I then mark the length of the splice on the new piece and make a pencil line and resaw it on the band saw. It generally fits good. Let's see if I can find a photo.....

 

[Dave Wermuth]

As to the 8 broken ribs... If the hull is somehow still fair, be sure to only replace one at a time, or you will be naming the canoe, "Miss Lumpy".. If the hull is already lumpy you'll want to make a girdle of stringers to hold it to shape as you insatll ribs. I actually screwed stringers right to the hull. The holes are easily overlooked for a working canoe. A show piece? Use the straps and stringers to make the girdle.

 

[Ed Moses]

Jeff,

You asked about using glue or epoxy paste for your scarfed rib tops. Titebond III is waterproof and has worked extremely well for me and I think you will find it more user friendly than epoxy. Setup time is quick and the rib top replacements do not slither around as you are trying to get them positioned accurately like with using epoxy.

Ed

 

[JDarst]

Ed,
Thank You,
Jeff

 

[Larry Meyer]

Another voice for Titebond!!! I have been saying this for years about all alone.

 

[JDarst]

Hello,
I'm trying to see why my posts aren't showing up.
Jeff

 

[JDarst]

Quick Update

Here are some pictures of the work I'm doing for the OTCA.
Jeff

 

[JDarst]

Another picture, having trouble putting the in one post.

 

[JDarst]

I'll try another picture.