Redwood Canoe

techrtr

Curious about Wooden Canoes
Hey everyone,
I purchased a sad old wood and canvas canoe last night. The plan is to restore it to its former glory. It looks kind of like one of the Huron boats but the decks are different and I noticed that the word "Redwood" is engraved into one of the decks, maybe with a router. I was wondering if anyone is familiar with this maker. I'll post some photos later today.

The ribs look to be in good condition but the stem tops and gunwales are shot. I'm not in a hurry to fix the boat so I'll take my time and try to do it right. I'm so glad that there are resources like this site and YouTube because they'll make this project so much easier.

Bruce
 
Here are some photos of the canoe that I bought. In the photo of the deck you can see the faint "Redwood."
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Appears to be 16' Greenwood Watercraft Prospector Special canoe. Usually had their name branded into the forward deck. Greenwood canoes only had serial numbers in their final years but you may find one on a stem face. A few reasons that this one doesn't have a Greenwood name on the deck may be : 1 - When Greenwood sold a partially completed canoe he would not brand it. 2 - The deck may have been replaced. 3 - When Greenwood and his long time employee Fletcher parted company Fletcher took a few Greenwood canoe forms. Fletcher built canoes on these forms for awhile. These did not have the Greenwood name on them.
 
Hey, thanks for the info Dave. Nice to know what I likely have. The only other Greenwood canoe I've seen was a gorgeous boat. Gives me something to strive for.
 
That's not a sad canoe . It looks to be in pretty good shape. I like it.

Cordially
Sam
 
If it is a greenwood, the gunwales likely would be made of mahogany unless someone has replaced with something different.

Hey Rob, I've been watching your Youtube videos. They're really helpful and I'm going to be referring to them a lot once I start to dig into this project. It would be nice to track down mahogany pieces but I would image they are pretty expensive.
 
Hey Sam,
Now that I'm getting into it, I can really see the potential of this boat. It's going to be an awesome learning experience.
 
It would be nice to track down mahogany pieces but I would image they are pretty expensive.
Would not be that much difference than other hardwoods, but seem harder to find in my neck of the woods to find full length so I end up scarfing.
 
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