Restoration question!

[Blue Viking]

I have a question to put up for discussion I hope.....If you are restoring a square stern canoe and the previous restoration attempt was a total disaster, is there any information available somewhere that you can get the original measurements of the stern (transom) and the correct configuration in order to do a restoration to original specifications.....Have an opportunity to take this one on and would LOVE to do a "to original specs" restoration

 

[Benson Gray]

The short answer is no, there is not a complete database of Old Town's original designs and specifications available. The best you can usually do is to find another one in original condition to copy or simply guess based on what you can see in the old catalog photographs. The square end canoe page from the 1958 catalog is attached below for example. More information like this can be found in the Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection CD available from http://merchandise.wcha.org/ and http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/cdrom.htm if you don't have one already.

Benson