Ta da! Just finished a 1960 Old Town 13'er

Howie

Wooden Canoe Maniac
Just finished a 1960 Old Town 13'er! Shown here (red canoe) alongside it's sister - a 1939 Old Town 11'er (redish canoe).

IMG_1330.jpg IMG_1332.jpg IMG_1335.jpg

This thing (the 13'er) was a wreck when I got it. First it must have sat without a thwart for many many years because the ribs were splayed open about 4" from spec. Plus the inwales were broken in several areas. It was splayed apart to such an extent that when I used the standard one thwart to pull it together the canoe lost it's nice rounded-side profile shape - I had to use 2 thwarts to fix the problem. Then of course the decks & tips were missing or rotten, had 4 broken ribs plus dry rot on some rib tips, no seats, and several holes in the planking. Plus it was fiberglassed!

Anyway, it now has all new inwales (I installed new ones below the originals then cut off the originals), plus new outwales, decks, seats, keel, & thwart. I replaced the 4 ribs & a bunch of planking and treated a few rib tips for dry rot. Anyway, it's got red cedar in & outwales, maple seats & thwarts, and red oak decks.

By the way - how often do you see 11' & 13' Old Towns side by side? - outside of an annual WCHA meet that is.

Anyone out there have a canoe you want to give me? I've got an OT HW in the garage that needs canvasing, and a Carleton that needs fixing up, but I'll need a project for next year!
 
Last edited:
Next thing you know, you're going to find a discarded rib, and build an entire canoe around it! :)

Nice work!
 
Howie,

I've got one you can have for free. It's Canadian I think, 16', needs lots of love. Unknown maker, doubtful parentage but the price is right. All you have to do is drive to Orange County, NY. I'm heading to the Assembly in the morning so you will have to wait till I get home again. Here is an old thread about it.

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?6037-Ufo&highlight=canadian

Jim C.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top