This is one of the decrepit canoes auctioned off at Assembly last month, a 16' Old Town
CS grade. It was covered with old canvas painted blue with Elmers Ucanoe painted on it. If you happen to know any of the history of this canoe, I'd like to know it. Who was Elmer and where did he use this canoe? If you happened to take a picture of this canoe while it was lying on the grass at Assembly, I'd like a copy of that photo. Rot to both stem tips, inwale tips and decks was obvious. One surprise was the line of tacks thru the canvas, hidden underneath the keel. I assume these were not factory. Though there are no halos around any of the tacks, the screws holding the keel on were about half-length, corroded away, with almost nothing left of the cone washers. With the canvas off and on closer examination, the planking, white cedar I believe, is in remarkably good condition. There is an obvious quality of workmanship in the tightness of the planks and tacking. I wish I could say as much for the ribs. With some stripper revealing hidden cracks, it now appears 10-12 new ribs will be needed. After some work, this will be a nice canoe again. Tom McCloud
