Value of E.M.White canoe

[Mimi]

Wish I had known about WCHA before we donated our older canoe to the Boy Scouts. Now I need to establish its value as a charitable donation. It came with our cottage in Maine (built in 1895) and is 18'3" long. Beam is 3' including the sponsons. On small brass plaque: E.M. White & Co / Old Town, Me / Water Street. No serial number. Has no central "spine" (I don't know the correct technical term), just ribs going from one side to the other, alternating in length. This interior wood frame is in excellent condition as are the two caned seats. The red canvas almost certainly needs to be replaced (there is a small leak). The only damage I could see is ca. 4" long outer wooden strip missing from a gunnel.
I would greatly appreciate any information you can offer about the value of this beautiful canoe.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hello, Mimi--

You gave a beautiful gift to the Boy Scouts. Do they plan to restore and use it?

Determining a value in the case of your canoe is rather like determining value for insurance purposes--- we can't say, as we can when someone is simply wondering what their canoe might be worth, "it's what the market will bear."

Sounds like you have a classic old E.M. White, with half ribs, possibly in fairly original condition. Someone else here will have better knowledge of value for such a boat... but you may like to look at the reproductions that Jerry Stelmok makes as a jumping-off-place:

http://islandfallscanoe.com/about-us.asp

Kathy

 

[Fitz]

Faq

This FAQ may help:

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=57