War Canoe - 25' Old Town

jimbogner

New Member
Hi,
I have a 1945 25' Old Town canoe. Serial # 142124. It is in very good condition with the exception of needing new decks & some of the ribs, by the decks, need new tops scarfed on them.
There doesn't seem to be many war canoes around. Does anyone know what the value of this canoe is? I am thinking of selling it. I can send pictures if anyone would like to see it.
Thanks,
Jim
 
There is some good information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=57 about how to value and sell a wooden canoe and most of this will apply to a 25 foot one. There are not many large canoes around but there are even fewer people who want to buy one. They also tend to be very expensive to move and restore so this also limits their value in most cases. There has been one in similar condition listed on eBay several times recently for $5000 but I don't think that anyone has bid on it. I do know of a summer camp that is looking for some since it will cost over $10,000 to restore their current ones. One way to find out the real value is to list it on eBay and see what kind of bids you get. Another alternative is to list it at http://classifieds.wcha.org/ in the classifieds here for the best offer and see if you get any response. Let us know what you decide to do.

Benson
 
War Canoe Values

warc1.JPG


Dear Jim,
Benson is pretty much on target here. Auction is the best way to establish absolute value. Sometimes eBay is not very good barometer. Location, description, and condition are key factors. I buy and sell a lot of canoes, and many on eBay. I find for the most part they sell for under the money on eBay with some exceptions.

I would be happy to look at photos and give you an estimate for purchase or for you to sell on your own. My appraisals give wholesale, retail, new and used pricing, and usually coast of restoration and the value after. The last war canoe I sold that sounded similar to yours I got $1800. It needed deck work, outside rails and, three or four ribs. At the time the restoration quote was about $4500.

Crazy as it sounds yours is a little small I have a customer looking for a 30 foot one.

Robert P. Ross
Ross Bros.
PO Box 60277
Florence, MA 01062
413.320.2306
 
1931 OT War Canoe

Dear Jim & Robert,

Peggy & I are the proud owners' of the war canoe atop Robert's pick-up. I watched it for a long time on Robert's web site, before Peggy came on board, pun intended. I along with Robert can attest to Benson's statement on hard to move, and then, hard to move. We were very fortunate to find a war canoe that old in that good of shape. We are researching it's history at Camp Winnemont. Thanks to the web we have some great stories of the camp, and have been in touch with the grandson of W. H. Bentley, who purchased the canoe for the camp. We have yet to come up with a photo of it full of campers.

I once had the chance to paddle a war canoe, which spawned my desire to own one. If you have never paddled one, it's almost as much fun as a rugby party.

Every year the Adirondack Museum showcases one of their boats. This year's Boat of the Year was a 1941 Old Town War Canoe.

Robert, thank you again for such a fine boat, we'll send photos when completed. We'll be racing it in the future at the War Canoe National Championships on Long Lake, no promise for this coming year though.

Dave & Peggy Davidson
 
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