What's in your living room?

Michael Grace

Lifetime Member
With the coming winter, a lot of canoes will leave the hardening water. It would be fun and interesting to see where they go. Even though we don't have to worry about hard water where we live, a few original, unrestored canoes have found their way into the house - see the attached photo.

Top: Charles River-area canoe (builder unknown) with unusual short, triangular decks
Middle: E.M. White with all-mahogany trim, wide thwarts, long (for a White) decks, and fancy paint job much like Old Town's design #7 (two-tone with dot-and-dash line ending in an arrowhead)
Bottom: Rushton Grayling.

This photo was taken just before a new rack was made to hold three canoes, so now there's also a long-decked courting canoe with another beautiful, original paint job. Updated photo to come. Surely I'm not the only one with canoes in the house. You should hear the comments of people when they come to visit - even the pizza delivery person! Apparently nearly everyone is fascinated by wooden canoes.

Share your photos and stories?
 

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Wonderful, thank you. Cant wait to show my wife and launch my appeal for boats in the house. I was previously rebuffed with extreme prejudice. ;)
 
But none of those are being restored!

Good point, Rob! There are so many in the queue that these can, or have to, wait. I really want to get started on the Rushton, but I'm currently working on a courting canoe, an Indian Girl, and an Old Town HW. Next is to finish a light restoration on a Willits that was started but had to be put aside for the other three. I figure I might as well enjoy some canoes every time I walk by while others are in the shop.

Andre - I was rebuffed too at first, but now Tanya really likes them in the house. But... the new 3-canoe rack makes for a massive display and even I wonder if it's not a little overwhelming. Like "Attack of the canoes!"
 
I was hoping for pictures of folks restoring canoes in their house ie. no shop, or overflowing shop.

R
 
I only have a few in the house as shown at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4615&d=1209335424 since we have a small living room. Most of mine live in the garage as shown at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30255&d=1416783327 and http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30254&d=1416783327 which still has room for cars. I acknowledge that wasting any interior space on an automobile is heresy among most of the people here. The best story is illustrated at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=27165&d=1383705022 showing the process for getting them through a sliding door on the second floor.

Benson
 
First, WELCOME BACK!! You've been sorely missed!

Since Diana has met you, and you have a large amount of credibility in her eyes, I might be able to leverage this post into her allowing the Vaux to be placed on brackets above the TV...
 
First, WELCOME BACK!! You've been sorely missed!

Since Diana has met you, and you have a large amount of credibility in her eyes, I might be able to leverage this post into her allowing the Vaux to be placed on brackets above the TV...

Thank you, Mark! But you're too kind. Yeah, that little Vaux would look great up there! On those frigid days and nights you can ride the stationary bike while you gaze up and dream of paddling on Lake Tahoe. Anyway, you need to keep it somewhere, right?


And Rob - I didn't even think about working on canoes in the house! Of course I cane seats and do a few other small things inside, but if I started stripping or sanding or planing in the house, I'd lose whatever shred of credibility I may still possess at home and have to start looking for a new place to live... :eek:
 
I've not managed to get any boats to reside in the house although I do have a few in the basement. My wife helped me carry one through our family room last week. Knowing Andre's story, I did not even bother to suggest that we stop there and move the furniture around to make room for it.
I do keep paddles in the house, but only the good ones.

Nice to see you back Michael.
 
I was hoping for pictures of folks restoring canoes in their house ie. no shop, or overflowing shop.

R

The Robertson will be moving into the great room as soon as Thanksgiving dinner(( USA) is done. We do have a shop but its not big enough to accommodate boat and lowboy hutch being built too. The Robertson is not generating sawdust. The hutch is. so the wifely decision is no sawdust in the house. Varnish is ok
 
I'm with most of you.

No big canoes in the house.

Here is a pic of the only ones I have in the house,

Paul
 

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My living room is too small for a full size canoe so I bought a model, then another, then another, then another----.

R.C.Misc.jpg
 
Now we need a guide with some more information about all of these model canoes that Paul and R. C. have shown. They look great!

Benson
 
Mine's not entirely wood, but does have some wood bits...
 

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Okay, canoes are maybe a little much for most homes; Paul's and R.C.'s model displays are great and Ozarkpaddler got me thinking... Here's my paddle rack. The rack I made out of walnut. The paddles are (L to R):

- my own creation, made of quartersawn leopardwood (Roupala montana)
- Old Town (if I remember correctly)
- Shaw & Tenney
- a pair of painted paddles that were original to a Charles River-area courting canoe, likely Robertson
- Willits Brothers
- Ted Shea
- Old Town
 

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I think I could possibly get a canoe in the living room. But it would make it very difficult to get it in and out to paddle it so I haven't pursued the idea very much. But all I have to do is step out in the garage and look up.Canoes-1.jpg
 
Wow Dan, now that's pretty cool - with a Linkanoe you've got the look of the canoe bookshelf without destroying a canoe... and it's height is easily customized... Nice!

And the other end is doing duty standing sentinal next to my drafting table in the shop loft.
 
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