Saturday 15 nov 2014 - Drove to upstate NY to pick up canoe from cousin once removed Janet and Bob. Canoe has been a barn for an indeterminate number of years waiting for restoration. Somehow, I managed to volunteer for the assignment, and after a few phone calls and letters, here I am.
Nancy and Bob have sent some books and literature on canoe restoration - including a color guide from some time ago with the original color scheme. The books are a trove of information, but not particularly encouraging in terms of getting my confidence up.
The canoe appears to be in relatively good shape, minus canvas, and after little inspection, and a delicious lunch, is loaded on the car for the trip back home. Other than missing canvas, sponsons removed but tied inside the canoe, and some damage to the tips of the decks, the canoe appears relatively stable. The sponsons have the original canvas - and paint job. The canoe will be white, with an triangular 'indian' pattern around the gunwales and stem.
By the time I get home, and get the canoe into the basement the excitement has worn off a bit and the job ahead seems quite daunting. I consciously avoid making any time or schedule commitments, this is going to be a project for quite a while I suspect. The canoe is loaded on the rowing shell slings which seem to be sturdy enough (barely), and the canoe needs to be loaded at the ends as it is too wide to fit otherwise.
Sunday I do a bit more inspecting, and Dave comes by to reconnoiter. I notice that several ribs are broken, but only a small part of one side seems to be distorted out of shape. The job ahead seems a bit more daunting, but still doable. In addition to the canoe, there are the 2 sponsons, and what appears to be the 2 outwales. The canoe seems complete other than missing: stem bands, keel and the rear seat.
The planking is in remarkably good shape - one obvious hole toward the stern, some cracked, and all very dried out.
Monday to Wednesday 17-19 nov 14 - First job, wipe down the barn dust to get a better view of what is going to be needed. To do this, I decide to put the canoe on one side in the slings so I can sit and wipe in relative comfort (well, not bending over the whole time anyway). Tying a rope to the center thwart, and over to the wall seems to result in a fairly sturdy position. (note the double wherry scull and Pocock teardrop single (covered) are on the ceiling for the winter already)
Washing the inside dampens the spirits a bit more. It turns out the wood strips with the sponsons are the sponson trim, not the outwales - that's a bummer.
There are 57 ribs. Either 4 or 5 at each end are pseudo ribs - in that they only span half the canoe - coming together at the stem (that forms the rounded end of the canoe). I cannot tell if the 5th from the end goes under the stem or not - assume it does - that makes 49 full width ribs. Upon washing, it looks like there are perhaps full width 10 ribs that are not cracked and may be salvageable - that leaves about 40 that will need to be replaced! There are about 10 good ribs at the bow (plus the 4 pseudo ribs), but only about 3 at the stern. All the rest have cracks to various degrees. Most of the cracks in the stern half are on the flat bottom of the canoe, and the shape of the back half appears true.
By now the planking appears to be to be what is holding the whole thing together, not a good situation. While the shape appears true, the bottom is quite flat and I wonder if it is the original shape, or if it has sagged over the years. But, the bottom has both full ribs, and flat floor ribs - it is hard to imagine the floor ribs would have changed shape, so I am hopeful the shape is true.
With wiping down, what seem to be serial numbers appear on both the bow and stern stems. The number is 141110 18. Other than family lore, there is no indication that this is an Old Town canoe, or what model it might be. Hopefully the folks at Island Falls Canoe can verify from number that is an Old Town, and what model, and perhaps even if the shape appears correct.
Tomorrow I'll try to download some pics and see if I can figure out how to post those... (looks like it worked...)
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