1925 Carleton - another project!

[Howie]

Picked up a 17' 1925 Carleton a few weeks ago (thanks Mike Cyr for the heads up!). Had to travel 4 hours to get it! But what the hell - it's nice being retired. We had a day with no snow in the forecast and I had nothing better to do... The fella had advertised it as a 16 footer Old Town. We knew from the deck shape that it was likely a Carleton but was disappointed to see that it was a 17 footer. Are tape measures unknown in Pennsylvania!
Anyway, it seems to be in nice shape inside. Hopefully the fiberglass won't be too bad to remove. The rails seem intact save for the tips. But wowie this thing weighs a ton what with the fiberglass & sponsons. Both have to go! though I intend to strip & clean the inside before I remove the fiberglass - that way the cleaning solutions will sit in the canoe much longer & hopefully be more effective. I notice that the rail-to-rail distance is about 1" narrower than my 16 footers - the Carleton I restored a few years ago was very narrow as well. Because of this I'm anticipating it'll end up being quite light.

 

[MGC]

Appreciate your support. These vicarious buys help to keep me in relatively good staid here on the home-front.
You should have picked up that Kennebec last summer...that really was a 16 and it was a lot closer. Granted, that wart was a bit disturbing.
Good luck with this one. I'm working on finding you your next.

 

[Howie]

Hi Mike... 'Disturbing' doesn't cover that canoe - 'disgusting' is a better word. Though I didn't go see it I have to believe it had great big screws where the keel screws used to be, and I wonder if the ribs were damaged because of it. I mean, that has to be a lot of weight those screws are holding on to!