lines and construction details

mariola01

BethlehemBoatWorks
Hi, my name is Martin. I'm a small boat builder in Bethlehem CT. A new client has asked me to do whatever is possible to restore his wood and canvas canoe. It's a 1914 Old Town H.W. model. Eighteen feet long. Unfortunately it was shattered by a fallen tree during a wind storm and also suffers from extensive rot throughout. I'm looking for a set of lines for this boat and also need construction details for the area where the inwales, outwales, stem and deck all meet. The hull is terrifically deformed and I'll need a way to recreate the appropriate amount of rocker in the bottom. I also want to be sure to accurately recapture the trademark Old Town shear line. Any help along these lines (no pun intended) would be tremendously helpful.
 
17' Carlton H.W.

I have a 1916 17' Carlton H.W. closed gunnel. I'm in the process of restoring it. It has some usual broken ribs (3) and a broken gunnel from remoring the seat :-( Other than that it's in good shape and no rot!

Carlton's and Old Towns were built on the same form. I can take pics of the details you need and email them to you. I know it's a 17', not an 18' but the construction details should be the same as far as the closed gunnel - deck - stem are concerned.
 
Carlton's and Old Towns were built on the same form.

Actually, they weren't. Carleton Canoe Co. was bought by Old Town in 1910, but OT continued to maintain the seperate identity and construction techniques until 1934 (though Carleton catalogs continued to be published until 1941). Details about this can be found in Sue Audette's book.

Your canoe (thread http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=536) was built on the Carleton mold, but substituted as an Old Town HW, probably because it was on hand, and an HW was not. This sort of substitution happened quite regularly in Old Town's history, both substituting Carletons for OTs (and vice versa) and substituting one OT model for another. Side by side comparison of your canoe and an HW will probably show differences in hull shape.

I'm looking for a set of lines for this boat

Old Town has never published lines of any of their canoe models, nor am I aware of any other readily available sources. Your best bet is to compare with another canoe that is in good condition and has retained its proper shape. Sounds like you'd be better off substituting another HW that is better condition to begin with...!
 
So is it an Old Town HW or a Carlton?

Got a letter from Joe Seliga today. The 16' was made by him. Sometimes the "experts" are wrong too!

Thanks for the information on the Carlton.
 
magicanoe said:
I can take pics of the details you need and email them to you.

Any photos of the deck where the inwales, outwales, deck and stem all come together would be greatly appreciated. Do you post your photos here or e-mail them to my private account? (mariola01@snet.net)
 
Dan,
Thank-you for taking the time to address my inquiry. I agree with you completly. My best bet will be to find a like model in good condition and take some measurments from that. Does any one in the New York, Mass, CT, RI area have an Old Town HW 18' that I could visit? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
 
Majicanoe,

Please send me a e-mail and tell me about your 16ft canoe and the letter from Joe. If this canoe is missing from the Record I'd like to add it.

Dan
 
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