Old Town restoration

I found this old canoe on the burn pile at camp and decided to restore it. I believe it may be an Old Town 17'. The serial number is 20555 17. Any information would be appreciated.

 

Might want to check the serial number again; there may be another "1" in front of the "2"?

 

Oh my word. I was excited to do the restoration and now am doubly so. The description fits the canoe perfectly as the white paint is still visible underneath the green overpaint. Any idea where I can get plans of the back rests you mention ? The seats seems to have old pieces of leather attached, but that seems strange and was probably a repair attempt.

 

Hi Paul- managed to see numbers quite clearly after some gentle varnish remover and I feel Benson has identified her correctly.

 

That's what it sounds like!

 

Thank you Benson. It is a great reference as I need to make the paddles as well and it gives a good profile.

 

Do I carry on with my restoration stories and pictures here or is there a more appropriate thread ?

 

Allan,
I might add that the canoe is on the nicer end of Old Towns. Not sure of you wood working abilities but you can purchase replacement parts through Island Falls Canoe Co. I would certainly take advantage of that with a new deck or two.
Enjoy!
Zack

 

Hi Zack,

Thanks for the Island Falls heads up. I am reasonably competent in my little woodshop, but were having problems sourcing cedar and mahogany. Some of the outwale ends need to be repaired and I need to replace two broken planks and a rib. I live in a woodlands area in Pennsylvania and we regularly have to take trees down that have reached end of life. We had to take some ash trees down yesterday so I will mill them asap to get green wood to bend the outer stems. Both they and the keel seem to be ash.

I have been wondering about the restoration approach. The deck are ok. The stern deck seems to have been made from 2 halves and has come undone but its an easy glue job to get them together again. I also have some nice walnut and have been toying with the idea of using that to make new decks. Here is the question though: Is it a significant canoe and should I do my restoration as close to original as possible or do things like walnut decks ?

There is an article in the spring issue of Wooden Canoe, but I would like input from the collective wisdom of members about this issue.

 

Thanks Benson- your answer does open both options to me and I'll post what I decide once I have done some more paint stripping.

 

I just milled some green ash to steam and bend my outer stems and for the keel. I did a couple of extra boards and they are available for free to WCHA members.
Post is here: http://forums.wcha.org/index.php?threads/20-green-ash-milled-today-for-steaming-and-bending.17788/