1924 Old Town OTCA

1924 OTCA

I bought a canoe. Why? It was cheap, mostly. They wanted $100. I offered $65 and they took it. It’s an old canoe. 87 years old. The same age as my grandfather, actually, and in about as good of shape. Structurally fine, but in need of a patch and minor renovation here and there.

I knew almost nothing about the canoe the day I picked it up. I knew it was a wood-and-canvas (also called cedar-canvas) canoe. I knew it had half the canvas removed. I knew it was from the early 1900s. I knew it needed more repairs than I knew how to make. But I also was in need of a project and had recently moved to an apartment with a yard. I bought it.

There happens to be a very friendly and knowledgeable community centered around cedar-canvas canoes. I posted the serial number and within a few hours, knew infinitely more about my canoe. It was made by Old Town in 1923 and 1924. It was originally dark green. It is made of cedar (planks and ribs), spruce (gunwales, inwales, stems, and keel) and birch (decks, thwarts, seats).

Now, the fun begins. The goal: have the woodwork done by the first snow in Newport, Kentucky. Then figure out a place to re-canvas the sumbitch in the spring or summer, and have it on the water by next September. I’m in way over my head, but as a friend of mine recently encouraged, that’s a good place to be.

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