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Restoring a 1929 Old Town Canoe—and its history
by Greg Hatten
The History
In the spring of 2024, I got a call from a friend to have a look at an old wooden canoe. It was hanging from the rafters of a barn in my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri, about to be sold in an estate sale. I was a little more than shocked to see that it was a 16′ Old Town Canoe. Judging from its old school style and dilapidated condition, I was sure it hadn’t touched water in decades.
I saw beyond the “weathered and worn” and had a hunch that a canoe with such classic lines and elegant features must have quite a story to tell. I bought the canoe, hauled it home, and immediately launched a scavenger hunt to uncover its history.
After some research, I discovered it was built in 1929 and originally shipped to a family summer lodge in northwest Wisconsin. The canoe had been purchased by Frazer Ford, a prominent banker in St. Joseph. Out of his three children, Margot had the most enthusiasm for the canoe. Her exploration with the canoe would fuel her passion for adventure. Margot Ford was a trailblazing woman. She was a college graduate, athletic, and flew in WWII as part of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). She later returned to Missouri with the canoe, where she shared her passion with her daughters before storing it away in the rafters of that barn.
Examination
Despite the rich history, the boat was in rough shape. The restoration involved a long punch list of repairs to bring it back to life—and back to the water. As I repaired, restored, and revived this one-hundred-year-old boat, I sensed the spirit of adventure embedded in the bones of this canoe. Wooden boat builders call it the “soul” of the boat. It is forged by the builder and shaped by the rower.
The essence of Margot’s dark green Old Town canoe is an extension of her personality, her passion for life, her sense of adventure, and her trailblazing accomplishments. I discovered the soul of the boat by learning about the history of the Old Town Canoe Co., the Ford family, and the rower of the canoe who called it her own.
There were a hundred items on my list that needed fixing before it was ready for a relaunch. Here are the major items and how I went about the repair.
The Seats
The original seats were in rough shape. Somewhere along the way, leather laces replaced the traditional reed caning that was a signature of Old Town Canoe seats. When I removed both seats from the canoe, the leather laces disintegrated in my hands.
I took the seats completely apart, which was easy because the original glue had long lost its power of adhesion. I stripped off the stain and lacquer with a light sanding and applied several coats of marine varnish. The mahogany came to life and a beautiful, rich red tint shone through the high gloss of the new finish. To reassemble the seat parts, I used WEST SYSTEM® Six10® Thickened Epoxy Adhesive. I clamped the pieces snuggly, and then let them cure for 24 hours.
I sent the re-finished seats to Dennis King, who lives in Old Town, and he did a fantastic job replicating the caning pattern from 1930. He shipped them back in less than two weeks.
Holes
Somewhere in its river-running history, the canoe suffered a couple of puncture wounds from pointed rocks in a nameless riverbed or lakeshore. The rocks penetrated the outer canvas membrane of the canoe and caused some “push-ups” that cracked the cedar ribs on the interior of the canoe. Because the canvas was otherwise in good condition, I chose to repair the fabric using WEST SYSTEM Six10 to fill the gaps.
I waited for it to dry thoroughly and then rolled a single coat of 105 Epoxy Resin® and 206 Slow Hardener® over the area to seal it up tight.
For the interior floor push-ups and cracked cedar strips, I used 105 /206 and, in some of the worst cases, fiberglass cloth strips to repair the damage and make it water-tight.
After several coats of varnish on the interior, it was sealed and waterproof.
Rot
A common problem to solve with wooden canoes is damage to the bow of the boat, where the gunwales and stem come together. The tip of a canoe often gets battered by rocks, docks, and trailers, and it is the first line of defense when meeting an immovable object. Cracks and dry rot are typically the result, and this old canoe had it at both ends. After digging out the decay, like a dentist removing decay from a tooth cavity, I custom-fit pieces of mahogany, securing them in place with Six10 Thickened Epoxy Adhesive.
Floor Boards
The “sturdy floor rack” was not so sturdy after 100 years of service. Many of the brass brads had pushed through their holes, and the five cross slats were all rotted. They were so soft they wouldn’t hold a nail. I rebuilt the cross slats out of white oak and replaced every brass brad. Then I coated the entire floor rack with 105 Epoxy Resin and 207 Special Clear Hardener, which I topped with varnish.
“The seediest, safest, and most capacious canoe that we build. The sides are convex, thus producing a handsome tumble-home, and the floor is flat and wide with a sturdy removable floor-rack.” – 1929 Old Town Canoe Catalog
Why anyone would cover mahogany trim with green paint is a mystery to me, but somewhere along the years, the entire boat was painted dark green. With a lot of scraping and sanding, the gunwales and their natural wood finish re-emerged to perfectly frame the elegant sheerline that is a signature of Old Town canoes. The dark mahogany accentuates the curvaceous arc of the sheer. The green-painted trim had disguised one of the best features of this old canoe. One section of the gunwale was mangled. It needed to be removed and a new section scarfed into place, which was a relatively easy repair with the 105 System and several coats of varnish.
Note: This article is adapted from one published in WoodenBoat Magazine. For more about the history of this boat, and canoes in general, check out the article from the January/February 2025 issue.
