At the close of the 19th century, and for several decades into the 20th, canoes and guideboats represented some of the finest examples of American craftsmanship in wood. These "ladies of the lakes" are to this day unsurpassed in both quality of construction and openwater handling. Vintage Canoeworks is proud to bring you a wide array of watercraft meticulously restored with great respect given to original materials and historical accuracy. These master pieces are completely functional, insuring many years of paddling pleasure.
Our website features photos and details of all our meticulously restored canoes and guideboats. You'll also find information regarding upcoming projects, and details on our restoration process. For more information you can contact us by clicking here.
May/June 2009 Updates
• Hello again! We are once more in that all too familiar state of having nothing finished and available for sale. That we’ve switched to bi-monthly updates should provide a certain indicator of the activity at our shop.
• The ’39 OTCA sold in March and the ’15 Morris sold in April. We’re nearly done with the OTCA and should have photos posted to the Rogues Gallery next month. Also added with this update are a few shots of the c.1885 Rushton Bucktail. Check ‘em out.
• We are headed to Maine during the middle of May to pick up quarter sawn cedar to finish the planking replacements on the c.1906 H.K Martin guide-boat and, hopefully, enough to completely replank the c.1896 Martin. The plan is to have the c.1906 ready to show in late July.
• During the trip to Maine we’ll also be retrieving an 18’ 1919 Old Town Charles River AA grade canoe. This is a remarkable craft in that we’ve acquired it from descendents of the original owner. It’s in pristine condition and we expect it show a state-of-the-art restoration.
• Work, albeit slowly, continues on the c.1904 Robertson as well as the ’25 OT Squarestern. Maybe these will be done and posted to the site by the end of this year. If you are truly interested in a particular canoe or guide-boat please contact us as soon as possible. Over the past 2+ years only one canoe has made it to the website as offered ‘for sale’ (it’s now gone too). The other 9 units sold during this same period have been spoken for either mid-restoration or before they were even a glint in our eyes. Enough said.
See all of the canoes and boats we’ve sold, click here.
|
|
Awards
• Since we’re in consolidation mode, all of our awards will now be listed here so the homepage won’t be littered with our self-aggrandizement.
Press
• The article is now a bit old but its ‘coolness’ hasn’t diminished with age (at least as far as we’re concerned). So check out the New York Times feature on us. Click here for a link to the article.
|
2009 Shows
• We’ll be exhibiting at the Finger Lakes show this year to be held from July 24 to 26 at the public docks in Skaneateles, NY. The present plan is to show both the c.1885 Rushton Bucktail canoe and the 1906 H.K. Martin guide-boat.
With utmost sincerity, this is a show you don’t want to miss. The setting is beautiful, the people are great and it is by far the most well organized show we’ve ever attended. If you are at all interested in antique watercraft, you’ll thank yourself for setting aside the time for a visit. If the admission wasn’t free, we’d offer to refund it if you weren’t thoroughly impressed.
• There is also a fairly good chance we’ll be exhibiting at the show in Clayton, NY during the first week of August. Please check back in a couple of months for more information on the dates and what we’ll be showing.
Sundance
• Robert Redford and company liked our c.1892 J.H. Rushton Saranac Laker enough to buy and feature it in their most recent catalog. Again, there is a certain element of cool here that our egos force us to share with you.
Customer Testimonials
• There have been a number happy faces when shown our finished product but these folks took the time to write us notes (largely unsolicited) expressing their gratitude. In all seriousness, this is the sort of thing that keeps us plugging along.
|
