The Adirondak Rebuild Almost Done

[dougd]

I usually chronicle this in my blog but have been lazy as heck about that. The last couple of weeks I've been milling gunwales, staining, varnishing and getting this 21 year old boat ready to get back on the water again. It's a Carbon Fiber build with the ribs of a Stowe or many different builds from days past and according to the one time owner of it was custom built for him. In the 4 years I've had it sitting collecting dust I can't find any history on it outside of what I was told, started by Stowe Canoe and finished by Adirondack Canoe both now out of business for years. Comes in at 15' 7" and 33 1/4" wide from inwale to inwale with a nice Prospecter rounded hull. I see a swim in my future. I have to make decks for it yet but can take it out tomorrow. I haven't done this big a boat project in a long time. Feels good to be almost done. A few pictures.

 

[deerfly]

very cool

 

[stripperguy]

Looks nice, Doug. I especially like the grain and color of the ribs, what wood are they made from?

 

[dougd]

SG, I am thinking the ribs are cherry but being a wood ignorant person I'm not totally sure. I think back in the day cherry was used a lot for ribs but I'm sure others would have better opinions on that. I ended up filling every crack and every rib with resin and then a couple of coats of spar varnish.

 

[Boatman53]

Looks good Doug. Ribs look like mahogany to me.
Jim

 

[BWCA66]

Stowe's were a Merrimack knockoff that were made for 10 years or so, their standard ribs were mahogany, guessing they avoided cherry since that was and is the Merrimack standard. If it really is a stowe it should be older than 21 years and probably is a fiberglass layup.

 

[latremorej]

That looks great!

 

[Guest]

Very nice refurbishment of a canoe that was brightwork rotted.

IIRC that Stowe/Adirondack Prospector has a 1997 HIN, and a unique backstory; started as an original owner special order (perhaps the incorporation of carbon fiber) by Stowe and completed by Adirondack after Stowe folded.

Looking through some old Buyers Guides Stowe appears, under a variety of names (Stowe Canoe, Stowe Canoe and Snowshoe, Stowe-Allagash-Mansfield, etc) up to 1997. After 1997 there is no listing for Stowe under any name.

Given that backstory, started by Stowe and finished after they folded by Adirondack, the 21 year old vintage makes sense.

 

[Guest]

Stowe Canoe History

(Cut and pasted from various sources)

The Stowe Canoe Company was started in the early 70's by Bob Hartt. The canoes were 13 and 15 foot models and were actually called Mansfield canoes. Bob sold the company in the late 80's to an investment group who also owned Vermont Tubbs, a prominent snowshoe manufacturer.

(Those models were wide Sport canoe made for fishing)

Soon after, Vermont Tubbs acquired Allagash Canoe Co. of Kittery, Maine, in an attempt to grow its share of the canoe market.

Vermont Tubbs, founded in 1906, was bought by Ed Kiniry. When Kiniry acquired Tubbs the company manufactured two brands of products Tubbs snowshoes and Stowe/Mansfield Canoes. Kiniry and his team realized that their future was in the growing snowshoe industry, so they sold the canoe brands in 1993.

Not sure who owned/manufactured Stowe canoes between 1993 and 1997 when that canoe mfg name disappeared; Stowe may have been sold and resold during that period, the company name varied slightly between 93 and 97.

FWIW Tubbs was bought by K2 Inc. and moved production to China in 2005. Shades of ORC, manufacturer of Redfeather snowshoes, buying Bell Canoe.

Does anyone know any history of the old Adirondack Canoe Company, not the current manufacturer of that name, but the previous iteration that finished construction of Dougs 1997 Prospector after Stowe folded.

 

[BWCA66]

I wonder if that hull sat around for awhile before it got finished.

 

[Robin]

Nice job fixin' her up, looks great.

 

[memaquay]

Beautiful canoe!

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Fine piece of work, Doug! And kudos for restoring such a nice bit of canoe history.

 

[dougd]

Maiden voyage this morning. At 63 pounds it's a bit of weight for me to get on the racks, the healing back certainly complained, but got it done. Being a Prospector hull I had my doubts, not a fan of round hulls. I started out in the stern seat in shallow water but was doing a wheelie right off the bat, nope not going there. Switched to the bow seat facing the stern and was on my way. Not a fast boat but felt stable in it. Next time I take it out I'll lean it good to see where the breaking point is before I flip. The DIY end caps held which actually surprised me. What I am looking forward to is an overnight on the river where I can put a load in it and see how it handles. If I'm right on this the Prospector hull is designed to carry a load not to be paddled empty. Might just be me. Regardless it was a good rebuild and I will be putting miles on her at some point. A few pics of her not in the shop!

 

[Guest]

Well done Doug. Beautiful canoe, and the DIY end caps are a nice touch.

When you have time I would love to see some photos that show the bottom shape and rocker, maybe a shot straight up the keel line with the canoe upside down on sawhorses for the bottom shape, and a profile shot of the canoe right side up resting on some hard level surface for rocker.

Wish I had been there to witness the initial stern seat wheelies.

 

[BWCA66]

Looks great, I'm sure you will like it with a load in it, the more the better.

 

[latremorej]

Thanks for the pics! She looks beautiful!

Jason

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Looks sweet on the water, Doug.
Sayyy......what's that groovy paddle yer sportin' there?

 

[dougd]

Looks sweet on the water, Doug.
Sayyy......what's that groovy paddle yer sportin' there?

Steve, that's a Mitchell double bent I've had for years now. Been on a lot of trips. Very light as well.