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This depends on a huge number of factors and sanding the old varnish away completely is not always required. The people at the link below claim three to eight years. I tend to take very good care of my canoes and have not yet had to revarnish one after the restoration. My longest use has been...

I prefer traditional marine spar varnish. It has a longer maintenance cycle than oil alone and is easier to fix than urethane or epoxy when it eventually fails. This is part of what helped the canoe shown in the picture below survive for over a century. The link below has more details about...

The short answer is yes, but a sailing canoe has some unique challenges. The book at the first link below can be a great place to start. The 'canvas' for a canoe sail is very light weight. Cotton was traditional and the weight is similar to bed sheets. Most modern sails use Dacron which has...

The Litelift with model number 1449 is listed on page ten of the 1956 catalog at the link below. Page one describes the construction saying simply "the thin cedar planking" so it could be either. My guess is that it probably would have been red cedar like most of the other major builders in...

You may find that the 'shark fin' on the roof is for satellite communication and that the ordinary radio antenna is provided by wires in the rear window(s). These may look like heater wires but they never warm up. This is how my car is configured. Both will be impacted by having a large carbon...

It may be home made. Is there a hull identification number below the outside rail on the starboard stern? See https://www.usps.org/national/safety/HIN/HIN.pdf for more about interpreting these. Please post a picture if you find one. Benson

I can relate. My only new canoe purchase was in 1981. It was based on a model introduced in 1921. I don't pay much attention to most canoes that are less than 100 years old. I'm paddling a lot less now too. Hang in there, Benson

I agree, one of my favorite paddles is a highly decorated one that is on display at the Peabody Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts as shown below. One of the best parts is that it shows evidence of significant wear indicating some serious use before being sold to a collector and put on display...

1921 Old Town Molitor on a 2013 Volvo C30, an eighteen foot canoe on a fourteen foot car is never going to look quite right. The link below has more about this canoe. Benson https://forums.wcha.org/threads/aa-grade-old-town-molitor-model-in-original-condition-from-1921.12325/

Yes, the boats are somewhat different. The ICF rules permit the kayaks to have a rudder for example. However, the specifications at https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Paris-2024/ICF.pdf and starting on page 24 at...

Some data to support this can be found in the world record sprint racing times listed at the link below. Your mileage may vary... Benson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_best_times_in_canoeing

It has been said that light canoes are great at the beginning of a portage but every canoe weighs over 1000 pounds at the end of a long portage. Benson

There are no known serial number records available for Great Canadian canoes. The format of the serial number you provided doesn't exactly match the hull identification number format described at https://www.usps.org/national/safety/HIN/HIN.pdf but the "M85" probably means that it was...

See the link below for a video and more about Ron Drummond surfing canoes without outriggers in California during the 1960s. Benson https://www.eos.surf/videos/ron-drummond

This is just a language problem. Most Europeans use the terms kayak and canoe interchangeably for all human powered small boats. The open canoes of North America are commonly called Canadian canoes in Europe. You should not have any issues paddling them, regardless of their name. Benson

Most of these pictures are from undated Old Town materials. The second image is from page 13 of the 1911 White catalog. The full version of that White catalog is available at the link below. The popularity of inboard motor canoes like these dropped dramatically once outboard motors became...

These are common from many different manufacturers. I've never analyzed the physics involved but they show up regularly. I don't know about the other labels but Rhéaume only made the Koru and Stillwater models for Old Town from April of 2011 thru October of 2012. Benson

I agree, the air gaps would clearly not improve the effectiveness of the glues. The catalog pages below are from several major molded canoe manufacturers and none of them display a basketweave pattern. Benson

The best alternative in this situation is if the swimmer has mastered the Capistrano Flip. I have managed to perform this with a light canoe many years ago when I was young, strong, and not injured. The basic concept is to tread water while rolling the canoe over your head and then throwing it...

Absolutely, most modern canoes use much lighter canvas than was common in the past. Jerry's web page and the White catalog don't specify the canvas weight but the Old Town catalog at https://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/specific.gif confirms that 'the "Guide's Special Canoe" (page 18) has No...