posted this same thing earlier, over on another site:
Mwaahahahaha! It is finally mine!
I am a huge wood/canvas canoe fan. For years, I have had to borrow one from my uncle (a 1944 OT 15' canoe), and absolutely loved every minute of paddling it. I built my own 'stitch and glue' canoe, and have plans for a cedar stripper to keep down here in LA.
Thursday night, I was toodling around the internet when I ran into an ad for a 1950 Old Town Yankee 16' Canoe for what I thought was a very affordable price. The canoe was located outside a small country town within driving distance of my parents and other relatives in NY. I've seen them go in the $2000-$3000 range, and that's way beyond my reach. We'll call all this coincidence #1. It had been listed since the previous weekend. When I called, the lady was very nice, and stunned me with the news that she'd not had any bites yet. I don't know. Maybe it's too cold to be thinking about canoeing in NY just yet, or the economy is so bad no one can afford to buy anything. We chatted a bit, and, coincidence #2, her son lives here in LA not 45 miles from me... figure the odds, huh?
So I called my cousin/camping/boy scout buddy and told him about it (his dad is the owner of the canoe I've borrowed). Without prompting, he offered to go check it out this morning (which is kinda what I was going to ask him to do anyway). Coincidence #3? The owner is 4 doors down from a very close family friend, who my cousin noticed walking down the road as he was turning into the seller's driveway. He called me a little while ago to pronounce me the proud owner of a bouncing baby canoe. He will keep it at his house, next to the other canoe, until I figure out which of my immediate family to impose on to keep it full time (father or brother). And now my daughter/camping buddy (who I 'lose' to college in NY this summer) will have access to a canoe for her breaks if she needs it, and my cousin won't have to fight with his 4 other brothers and 2 sisters to use their dad's. I am SO blessed.
I don't even have pictures of my own. Here are a couple from the online ad:
Mwaahahahaha! It is finally mine!
I am a huge wood/canvas canoe fan. For years, I have had to borrow one from my uncle (a 1944 OT 15' canoe), and absolutely loved every minute of paddling it. I built my own 'stitch and glue' canoe, and have plans for a cedar stripper to keep down here in LA.
Thursday night, I was toodling around the internet when I ran into an ad for a 1950 Old Town Yankee 16' Canoe for what I thought was a very affordable price. The canoe was located outside a small country town within driving distance of my parents and other relatives in NY. I've seen them go in the $2000-$3000 range, and that's way beyond my reach. We'll call all this coincidence #1. It had been listed since the previous weekend. When I called, the lady was very nice, and stunned me with the news that she'd not had any bites yet. I don't know. Maybe it's too cold to be thinking about canoeing in NY just yet, or the economy is so bad no one can afford to buy anything. We chatted a bit, and, coincidence #2, her son lives here in LA not 45 miles from me... figure the odds, huh?
So I called my cousin/camping/boy scout buddy and told him about it (his dad is the owner of the canoe I've borrowed). Without prompting, he offered to go check it out this morning (which is kinda what I was going to ask him to do anyway). Coincidence #3? The owner is 4 doors down from a very close family friend, who my cousin noticed walking down the road as he was turning into the seller's driveway. He called me a little while ago to pronounce me the proud owner of a bouncing baby canoe. He will keep it at his house, next to the other canoe, until I figure out which of my immediate family to impose on to keep it full time (father or brother). And now my daughter/camping buddy (who I 'lose' to college in NY this summer) will have access to a canoe for her breaks if she needs it, and my cousin won't have to fight with his 4 other brothers and 2 sisters to use their dad's. I am SO blessed.
I don't even have pictures of my own. Here are a couple from the online ad: