Canoe Kit ????

[VernAK]

I was in the REI store in Fairbanks yesterday and saw this canoe hanging on the wall. A young lady told me she thought her uncle bought it as a kit many years ago.
Uncle was about to throw it in the landfill so she took it to the store for display.

There's a lot of canoe experience on this site and I hope someone can enlighten us as to what/where/when these were around or from.

 

[Benson Gray]

This looks like a Trailcraft canoe which was sold as a kit. See the links below for more details.

Benson

Trailcraft Canoes, LLC

trailcraft-canoes.blogspot.com

Debating buying my first Wood/Canvas canoe

Hi, First post and I first started thinking about buying one of these this morning so I'm new to everything. I sold my Old Town royalex a few years ago and have been looking for a new canoe with a goal of getting out on the water this year. Budget is pretty small. I've always love the...

www.wcha.org

Another Restored Canoe, Trailcraft

Here is a seldom seen sight, a restored 16' Trailcraft. Nine days ago it was just an accumulation of sticks on the scrap wood pile. Today a usable canoe. Trailcraft pits the restorer not against paid factory workers but unpaid and unknown woodworkers. I have a square back Trailcraft whose...

www.wcha.org

Trailcraft dimensions

Hello everyone. As a new member with a new (used) Trailcraft “kit boat” I just want to share some technical data for posterity. The canoe I have was built in the late 60’s I am told by two brothers and their dad somewhere in Michigan. It was sold to me as a 14’ 6” canoe. It is in fact, 13’6” at...

www.wcha.org

Vintage Trailcraft Wood Canvas Canoe Square Back 14.5 Ft for sale from United States

This is a Trailcraft kit built square back canoe. 14' 6" overall. Manufactured in Kansas, these were sold in the 60's and 70's. It has all mahogany stringers. The ribs and transom are plywood.Seats are aluminum. Whoever was the builder they did a good job. Hull has been painted twice. It is...

canoes-for-sale.com

 

[Boatman53]

You beat me Benson. I also have an article from Popular Science I think it was with a very similar construction method.
Jim

 

[Penns Woods]

I can't be positive, but that looks very similar to the canoe I built in the basement of my dorm while I was in college.
That was a long time ago (1968?) I can't remember all the details about the canoe. All I can remember is I saw a
"build your own" canoe ad in the back of Outdoor Life. The kit contained everything you needed to assemble the canoe. I assembled it in the laundry room of the dorm. It took up the entire room so no one could use the room to wash their clothes for a month. I remember it was very stable, tracked well and was good to fish out of. A friend borrowed it and by mistake backed over it with his truck totally destroying it.
Seeing that brings back great memories, thanks for posting.

 

[Benson Gray]

Many popular magazines and books published similar kit canoe plans from the 1940s to the 1970s. See the link below for one example.

Benson

RowBoats LittleChief

www.svensons.com

 

[Boatman53]

That’s one that I found in my file Benson but bound in a book.
Jim

 

[JohnSand]

My Dad built one around 1965, I turned four that year. More boats followed, and boat books and magazines. Now look at me.

 

[VernAK]

I knew this site would solve my mystery.

 

[DPHeider]

Definitely looks like a Trailcraft my brother and I built in late 1960's, except for the rounded seat. Probably a modification.
Here's a picture of it being dismantled to be used for decor. The floor boards are missing.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Definitely looks like a Trailcraft my brother and I built in late 1960's, except for the rounded seat. Probably a modification.
Here's a picture of it being dismantled to be used for decor. The floor boards are missing.

DPHeider, welcome to site membership!

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