Is this 13ft stowe Mansfield worth restoring?

[jffdejongh]

A neighbor gave me this canoe from under her porch. At first she thought it was a cedar canvas old town. As you can see from the picture, it's a 13 ft Mansfield built in 1982 by Stowe canoe company.

1.Some of the cherry rib veneer are cracked and pulled away.

2. The floor fiberglass has delaminated in some places

3. The gunwales need to be replaced.

4. The outer hull is in great shape except a couple of dings that will be easy to repair

The big questions are is it worth restoring to sell?

How best to repair the cherry veneer ribs?

How best to re-adhere the delaminated glass on the floor?

 

[Benson Gray]

The big questions are is it worth restoring to sell?

Probably not if you want to be compensated for your efforts. These can be very difficult to repair and will have limited resale value when you are finished. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Gamma1214]

That was my initial thought as well. Although I'm not familiar with these canoes or your market, the time & effort to build or restore canoes (especially your first couple) are not going to be a money-making endeavor.

You could do it to preserve a piece of history or save a canoe that you take a shine to but you'd have to have pretty altruistic IMO

 

[Jim Dodd]

Is it worth restoring ?

I agree with others.

Can you fix it up as a user canoe ? Yes. Time and materials, and methods.
I patched an old Sears 12,' for my river use.
Had $40 in materials, and used it for many years.
Gave it way, and had my money's worth out of it.
Maybe someone is willing ?
If I had use for it ? I'd fix it.

I just accessed a canoe for a friend. I told him to make a planter out of it.
Here in Iowa, you can pick up a decent Aluminum, for $300.

The old saying comes into play here. One man's Junk, is another man's Treasure.
Jim

 

[jffdejongh]

I really appreciate the comments from everyone. I have many other projects I can occupy my time with that will be more satisfying for me.

I think I'll chalk this up to helping my neighbor remove an unwanted, with out canoe to the dump for her. Possibly make a cute yard decoration.