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Loon Works Nakoma just found.

Joined
Jun 6, 2022
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Location
Grant Alabama
Just picked up this Nakoma. In fairly good condition. Seat cane needs replacing and sadly someone had decided to apply fiberglass resin to the entire hull including over the stem bands then failed to sand it out. It would have made a great back scratcher. The glass is very well adhered and I decided to sand it out. I've gotten it fairly smooth but I've not gotten it perfect. The weight seems to be about 38-40 lbs. The bad news is that I'm 74 and 220 lbs. I've lowered the seat and can paddle it without getting wet but I am not very comfortable yet. It may just have to be an occasional ride just to say that I can still do it. No fast or rough water.
 
Just picked up this Nakoma. In fairly good condition. Seat cane needs replacing and sadly someone had decided to apply fiberglass resin to the entire hull including over the stem bands then failed to sand it out. It would have made a great back scratcher. The glass is very well adhered and I decided to sand it out. I've gotten it fairly smooth but I've not gotten it perfect. The weight seems to be about 38-40 lbs. The bad news is that I'm 74 and 220 lbs. I've lowered the seat and can paddle it without getting wet but I am not very comfortable yet. It may just have to be an occasional ride just to say that I can still do it. No fast or rough water.
 

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Bob welcome to the forum. So sad to see that someone did a sloppy job of a makeover. Tom Mackenzie is for sure rolling around in his grave where ever that is. He took so much care to the details.
May I ask what the last two numbers of the HIN are. You have to turn it upside down or use a mirror as its on the underside of the inwale. I am wondering if it was initially a boat of a friend of mine in Louisiana who may have sold it to Mr Fiberglass Resin.

the WCHA Assembly is having a display of Toms boats in Paul Smiths NY next month. You are a bit far away alas.. However if you are having trouble getting the boat to look right I can ask Pam Wedd at Assembly. She makes canoes at Bearwood Canoes. Her workmanship ethic is the same as Tom's was.

I see the Nakoma is in good hands now. May I suggest you paddle it as much as you can? Water time=comfort. You may be a bit big for it but not overly so; lowering the seat was a good idea.
 
Bob welcome to the forum. So sad to see that someone did a sloppy job of a makeover. Tom Mackenzie is for sure rolling around in his grave where ever that is. He took so much care to the details.
May I ask what the last two numbers of the HIN are. You have to turn it upside down or use a mirror as its on the underside of the inwale. I am wondering if it was initially a boat of a friend of mine in Louisiana who may have sold it to Mr Fiberglass Resin.

the WCHA Assembly is having a display of Toms boats in Paul Smiths NY next month. You are a bit far away alas.. However if you are having trouble getting the boat to look right I can ask Pam Wedd at Assembly. She makes canoes at Bearwood Canoes. Her workmanship ethic is the same as Tom's was.

I see the Nakoma is in good hands now. May I suggest you paddle it as much as you can? Water time=comfort. You may be a bit big for it but not overly so; lowering the seat was a good idea.
What does the hin tell you.
 
Welcome to site membership, Bob! Feel free to continue asking any questions or posting messages, photos and videos in our many forums. We look forward to your participation in our community.

That six digit number is not in proper HIN format, which is usually a combination of 12 letters and numbers, the last two of which indicate the model year. The three letter prefix for a Loon Works canoe should be LWO. Are you sure there's not a 12 character HIN somewhere else on the hull? If not, maybe that was Mackenzie's private way of indicating a canoe made in 1993, but I really have no idea.
 
Welcome to site membership, Bob! Feel free to continue asking any questions or posting messages, photos and videos in our many forums. We look forward to your participation in our community.

That six digit number is not in proper HIN format, which is usually a combination of 12 letters and numbers, the last two of which indicate the model year. The three letter prefix for a Loon Works canoe should be LWO. Are you sure there's not a 12 character HIN somewhere else on the hull? If not, maybe that was Mackenzie's private way of indicating a canoe made in 1993, but I really have no idea.
I'll continue to look when I get back home.
 
That actually is the HIN but probably not in the correct format. I will check mine as it does have a longer HIN with three letters to start. My boats are a little younger than that one from 1993. The 06 was the code for Nakoma and the 07/93 date of completion.
I have three of Toms boats. There is no other HIN I can see anywhere except under the gunwales.
What may have happened is that he was notified his HIN wasn't compliant with USCG reqs and changed it a bit. Hard to talk to a guy somewhere in the air/ground/water. ashes.
 
J
Bob welcome to the forum. So sad to see that someone did a sloppy job of a makeover. Tom Mackenzie is for sure rolling around in his grave where ever that is. He took so much care to the details.
May I ask what the last two numbers of the HIN are. You have to turn it upside down or use a mirror as its on the underside of the inwale. I am wondering if it was initially a boat of a friend of mine in Louisiana who may have sold it to Mr Fiberglass Resin.

the WCHA Assembly is having a display of Toms boats in Paul Smiths NY next month. You are a bit far away alas.. However if you are having trouble getting the boat to look right I can ask Pam Wedd at Assembly. She makes canoes at Bearwood Canoes. Her workmanship ethic is the same as Tom's was.

I see the Nakoma is in good hands now. May I suggest you paddle it as much as you can? Water time=comfort. You may be a bit big for it but not overly so; lowering the seat was a good idea.
Did the number tell you if the boat was owned by the friend in Louisiana?
 
J

Did the number tell you if the boat was owned by the friend in Louisiana?
Nope but I do know that there were a few Loon Works boats near Baton Rouge. Not very common in the South. HINS dont change with ownership and have nothing to do with who the owner is.
 
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