At the close of the 19th century, and for several decades into the 20th, canoes and guideboats represented some of the finest examples of American craftsmanship in wood. These "ladies of the lakes" are to this day unsurpassed in both quality of construction and openwater handling. Vintage Canoeworks is proud to bring you a wide array of watercraft meticulously restored with great respect given to original materials and historical accuracy. These master pieces are completely functional, insuring many years of paddling pleasure.
Our website features photos and details of all our meticulously restored canoes and guideboats. You'll also find information regarding upcoming projects, and details on our restoration process. For more information you can contact us by clicking here.
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2024
Entering our 20th year we can now count 41 Adirondack guide-boat and 103 canoe restorations. Last year we had the honor of restoring an 1896 Parsons guide-boat (their #9 for that year), a beautiful Carlton canoe and several others.
Our c.1915 B.N. Morris, Model A Type 3 has been sold pending completion of its restoration. We’ll post some photos to the site later this year. Restoration of the 1927 Kennebec Kineo Special is underway and should be complete by June. Toward the last half of this year we should be in a position to start taking contract restorations again.
It’s unlikely that we’ll be exhibiting this year as our show efforts have largely gravitated to performing as A.C.B.S. small craft judges. It’s a way for us to give back to this fine community of antique watercraft enthusiasts while continuing to learn about boats and canoes. For the past several years we’ve partnered with some very knowledgeable judges who also happen to be a great deal of fun to work with.
Along those lines, the 46th annual Finger Lakes boat show will be held from the 26th to the 28th of July in beautiful downtown Skaneateles, NY. It’s a really great show and well worth a visit!
Finally, the c.1938 Chestnut Olgilvy Special has sold and quite recently shipped to Seoul, South Korea. We now have watercraft on three continents. Who’d a thought?
* We still have some white cedar on hand and can make it available for sale. During the last hunt we reviewed about 1,400 boards and cants ultimately purchasing 21 of them. This clear lumber, when re-sawn, will yield near perfect quarter sawn faces ranging from 3-7" wide in lengths of 8-10'. If you are involved in a restoration or new build that demands historically accurate materials please get in touch.
All of the canoes and boats that we've restored and listed previously on the website
can be found here.
For photos of many (but by no means all) of the craft that never made it to the site, please click here to view The Rogues Gallery. We'd like to think it's some interesting stuff.
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Awards
• To see some of our past work and photos of award winning watercraft please visit the Rogues Gallery and the Presently Afloat page.
• All of the awards we’ve received over the years are now listed on one page and you’ll find it here.
Customer Testimonials
• We received this note toward the end of last year:
“I have worked with Wendy and Todd over the past few years and have rowed many miles during the course of my work in 2 guide-boats that they’ve restored. Both boats were more than 100 years old and barely seaworthy before they started. They put them back to essentially original condition and looking as if they were brand new! These folks were a pleasure to work with, both prompt and precise. I’d rate their work as second to none.”
Eric Wells, Adirondack Guide
Keene, NY
• Over time we’ve received many nice letters from our customers (some years after they’ve taken delivery). A few of them can be found here.
Press
• The article is now a bit old but its ‘coolness’ hasn’t diminished with age (at least as far as we’re concerned). So check out the New York Times feature on us. Click here for a link to the article. (or download a PDF version- 40K)
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