Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Shell Lake Snipe

A few of you may have followed this resto on another board....thought I'd throw it up here in hopes of getting some oversight and feedback.

I have always lusted for an old wood and canvas canoe….and more recently a Grand Laker Canoe from Maine. Short of driving 1000-plus miles to by a used one…..I began to look local. I quickly noticed there are no Grand Lakers in the SE United States….duh.

Here’s an original Grand Laker (or “Laka” as they say in ME.)

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Permalink Reply by Georgia Drifter on October 17, 2015 at 3:25pm

So after several months of looking….I found a smaller version of the “laka” in a barn up in North Georgia. Its a 1947-ish “Snipe”, manufactured by the Shell Lake Boat Company that was once located in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. The company was purchased by Lund Boats in the early 70s. The wood and canvas Shell Boats were no longer manufactured as of the mid-60s with the advent of fiberglass. Here’s a promotional photo of the Snipe in its heyday:

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Permalink Reply by Georgia Drifter on October 17, 2015 at 3:30pm

Here she is in present condition….a little worse for wear but still in decent shape for a 56 year old boat.

She’s a little rough around the edges…but nothing a good scarf joint and some epoxy can’t overcome. Inwales are in decent shape but the outwales are toast. There is some rot in the transom as well. I’ve been studying the techniques used to re-hab these old boats and it does not look too terribly difficult.

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Permalink Reply by Orvis Nielsen on October 17, 2015 at 7:00pm

The hardest part is getting the old one out with out doing any more damage then needed. Then you can lay the old trans out on your work bench and duplicate it.