Hello, My next door neighbor's dad died. He's selling the house. As we talked while shoveling snow, he told me he had to get rid of the old O'Day canoe his dad had in the garage. I stopped shovelling. I told him I didn't know O'Day made canoes--only sail boats. He said, "Oh yeah, O'Day made canoes for only a couple of years, in the early sixties--out of Kevlar. My dad did some work for a guy who owned a marina but couldn't pay. He got the canoe instead." I have an O'Day canoe in my garage now. Clearly not Kevlar since Kevlar didn't come on the market till some years later, this is still a beautiful fiberglass canoe with wood gunwals and wicker seats. Very nice lines. It represents an interesting point in the evolution of canoes. The hull has the design characteristics of the Grumman aluminum boats of the day, but the wood gunwales include inserts that are faux ribs from the days of wood and canvass. This was well before the entrance of more modern canoes and materials like the Mad River Malecite (my other canoe). My neighbor says the boat has been in the water only about a dozen times, and except for a couple of winters when it sat in the snow on saw horses, it has been in a heated basement all its life. The boat is in good shape, although some or all of the gunwales will need to be replaced--nothing a little TLC can't handle. The boat is absolutely an O'Day. It still has both metal labels near the stern. The hull number is 7788 and the class number is 43. My guess is that the hull number puts it into the O'Day production cue around 1963. I can't find ANY reference anywhere to O'Day canoes. Can anybody fill in the blanks? When were they made? How many were made? Did O'Day use the Grumman as the inspiration for the mold, or did he have some other source? Does anybody know O'Day's history with canoes? Given George's focus on wind powered craft, it seems like an interesting side venture. Any information or guidance would be appreciated. Thanks, Doug D
- Status
O'Day Canoes
I never knew that O'Day built canoes, but the only person who would have all that information is Rudy Nickerson of D&R Marine in Assonet Ma. He has a large book with all the info on the O'Day line including how many were made and the years they were built. You would probably have to call him on the phone. He seems to be swamped with email and doesn't answer them too readily. He's usually pretty busy, but hopefully not too busy to provide you with the information on the canoes. He worked for O'Day back then, so he may even know first hand about it. Joe
I never knew that O'Day built canoes, but the only person who would have all that information is Rudy Nickerson of D&R Marine in Assonet Ma. He has a large book with all the info on the O'Day line including how many were made and the years they were built. You would probably have to call him on the phone. He seems to be swamped with email and doesn't answer them too readily. He's usually pretty busy, but hopefully not too busy to provide you with the information on the canoes. He worked for O'Day back then, so he may even know first hand about it. Joe
- Status