Vtg 1941 Old Town Guides Special 18' Canoe (Restored By Ralph Frese - Chicago)

Presented for sale is a Vintage 1940 - 1941 Old Town Guides Special 18’ Canoe. Beautiful looking canoe - would look great on the lake, river, or for display. This is their Guides Special canoe measuring 18' feet in length.Serial number 131136 - 18. Spruce gunwales, ash deck, with green canvas. Build was started in December 1940, and finished in February 1941.We reached out to Old Town with the serial number and they suppliedus with a copy of the original build order (shown in the last photo above).

Canoe was taken to Ralph Frese (Mr. Canoe) in Chicago for restoration.Has his brass tag showing it was restored December 10th, 2005.Not sure the extent of his work, but one couldn’t have used a better canoe guy. Ralph Frese, canoe maker, conservationist and prominent figure in the North American canoeing circles lived from 1926 until December 10, 2012. Ralph Frese was an icon to the canoe community in the Chicago area. He owned the Chicago Canoe Base store.

Ralph did so much for the cause of canoeing and the outdoors. He promoted the sport, he built canoes, and he lobbied for more places to enjoy the sport and worked to protect the environment. He is known for promoting conservation and canoeing, building historic replica canoes and starting canoeing and conservation organizations and events. Condition - Please view all the photosIn Excellent Condition. Has been stored for a long time.

No holes, breaks, or problems.This is water ready. Includes the oars shown in photos (not Old Town). The green canvas has areas of discoloring (white spots, etc), but they easily rub out.Would look great with a little light buffing. LOCAL PICK-UP ONLY.We are located in Dixon, Illinois 61021Dixon is 100 miles West of Chicago, just off Interstate I-88, 50 miles South of Rockford, 60 miles East of the Quad Cities. Sorry, NO SHIPPING.

_gsrx_vers_1653 (GS 9.7.5 (1653))