This is my first post. I recently bought an older 17’ Royalex canoe for 60.00. The gunwales were rotted and the seats destroyed. I plan on replacing everything this week and should have a decent family canoe for around 200.00.
The owner said he remembers the name Allagash on the side. The serial number plate has fallen off and there are no other identifiable marks on her. I am guessing Royalex as the hull looks like two skins sandwiching what looks like a cork kind of material.
Any info on Allagash or guesses would be appreciated.
Part of the history
http://www.vermontguides.com/2002/8-aug/tubbs.htm
was bought by Stowe Canoe back in the 80’s from a guy in Kittery ME and then Stowe(maker of Tubbs) dropped canoes in the 90’s.
Yep, They be history…
I had bought a new Allagash canoe about 30 years ago. Being in the same boat as you (more or less, our gunwales had rotted about 10 years back), I tried locating the manufacturer and found out that they were no longer in business.
You should be able to replace the gunwales with new plastic ones and should be able to find the caning style seats somewhere, look online or contact a local paddle shop and see what they can find for you.
Royalex Allagash??
I don’t remember Allagash or Stowe using royalex. They were both very low volume composite builders. If they sold a royalex hull it was probably from another manufacturer and just trimmed by them.
Could it have been an Allagash model by another manufacturer.
Also most royalex hulls have the serial number molded into the top edge of the hull under the gunwales.
Bill
Old Town used to have an Allagash
canoe but the lettering of that model would have been on one end.
It was renamed the Penobscot 164 and 174 and is in polylink.
That said the Allagash model years ago may have come in Royalex. Its one riddle of many in the canoe world.
Allagash
Thanks! I ran into the same riddles doing my own research. All the guy I bought it from could remember was that it was an Allagash and that it was Oltonar. The guys at fernalds just told me it was a tripping canoe and showed me the plastic gunwales that will fit.
Should be a fun project none the less.
AAGH
– Last Updated: Apr-27-10 8:21 PM EST –
Its an Old Town. Oltonar is a trademark of theirs.
I am looking up the model on an Old Town CD Catalog collection from 1991-2000. And my computer is not liking the cd..it keeps locking up.
This little innocent question is leading me to a battle with the electronic monster.
While I got into the catalog the only page with the Allagash model is a polylink model and one year..1993.
Allagash Canoe
There was an Allagash Canoe Co Francestown NH circa early 80’s they made a 17’ royalex boat called the Endurance. By the mid 80’s they had moved to South Berwick Me and dropped royalex boats but still made the Endurance in glass.
This could be it
Old bill this may be it! I am picking up Gunwales seats etc and will post a pic when done.
Fernald’s Marine
– Last Updated: Apr-28-10 2:34 PM EST –
I bought my Penobscot there. Nice people and best prices on OTC within a 100-mile radius, at least back in '90.
Allagash
Talked to Mr Fernald. He gave me the complete lowdown.
Its an Allagash made in New Hammy in the 80’s. The hulls were made by a company in Maine And Allagash finished them off. The company was sold a couple of times and ended being owned by Stowe canoe who ended up moving to Long Island and getting a contract to make subway car bodies from fiberglass. Very cool stuff…
Installed the Gunwales and deck today. Tomorrow yoke and seats.
2 Likes
Old Bill and Fernalds are spot on.
I’m the original designer, builder and owner of the Allagash Canoe company which began its life in a barn in Francestown NH.
It’s a long history but in the beginning I did purchase preformed Royalex hulls from Uniroyal in Indiana and trimmed out with ash rails , decks and cane seats.
Over the years I designed my own models and started working with hand laid fiberglass and later, Kevlar. I moved from Francestown to Kittery Point ME. and briefly manufactured in Portsmouth NH before move to S. Berwick ME. where I manufactured a variety of models in a variety of materials. I sold my company to Stowe Canoe and Snowshoe (Tubbs) and moved to the Stowe area to run manufacturing of both Allagash and the Mansfield an Stowe canoes. Once Tubbs developed the metal frame snowshoe and TD91 binding the canoe company and all its brands were sold off and I chose to become an independent sales representative for many paddle sport manufacturers . The canoe brands moved through a variety of owners and did end up on Long Island where I believed it’s life ended, sadly.
I’m happy to answer any questions about these three brands to the best of my ability and memory
Mose
3 Likes
Very cool story. Thanks for joining up to share
A friend mentioned the site and Allagash canoe owners with questions regarding the brand.
I’ve received questions already and happy to answer as best I can. It’s great to see folks restoring and enjoying the canoes
Mose
Thanks for the information. Sometime in the late 80s, I was working for my uncle at his canoe livery in the Adirondacks and a gentleman (maybe you?) came through with a load of Allagash canoes. I don’t know what the business discussion entailed with my uncle, but I ended up buying a solo kevlar canoe that was being used as a demo. It was very well built, maybe overbuilt, but I paddled the heck out of it for several years. I foolishly sold it when I moved out west. I’ve gone through lots of boats since then, but it truly is the one boat that I regret selling! I’ve never seen another one like it.
Mose - super happy to make your acquaintance and hoping you can help answer some questions on a Stowe Allagash 17’3" Kevlar canoe I recently bought near Eagle River, WI. I believe I am the third owner, and apparently the first of those to be concerned for the boat (it is not in very good shape). I realize that you may not be able to give me much info on the later models, after selling the company, but I am optimistic!
The serial number ends in 94, so I assume it is a 1994 model, correct?
The outside (except for the areas under stickers) is badly sun-baked. The fabric that has been exposed by the expoxy “rotting away” in the sun, looks more like fiberglass, than the beautiful Kevlar weave on the inside of the canoe. Did these canoes have an outer coating of 4 or 6 ounce fiberglass, like the more modern Souris River canoes?
Did the17’3" canoe have a “model” name, or was the model Allagash, with the manufacturer being Stowe?
What type of epoxy was used on the layup, Epoxy Resin, or Vinylester Resin? I ask, because I left a little water in the hull after cleaning, and it turned the area white, where the water had sat for a couple days. I am very disappointed in myself for allowing this to happen, and I am researching ways to fix it. The only redeeming quality when I picked up the damaged, neglected, and unloved boat, was the beautiful weave on the inside of the canoe. Now that golden fabric has a big white patch over about 1.5 square feet.
The canoe has a diamond-shaped foam core, but no foam ribs (like in my We No Nah canoes). How many layers of Kevlar does the side wall have, which precluded the use of ribs, due to being strong enough without them?
The aluminum gunnels were very, very bent. I am replacing them with new aluminum gunnels from North West Canoe, but I cannot discern how much tumblehome might have been in the original design, because the gunnels were so bent. Was there enough to mention, or should I just rivet the new gunnels on without much concern for this, keeping the new gunnels the exact length of the old gunnels?
What was the actual weight of this model when new?
Do you have any old brochures or specs that you can upload to get an idea of what these looked like when new and how they might have compared to the Sawyers, Blackhawks, and We No Nahs from the same era?
Thanks for any and all help you can provide!!
UW
UW
Sorry to say I was not part of the company in 94 so unfortunately I cannot give specifics on construction.
The original model was the Endurance 17.2
When I was building the canoes the construction would have been 6 oz. outer skin layer of glass with multiple layers of Kevlar in key reinforcement areas. Resin was a vinylester. The core was Airex with Airex ribs. The hull was designed with a bow flare and straight side’s. A thwart was added behind the yoke to maintain upper structural integrity. Some were trimmed with aluminum and others with ash although the aluminum was the lightest.
Unfortunately I cannot remember the original weight but because your canoe was built after I left the company it’s difficult giving specific details.
If you have a local paddlesport shop with composite repair they can be your best source for repair or repair advice.
Definitely worth salvaging unless costs become excessive .
Best
Mose
Mose,
Thank you very much for the info - much appreciated! Life is busy for me right now, but as I have time to repair and/or replace components and get a new coat of epoxy on her, I will add photos to this thread. I don’t suppose you remember who made the stickers for the allagash line originally, do you? Might the same company still have the same template for the name on the side? I only ask as I plan to recoat the entire hull with Raka epoxy, and want the new stickers to line up well with where I remove the old ones…there is a vast difference in color on the hull where stickers were, and where stickers weren’t (see in the photos where I pulled off the MN registration sticker, which expired in 2006, implying it had been on there since 2003).
Thanks!
UW
Sorry I do not have or remember the graphic company that manufactured the decals.
My suggestion is to contact a graphic designer to determine the font and reproduce. It could be expensive having only a few made but there may be an option when searching on the web
I figured as much, but thought it worth asking anyway - no worries. I have taken a bunch of pictures of the name with a tape measure in them, and I plan to peel the letters off carefully and bring them to a local sign/graphics shop (who does stuff like that) and get them reproduced. I will probably get a couple Endurance 17.2 decals made for it as well.
Thanks!
UW