I picked up a “Dandy” today. In the bow it has P A T carved into the woodwork, at the other end, a star carved into the wood. Written in a black marker that is faded "Mike Galt’s “Dandy” custom built for…
I’m guessing it’s built by Pat Moore with the P A T? Did Pat write on them with a marker?
The wood work is weathered but in pretty good shape. It has a small sail with it also. The hull isn’t really solid like a glassed/gelcoat boat. I can push in slightly, reminds me of an old canvas boat that has been painted but I can see the weave of glass on the inside of the hull painted off white. The outside has a brown paint that is very oxidized, comes off on my hand.
Any info about the boat or value would be appreciated.
Thanks,
John
High quality layups will be flexible
in spots. Absence of gelcoat also leaves a bit more flexibility. The right amount of flexibility actually can make a boat more durable for its weight.
Initials would be
For the owner… At least on the early ones I have seen.
Is Pat Moore’s company still around?
No longer making boats or paddles.
Mike Galt Dandy
I also have a Mike Galt Dandy.
Pretty sure it was built by Mike Galt, not Pat Moore.
On top of bow flotation compartment, written in ink:
Custom built for
Jim S-------
by
Mike Galt
Mine also has added accoutrements, so that a small sail can be used. It is basically like new condition; spent most of it's life as a storage queen. Found mine in Wisconsin, gave $375.00 for it.
What is yours worth? I have no idea. Whatever a buyer will pay is probably the best answer I can give you. It depends on how bad a buyer wants it. Boat's overall condition is important.
I'd ask $900.00 for mine. Am positive I couldn't get that much. I don't care; it's not for sale anyway.
I also own a Lotus Caper by Galt. It has beautiful sleek lines, and is one of the prettiest canoes I've ever owned. It's not for sale either.
BOB
Construction
Bob,
Is there any flex in your hull or is it stiff?
Mine also has a line going from one end of the canoe to about 3/4 of the way up the side, same going backwards on the other side.
Do you have any idea of the construction?
Thanks,
John
This info is NOT the gospel…
This information is just numbers I found somewhere several years ago, and saved. I can't vouch for their correctness. May have gotten them out of an old Canoe & Kayak, or Paddler Price Guide?
Dandy:
13'9" "solo sport" canoe
Width at gunwale 32"
Width at waterline 28 1/2"
Depth (bow/center/stern) 17" 12" 15"
Weight 34 lbs
Layup fiberglass (I understand that some hulls may have had some kevlar added for reinforcement)
There is a little flex in the hull, but not that much of an issue as far as I'm concerned; I weigh 210. Flex is certainly not as bad as a Royalite layup boat.
Again, take info. with grain of salt. I am certainly not a layup expert(no interest in becoming one either), and don't remember where I got the numbers I've given. Info. on Lotus canoes is somewhat difficult to find. Maybe an expert will chime in & help.
Good luck,
BOB
Moore canoe info
The overall length and maximum beam given for the Pat Moore built Dandy are a bit different:
http://moorecanoeing.com/canoes/
Grain of salt
Don’t bet your bottom dollar on any info. you get from this pblanc guy. I know him; he’s an old, gray haired fart that has trouble keeping any canoe upright that doesn’t have outriggers. I think he may be getting senile too. Sometimes he wanders around the campground with a couple of little, ankle biting mutts, talking to himself & staring off into the distance. I think the 2 mutts are more responsible for him than he is for them…
HI PETE!
BOB
In the early years of
La Louisiane Freestyle Symposium, a couple of Dandys showed up. I was told they were built by Mike Galt. I don’t remember who brought them. Stevet do you remember? Maybe John Bartos? CEW knows a great deal about the Dandy, maybe he’ll chime in.
Me
With very little rocker my Dandy wanted to go straight and it took heel to the rail to free the ends at all
Wide boat at the gunwales. Requires ape arms to get a vertical stroke
I bought mine in 1998 for $700 it had a little flex in the bow and stern quarters but was not floppy
Interesting boat but even then not worth $700 sold it for five to a sailor. It’s a good sailing canoe
Took my money and put down payment on a Fire boat
Beautiful little boat
Mike loved the beautiful lines of Herreshoff yachts and you can see some similarities I think in the dandy and egret. Fairly straight keel as I’m sure you can see so not a great spinner like some of the newer freestyle design boats but certainly the hull was there at the beginning of the movement. Aesthetics counted with Mike so just enjoy the beautiful lines of the boat and feel comfortable healing it to the rail as that constant flare hull design is as stable as can be.
Well that all makes
sense seeing as how Mike was a sailing hull designer before he got into canoes.
Caper
The Caper has the most beautiful stern I’ve ever seen on any canoe. And I emphasize “canoe”, for I saw some “sterns” on some stand up bikini modeling boards on the lake yesterday that still have me head in the clouds…
OMG! I can’t believe what I’m reading. I realize this post was from a long time ago, but I hope you see this, because I’m about to blow your mind.
When I was a kid growing up in Miami, my dad met Mike and had a tandem canoe built as a gift for my brother. That boat was an Egret. A couple years later, he had a little 6’ Bucktail built for me. It weighed 18 pounds and at 10 years old, I could get my shoulder under the gunnel and carry it 1/2 block to the end of the street and put it in the canal to go bass fishing. We did a lot of camping trips in those boats, but before we did any of them we had to learn how to control them. In addition to being a master craftsman, Mike was a master at teaching. We learned quickly.
Here’s where the story gets emotional for me…
Sometime in that span of time, my dad and a buddy of his decided they wanted to paddle the 100-mile Wilderness Waterway in the Everglades. They each commissioned a Dandy from Mike. Your canoe, was my dad’s canoe. It also had a sail and a push pole that really made it something special. PAT is my mom’s name. This week marks 3 years since she passed away.
Fast forward to the late 90s, as an adult on a trip home to visit my parents, my dad gave me the Dandy to take back home to Central Florida to fish the Mosquito Lagoon. I kept it hung in my garage, out of the elements so it stayed in great condition. In 2013, I had to sell my house and downsize. I was forced to sell the Dandy at a garage sale before we moved because my storage unit and the trailer I was using to move were packed to the rim, and I had no place to store it where we were moving. Selling it made me sick and I got next to nothing for it. Not sure if you are the guy who bought it from me or you got it from someone else, or if you still have it this many years after.
Now for the happy ending…
My brother kept the Egret. Needless to say, after 40+ years it was pretty weathered. He just had it restored, and literally just picked it up. Tomorrow morning we are going to put it in the water and go fishing for the first time in a long time. Looking forward to reconnecting with the Mike Galt’s magic, and hopefully catching a few bass.
Here’s to calm winds and following seas.
Best,
Keith
Those are mooring lines. There is also a small teak carved cleat which is for the sail.