Restoring a 1991 Old Town Pathfinder

A video of my first canoe restoration. A 1991 Old Town Pathfinder that I purchased earlier this spring for $500. Let me know what you think
Special thanks to The MaineTripper for the inspiration and information along the way. If you are interested in canoe restoration, check out his channel.
/ @mainetripper3071
#canoerestoration #itsgoodinthewoods #oldtowncanoe

[@blaineprickett8045]

Man perfect video for me right now. Just picked up an old OT Discovery 158 this same color. Mine is so faded. Has keel guards on both ends with the same slop job. Was looking to repaint as well. Love the look of that flat red. Thanks for sharing. This will help me tremendously with my new project.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Excellent! This is exactly why I made this video. I am sure you will have fun working on your canoe. It is very rewarding paddling a canoe you have brought back to life. I hope you have a great time working on your canoe

[@blaineprickett8045]

@@ItsGoodintheWoodsThanks man. Great work on the video! Was exactly what I was looking for. How’s the krylon paint holding up? I found a small gouge just before one of the keel guards. Picked up some Marine JB Weld and G-Flex to seal it up before painting. Tackling that this next week.

[@jacobpoucher]

Great video and resto.They don't make stuff like they used too.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

You got that right! Oldie but a goodie

[@apiratelooksat4073]

Funny….sometimes feels like we share a brain! I picked up an OT Stillwater I’m doing something similar with - fixin’ some ouchies - refinishing some Brightwork - re-caning the seats - re-decaling it. I ended up contacting OT, and they were able to send me a build sheet based on my HIN, and even blew the dust off a box of Stillwater decals they still had in the warehouse. I’ve done a couple of Cedar Strippers in the past including a 15’ Pack Boat with my niece based on the Wee Lassie II for her HS Senior Thesis at Stark. Came out beautifully! See you out there!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

That is awesome that OT had some decals for you!! I decided not to put decals on mine. I am liking the plain look of it right now. This was a fun little project. I can see myself diving deeper into the art of restoration.

[@BackcountryPaddler]

Nicely done Justin..I like that you didn't go over the top so that you can use and abuse it without worry, though it does look great!!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thanks man! She's gonna get used

[@PumpkinVillage]

Nice job. What an improvement. It will flow thru the water better then ever. Take care, Al

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Fingers crossed.......

[@davenichols2]

Yar, she be a fine vessel, Yar. West system is awesome. I use it at work all the time. Kickass Brother!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

wait until you see my next West Systems trick..........

[@davenichols2]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods 😂 I put that sh#t on everything. 😂

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

@@davenichols2 🤣

[@merchantmariner4299]

Hey Justin - I hope all is well with you and your family. Cool beans. That canoe is meant to be beaten up. Have fun with it! Look forward to your next trip. Best, Joe

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Hey Joe, I am going to beat this thing up! All the best to you and yours

[@Sanctuarysurvival]

Great job mate, update us when you do the seats if you can. And would be great to see how she gets on in the water on your trip. Take care. Tom from the UK.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Seats have been installed. This is a fun canoe to paddle around. I took it out on Cranberry lake for a week last summer. Tons of fun. My daughter loves it because she gets her own seat. It is her favorite canoe.

[@Sanctuarysurvival]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods Fantastic! Thanks for the reply 👍🏼. It's good to keep the kids involved in the outdoors. They're a nice light boat for her to paddle so I can see why she likes it. Have fun and stay safe. Tom

[@BenMcmillen]

That karate chop though lol

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

🤣 Right after I put on that mask I thought to myself, I look like a ninja...kinda...so that happened lol

[@Doc_Watson]

Sometimes 'good enough' is better than 'perfect'. I can understand your decision of not doing a 2nd coat.

[@Doc_Watson]

I fully agree, don't like the hight gloss.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

the high gloss had to go

[@pontuswendt2486]

AMAZINGNES!!!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you! The canoe still looks great!

[@pontuswendt2486]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods Good to hear!

[@tritun5154]

Good job

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you

[@Canadian_Craftsman]

Hell yeah excellent job on the resto bro!!✌️💚✊️🔥

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thanks man!

[@ErlefromVa]

Great job on the boat repairs! Just found your channel and watched the cranberry lake trip!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thanks for watching and commenting. That Cranberry trip was fun! We got a wild storm on that one!

[@InTheFieldWithSarge]

Your looking great bro. Awesome video equipment maintenance and repair is crucial out there. Thank you for all that you do

[@InTheFieldWithSarge]

Ps awesome resto

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you man!

[@americannomad513]

Looks good man. Old Towns are built like tanks. They are not light, but they can take a beating. I hope you get many years of use out of it.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you! This is a pretty awesome canoe. It's an old royalex model. It's pretty light for what it is. 57lbs I believe. I hope to have it for a while.

[@LivingYankeeFree]

Awesome Job! I did some crude repairs to a 1985 Old Town Disco174 by trying to weld in patches of Poly. I plan on doing some better repairs to it in this off season. I am "restoring" a 1975 Lincoln aramid fiber canoe now! I love the oldies and bringing them back to life after they have sat for so long. Good on ya man!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

dude! That Lincoln canoe is going to be a beauty! I can see myself getting into the restoration aspect as a hobby.......this could get out of hand quickly🤣

[@LivingYankeeFree]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods took her out for her maiden voyage this past weekend. Video coming soon. I'm still getting use to filming every aspect of the process, but you will see the start middle and end result LOL. She paddles like a dream!

[@LivingYankeeFree]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods Uploading part one now...

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

I expect MaineTripper is doing good, he's been down for a bit of work on his knee. At first I was skeptical on the "painting" of a Royalex canoe, I would have just let it run with out the paint but this came out well and agree the gloss was over the top wrong. Any of the older Old Town canoes are worth hanging onto.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Next time around I will try to dye the epoxy with pigment. Then maybe I won't feel the need to paint it. That gloss red was terrible lol. I love this canoe. It is my daughters favorite as well. She enjoys having her own seat. I plan to hold on to this canoe. It's a good one.

[@downeastprimitiveskills7688]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods The old Old Towns were good boats, too bad they discontinued much of their line of boats.

[@larryhanson3856]

Nice job Justin! Turned out real sweet.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you Larry! I am happy with it. Just got back from my first trip with her. A great canoe. I think I will keep her Lol

[@mainetripper]

You have a great canoe right there and your work made it even better! Well done man! Thanks for the mention Justin. Very much appreciated.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I like it! You are welcome. Thank you for the inspiration

[@jeffmatthews3798]

Nice job. I’ve cleaned up a few. The best paint I’ve found is Sherwin Williams vinyl siding paint. Do the prep right and it sticks very well. The store can usually mix/match your original color. I’ve used it over Royalex and gel coat with good results. Enjoyed the vid. Thanks

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Great suggestion! I will look into it for future projects

[@ImGonnaMake]

Years ago a guy gave me a yellow fiberglass canoe with a gaping hole in it. I patched that hole and rattle-canned the whole thing with some fresh yellow. I used it for a few years and then gave it back to the guy's ex-wife. It's been more than 10 years and that spray paint still looks pretty good.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Very kind of you to give the canoe back to the guys ex wife🤣 I am glad to hear the paint has been holding up well. That is encouraging

[@alext.]

Thanks for that Justin, enjoyed the whole thing. Btw, haven't been able to get The Maine Tripper; his "page is unavailable". The link you provided won't work for me and nor will just typing the name in the search bar. Anybody else having the same? Sorry if I'm the hundredth one to mention that but haven't seen it in the few comments I've read so far. I purchased an older wood and canvas 16-footer last fall and although it's in good shape, I'll be perking 'er up a bit for use this fall. It's one they say Gordon Lightfoot used on an expedition he did in the Canada northlands a while back. I love canoeing and the whole concept, history and traditions involved. In any case Justin, thanks again and be safe till next time.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you for letting me know the link wasn't working. I think I have fixed it. Sounds like you got yourself a nice canoe! Enjoy it!

[@alext.]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods Yes, it's working fine now. I subscribed to his channel and , once again, thank you.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

@@alext. Awesome man! You are welcome! Thank you very much.

[@650gringo]

Here is an alternative to the fizz bomb paints that has worked very well for me on several canoes. Rustoleum Oil Based Enamel quarts for 12 bucks. Use a catalyst hardener and spray it on with a $15 dollar HVLP gun from Harbor Freight. You can paint your car and truck at the same time and it will look good 5 years from now.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I was going to use marine paint, but we don't have any local to us, I didn't want to order the wrong stuff online and didn't really feel like waiting. So sprat cans it was. I am pleased with the results. In the future I will consider doing just what you described. Thanks for sharing

[@TheWhiskeyCowboyLife]

I am about to restore a 50 year old Lincoln Canoe (it is in much worse shape than yours was, but no holes). It's wonderful getting these old, but still usable canoes back on the water. And it costs WAY less than a new canoe. Good job!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Restoration is fun! I found the process quite enjoyable and learned a great deal from this little project. Good luck to you on your resto!

[@paulhayes9765]

Great job. Looking forward to seeing it completed with the new seats. Have a great trip. Cheers

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you! I am looking forward to getting the seats in. Just got back from the trip. The canoe did great! She's a keeper.

[@bucky716]

Its good enough and close enough to be good in the woods. You made that look easy!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I am happy with it! Just got back from my first trip with her......the canoe is great! I like it

[@Oldtimecarpenter]

Wow, that’s really impressive! Nice job Justin.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you very much Pete. I am thrilled by the way it turned out.

[@alanbierhoff6831]

Really nice! That came out looking pretty sweet. Are you going to name her?

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

The Ghetto Glider

[@DishOutdoors]

WOW, really turned out nice.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thank you very much! I am pleased with it

[@donmoroz5502]

Good! You're using G Flex epoxy. Did you consider putting some red pigment into the epoxy so you might be able to skip painting your repairs? Nice job you did on this !

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I did not consider a pigment. However, the next time I repair a canoe of this sort I will give it a go. Painting sucks lol

[@jerryg957]

Lookin Good !

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

Thanks man!

[@rectombulas793]

On a16 ft canoe... To properly hold it's lines.... You need 5 thwarts..... Bow stern Mid bow mid stern And either yok or midline. Only those who don't know Will use/run this ...

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

it is 14' 10" ........and it has been working fine

[@MeetMeOutside]

That’s a Corka !

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

yeah buddy!

[@williamsmith2485]

You can work on mine when you get experienced with yours.

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I'd be happy to gain experience on yours before I work on mine......😉

[@paulkelm6550]

How did the paint hold up? Have you got any video of how it looks now? Thanks!

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

It is holding up great so far. I don't have an update video on this one......yet.

[@madamecampsalot6384]

I have a woodstrip in need of new topcoat. Think I should have a go at it with no prior refinishing experience?

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

If you have the time and desire to do it, do it! Watch a few youtube videos about it, read and follow directions, get yourself set up and go for it!!!!

[@madamecampsalot6384]

@@ItsGoodintheWoods I'm about to retire in several weeks. The desire to try it is strong but it's always been a little overwhelming to think about doing it. Thanks for the encouragement!

[@boatman222345]

Put the thwart back in or you'll wind up distorting the hull…

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I removed that thwart, took out the seat and put a thwart in its place. Seems to be holding up well so far

[@RJ-li2xd]

How did the paint hold up after time?

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

It has been holding up great! Absolutely no peeling

[@mr68camero1]

Did u get the stickers??

[@ItsGoodintheWoods]

I decided not to put the stickers on for now. I like the solid red look. That may change in the future though.