Oh, what to do.
A friend passed away a while back and when his estate was settled his son called me and said that his dad wanted me to have all his woodworking and outdoors equipment. In his woodshop among and under much clutter was a 14 ½’ x 36” tandem non-folding Folbot complete with about a dozen holes in the fabric along with decades of dust and grime. I brought it home and gave it a quick wash. The frame and seats seem to be in good shape and it seems fairly straight along the keel line, though since it is flat on the bottom and does not have a true keel, it is hard to tell.
My quandary is: Do I keep it and if so, do I just patch it up for a short-term trial, do I decide to restore it (Naugahyde?), do I attempt using it as a base for experimentation with a thin plywood hull and deck, possibly cover it with ballistic nylon, Dacron, canvas or maybe even fiberglass and epoxy. There are longitudinal wood strips amidships that look like they could hold a canoe seat; has anyone tried making a canoe out of a Folbot?
Another option is to put it on the side of the road as is with a “FREE” sign. Around this area there is not a lot of demand for Folbots. There are a couple that have been on Craigslist for around a year or more, but they do seem right proud of them judging by their asking price. If I do restore it, it would be a project for the enjoyment of working on it with the possibility of not liking it and not having much of a market to sell it.
Still another negative issue is that I am out of space. I have indoor storage for 6-7 boats and this new acquisition brings me up to an even dozen. My cup runneth over! I do plan on finding new owners for a few of them this summer, so the space issue should get better.
I always enjoy paddling boats that are new to me. I have never paddled a Folbot, but the beastie looks like it would make a stable fishing platform. I am tempted to give it a try just to add this to my list of “Boats I have Paddled”.
As you can tell, I am conflicted. I figure that this those in this forum may help me see my way through the pros and cons of my new problem.
Thanks in advance!
A friend passed away a while back and when his estate was settled his son called me and said that his dad wanted me to have all his woodworking and outdoors equipment. In his woodshop among and under much clutter was a 14 ½’ x 36” tandem non-folding Folbot complete with about a dozen holes in the fabric along with decades of dust and grime. I brought it home and gave it a quick wash. The frame and seats seem to be in good shape and it seems fairly straight along the keel line, though since it is flat on the bottom and does not have a true keel, it is hard to tell.
My quandary is: Do I keep it and if so, do I just patch it up for a short-term trial, do I decide to restore it (Naugahyde?), do I attempt using it as a base for experimentation with a thin plywood hull and deck, possibly cover it with ballistic nylon, Dacron, canvas or maybe even fiberglass and epoxy. There are longitudinal wood strips amidships that look like they could hold a canoe seat; has anyone tried making a canoe out of a Folbot?
Another option is to put it on the side of the road as is with a “FREE” sign. Around this area there is not a lot of demand for Folbots. There are a couple that have been on Craigslist for around a year or more, but they do seem right proud of them judging by their asking price. If I do restore it, it would be a project for the enjoyment of working on it with the possibility of not liking it and not having much of a market to sell it.
Still another negative issue is that I am out of space. I have indoor storage for 6-7 boats and this new acquisition brings me up to an even dozen. My cup runneth over! I do plan on finding new owners for a few of them this summer, so the space issue should get better.
I always enjoy paddling boats that are new to me. I have never paddled a Folbot, but the beastie looks like it would make a stable fishing platform. I am tempted to give it a try just to add this to my list of “Boats I have Paddled”.
As you can tell, I am conflicted. I figure that this those in this forum may help me see my way through the pros and cons of my new problem.
Thanks in advance!
