Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Appreciate any help on locating my 16' Blue Hole OCA stolen from my dock on Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs, AR. I purchased the canoe from OMS in Fayetteville and picked it up in Ft. Smith back in 1977. It is black with a grey interior and overall in very good condition. It has aluminum gunnels and thwarts in good condition (just one dent that had been hammered back into shape). The seats are black plastic that are intact but have small cracks upon close inspection. The hull has a lot of scratches but only a few gashes into the first layer of plastic. The decals are intact but weathered and almost unreadable. It had a 1/2" diameter black and white tie-down rope tied to each end. The rope is somewhat unique and at a quick glance, appears to look like a black snake or king snake when laying on the ground next to the boat. I'm trying to locate the hull number but since it was purchased in 1977, I'm not sure if I still have it around. If anyone knows if there is a register for old Blue Hole boats that would be helpful too. Thanks for keeping an eye out for this remarkable boat…I'm totally bummed that this happened.

Stolen Blue Hole OCA serial number on the front transom plate is "OCA3294". It was purchased at Ozark Mountain Sports in May 1978.

A few more pics...

Black Blue Hole OCA Canoe:
The serial number stamped on the brass plate on the bow is "OCA-3294"
The code stamped in the plastic at the stern is "TBHO4262M781"
It was purchased 5/19/78 from Ozark Mountain Sports, Ft. Smith, AR

No new leads…thanks for your help!

Tom Johnson

Man I thought we would have found this one by now!! Sorry for ur loss...

Thanks for keeping this thread alive. Sorry to hear about your mailbox -- that was really one great mailbox! Lots of sticky fingers around these parts these days...

Floating season is just starting so maybe they will both surface somewhere?

I just installed my new mail box!!! If they take this one we will know where it went or it will take one hell of a man to load it.
1 Jackson karma check
400 lb of quik create Check

Hope you find ur black hole!! Ill be on the look out. I look to find it on the piney.... Did you call Moore outdoors on the piney?

Moore's a good idea. The Piney was one of my favorite floats. I've been busy but I should probably make a second run at getting the word out to the outfitters.

That mail box should stay in place. Reminds me of a story:

Back in the early seventies, my grandad was out making his rounds on his farm and drove up on a couple of guys trying to steal a rock. It was a nice slab about the size of a pickup bed and about a foot thick. Realizing they were caught red-handed, they asked him if they could have it. He said "sure, as long as you don't mind me watching you load it"...It's still there today. :-)

I work in Baxter County, and on my way home after work I saw a black color canoe ontop of a Nissan truck going the other way. I think he's a local here.

Please check it out !!!! Black canoes are very rare!!

Will do, I was in Mountain Home when I saw the canoe.

Thanks for the heads up! It's been a while since I've checked in on this forum. I'll contact the Baxter County Sheriff and Mountain Home Police with this tip. Very thankful for everyone's help!!!

Please note that a like-new black Blue Hole OCA was just purchased in Houston and now resides in NW Arkansas. I have pictures of the deck plate and HIN plate, and the new owner has his bill of sale if there is any question of ownership.

Michael

ETA: I just checked. Tom's stolen canoe is : serial number stamped on the brass plate on the bow "OCA-3294"
The code stamped in the plastic at the stern is "TBHO4262M781". Greg's canoe is not. It is "TBHO4369M781: and "OCA-3350" So be advised that every "Black Hole" you see is not the stolen one.

I just bought a black, OCA-3350. I'm always looking at Blue Hole's now, so I'll definitely keep an eye out for the OCA-3294. If you purchased in '78, I'm wondering if the serial number on mine means that it was made in 1981 or in 1978?

I hope it turns up and the culprits are severely punished.


Greg Van Horn

Congratulations on finding a "black hole". I've seen three or four others over the years so although rare, there are a few out there. They used to rent one down at Ponca but I'm guessing that one is long gone. Not sure about the significance of the plastic hull no. but mine was definitely purchased in 78. I still have the original bill of sale. Thanks for keeping my boat on your radar. Tom