Etienne-Henri
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Hello,
First post since my introduction post in march (http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?14014-Hello-from-France).
I noticed a few days ago an advert for a canadian canvas canoe for sale in southern France. Could someone help me identifying this canoe ?
The seller sent me some pictures of this much tired but very authentic 16 feet canoe, together with a copy of the original invoice of january 1937, that I enclose hereafter. No serial number found by the seller.
At first I thought it could be a Peterborough Champlain Cruiser, mainly because of the sheer line and the very close ribs. Peterborough canoes were commonly imported in France from the 1920's up to the 1950's. My dad used to paddle his uncle's Peterborough throughout the 1960's. But the remnants of a green decal on the bow deck of this one don't seem to match. The invoice is unfortunately torn right where the canoe reference were hand scripted on the invoice, but can't we read :
1 4,88 m canvassed canoe
Canadian Canoe C° Peterborough ??
The canoe is situated in the Pyreneans mountains where the Gave rivers are notoriously difficult and harmful for the canoes. I counted at least 13 broken ribs roughly repaired as you can see in the pictures. The hull is out of shape amidship and the brass hardware is corroded, presumably by sea water. I don't have time to collect the canoe and I do not feel brave enough to embark in a challenging restoration given my modest knowhow. Pity because it looks like a nice canoe, quite rare this side of the pond.
But still I am quite curious to know which canoe it might be.
Very warmest regards,
Etienne-Henri
First post since my introduction post in march (http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?14014-Hello-from-France).
I noticed a few days ago an advert for a canadian canvas canoe for sale in southern France. Could someone help me identifying this canoe ?
The seller sent me some pictures of this much tired but very authentic 16 feet canoe, together with a copy of the original invoice of january 1937, that I enclose hereafter. No serial number found by the seller.
At first I thought it could be a Peterborough Champlain Cruiser, mainly because of the sheer line and the very close ribs. Peterborough canoes were commonly imported in France from the 1920's up to the 1950's. My dad used to paddle his uncle's Peterborough throughout the 1960's. But the remnants of a green decal on the bow deck of this one don't seem to match. The invoice is unfortunately torn right where the canoe reference were hand scripted on the invoice, but can't we read :
1 4,88 m canvassed canoe
Canadian Canoe C° Peterborough ??
The canoe is situated in the Pyreneans mountains where the Gave rivers are notoriously difficult and harmful for the canoes. I counted at least 13 broken ribs roughly repaired as you can see in the pictures. The hull is out of shape amidship and the brass hardware is corroded, presumably by sea water. I don't have time to collect the canoe and I do not feel brave enough to embark in a challenging restoration given my modest knowhow. Pity because it looks like a nice canoe, quite rare this side of the pond.
But still I am quite curious to know which canoe it might be.
Very warmest regards,
Etienne-Henri
