Courting Canoe - Stem Bands ?

[Paul Scheuer]

I'm not near the point yet, but I'm curious about how the stem bands were originally configured. On my Morris, the inner stem tops and structural deck ends were too far gone to identify where any screws might have been. The long decks and center battens are in decent shape and show no holes where the bent-over tops of the bands might have been fastened. The deck battens are about 9/16" at the very ends, with no evidence of anything ever being fastened to them. The deck and battens extend beyond the inner stems. The overall construction at the peaks look like it you be very exposed to damage. I do see screw holes in the outer stems, irregularly spaced about four inches apart, with the top ones being about two inches from the peak.

Does anyone have a picture showing how the bands were attached on a Morris ?

 

[MGC]

Morris stem bands are attached with rivets.... mine does not have outside stems so I'm not sure about how that affects the installation...presumably it's the same. It should be easy to tell how they were installed on your boat. There should be holes through the inside stem where the rivets were passed through and peened over.
To install Morris stem bands I've used the same type of rivets that I use to assemble snowshoe frames...they are copper and fairly easy to deal with. They hold like a bugger once you have them installed. It seems to me I've also noticed that one (or more) of the suppliers that advertises here is offering Morris rivets now.
Are there rivet holes present in your inside stems and do they match up to the holes in the outside stems?

 

[Paul Scheuer]

The outer stems were removed when I got the boat. There are through holes in the outer and inner stems. Spaced about 6 inches apart. I knew about the rivets. The outer stems also have the smaller holes that I mentioned. They are not through holes, and are about 3/32. What I'm concerned about is how the stem band tops were configured. The "normal" stem bands that I have seen are usually bent over the top of the peaks and fastened to the decks. I don't see any evidence of that configuration on my boat. The only holes in the deck and battens are the tack holes and the holes for the flag sockets. If the bands don't go over the peaks, there would be no protection for the decks and battens when the boat is rolled over. If the bands do go over the peaks, they would be fastened through the battens and the long decks, and stand about 3/8 inch above the decks. At this point the decks are off, and I can't say how far, or if, the battens would extend past the outer stems. It's possible that the stem bands only went to the bottom surface of the decks & battens, leaving those delicate varnished parts exposed.

 

[MGC]

I have never seen anyone install a stem band that did not at least partially wrap over the stem tip...but your canoe is a rare configuration and if the holes are not there to suggest a stem band...it is certainly a mystery.
Here is a picture of a long deck Morris...restored and possibly correctly and possibly not....the way the canvas is finished around the stems makes me somewhat suspicious about the workmanship and possibly correctness... but assuming that it's correct, these have a slight wrap.
http://www.wcha.org/content/1918-bn-morris-restored-17-canoe
The longdeck on Dan's sight also shows a stem band wrapping around the tip of the deck.. that one appears to slightly less wrapped over the deck.

 

[Paul Scheuer]

Thanks.
The battens that I have are tapered down to about 9/16" at the ends. They look delicate. That's why I am concerned about attaching bands over the peaks.

I did make a discovery. The FWD batten is squared off, whereas the AFT batten is somewhat rounded. When the FWD batten is placed and positioned by the flag socket, the squared off tip does not extend past the inner stem. The AFT batten extends to where the outer edge of the outer stem will be.

 

[Dan Miller]

My understanding is that Morris canoes without outside stems have the stem brass riveted on. Those with outside stems have the stem brass screwed on.

 

[Michael Grace]

Paul - I wanted to write to mention that the stembands on these Morris canoes do bend over the top but very little. I've been traveling off and on but I finally got back home and checked an unrestored Morris with outside stems and long decks. It is all original and in excellent condition (no damage to the stems, decks or stembands). Each stemband bends over the top of the outside stem as you'd expect, but only extends maybe 3/4" from there... so it only go onto the kingplank (batten) this very short distance. The one top screw goes down through the kingplank and into the endgrain of the outside stem. If the ends of your kingplanks are damaged, you'd easily lose the screw hole. I can make some photos for you and actually measure if needed.

Michael

 

[Paul Scheuer]