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Thompson stem number purpose?

Discussion in 'Wood and Canvas' started by Gliddenwoods, Nov 28, 2020.

  1. Gliddenwoods

    Gliddenwoods Curious about Wooden Canoes

    The photo is of a number on the end of the stem of a Thompson I am (attempting) restoring. I understand that Thompson did have serial numbers. The canoe is a Ranger which was at a Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin.

    So what is the purpose of this number? I have had two different opinions from canoe folk that know a lot more than me. The first opinion is it was a number that the Camp used to ID the boats. The second opinion is that it is a number that the canoe salesperson put on the boat. I tend to believe the first opinion as being most likely correct.

    What say you?
     

    Attached Files:

    Gliddenwoods, Nov 28, 2020
    #1
  2. Dan Miller

    Dan Miller cranky canoeist Staff Member

    I've seen a number of Thompson canoes with serial numbers stamped on the stems. No rhyme or reason, so far, has emerged. Not surprisingly, most came out of Wisconsin, and at least one had an L.L. Bean dealer tag as well.
     
    Dan Miller, Nov 28, 2020
    #2
  3. Norm Hein

    Norm Hein Canoe Codger

    Doesn't one of the YanPenn's start with an X? Can you post more pictures of the canoe?
     
    Norm Hein, Nov 30, 2020
    #3
  4. Benson Gray

    Benson Gray Canoe History Enthusiast Staff Member

    My guess is that this may actually be a CX prefix similar to the Thompson shown below. Penn Yan used an FX prefix as shown at https://woodencanoemuseum.org/builder-history/penn-yan-boat-company but I'm not aware of them ever using any other prefix with an X in a canoe. Many of the Penn Yan boats included an X but the font of the stamps was quite different from the Thompson style.

    Benson



    Thompson-CX2121.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2020
    Benson Gray, Nov 30, 2020
    #4
    Norm Hein likes this.

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