UFO invades Little Lakes Canoe Restoration!

[Dave Osborn]

I just had a guy drop off a yet to be identified canoe at the shop on Saturday. It has thick narrow cedar planks, thin oak(?) ribs and is held together with clinched, old timey looking steel staples. I have a notion that it may be a Joe Lucius canoe from Northwest Wisconsin. Does anybody know anything about these canoes?

Batteries dead on the camera. Will post photos later.
Dave

 

[Dave Osborn]

Photos of UFO

here are photos. The canoe is 14' long and 14" deep. It has a shoe keel and an unusual stem.
Any ideas??
Dave

 

[Dave Osborn]

more pics.....

 

[Rob Stevens]

And a keelson! It's not often you see those in a canoe.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Dave,

Alec C mentions that he's worked on at least one Joe Lucius canoe.

Dan

 

[Dave Wermuth]

keelson

Brian Baker's dad made canoes with keelsons using the open form. his canoes were close ribbed. he also commonly inlayed the decks/thwarts with outdoorsy types of scenes. Is yours like that?

 

[Dave Osborn]

Not like that, Dave. The decks look pretty crude, but the planking looks masterful. The planking job make me think it isn't a home-built. The other feature that I didn't mention was the shape of the outer stem. It appears to be very rounded versus the angular typical outer stem.

I also found out that it is not a Lucius Canoe, indigenous to N. Wisconsin.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Also

Baker canoes were clinched with flat head copper tacks. could the decks be a repair? Are the tacks brass? copper?

 

[Dave Osborn]

No brass or copper......Clinched staples of steel!!

 

[Douglas Ingram]

I had one like that come in last year. I suspect that it may be a Mechanics Illustrated or Popular Mechanics, or some such, DIY build from an article.