What's this for?

[ken mueller]

I'm in the process of tearing down this BN Morris, and found the construction under the bow seat interesting. Any ideas as to the purpose of this extra wood? Thanks!

 

[Woodchuck]

Drawer Slides...

Looks to me to be an add on custom drawer mounted under the seat. The dado's in the side rails accepted a guide bar on the drawer from which it would hang. I have never seen one on a OEM canoe so it has to be hand made... My thoughts, CYA, Joe

 

[sandpiper]

Allo Ken and Joe. Yes it looks like a drawer slide and what we can see on the right side of the picture, isn't it a wire hanging down. Maybe it was like a sliding battery compartment. Power for an electric motor!! Interesting anyway. Maybe the owner was a fisherman. Talk to you later guys. Best regards Sandpiper

 

[sandpiper]

Allo. I was reading back your post and I notice that we are looking at the bow seat. I don't know now if my opinion is still making sense when I talk about an electric motor. Maybe a backrest attachment. So keep on investigating, Bye for now
Sandpiper

 

[ken mueller]

Allo Ken and Joe. Yes it looks like a drawer slide and what we can see on the right side of the picture, isn't it a wire hanging down. Maybe it was like a sliding battery compartment. Power for an electric motor!! Interesting anyway. Maybe the owner was a fisherman. Talk to you later guys. Best regards Sandpiper

Yes, it is wire... the last owner had wired the canoe for lights.

 

[anthony]

wired for lights? interesting.was it ambient or "headlight" style lighting? so, the sliding drawer could have contained the power source and possibly spare bulbs? no chance of recovering drawer? hmm...interesting

 

[ken mueller]

wired for lights? interesting.was it ambient or "headlight" style lighting? so, the sliding drawer could have contained the power source and possibly spare bulbs? no chance of recovering drawer? hmm...interesting

I would guess it was wired for running lights, there are a couple of sockets along the gunwales and one at the stern. I don't think I will re-install them when I put new decks on. There is only one actual light remaining. Can anyone out there use it?

 

[steve_hayes_maine]

Maybe its a storage slot for a cane seat back

What you picture under the seat looks remarkably like the storage rack for the cane back seat you can buy from Old Town. See https://www.oldtowncanoe.com/catalo...=4&PHPSESSID=392b817dedf50583a776ac80dd1be401

When not in use in the upright position, the seat slides into the slots. Mine spent most of its time stored because I could never figure out how to comfortably paddle while leaning back. That was seldom a problem for the person in the bow (my wife or child) who favored comfort over efficiency.

That said, it could have been made to accommodate any kind of sliding drawer or storage container, maybe even lunch.