Langford logo anyone please?

I suspect that this will be a long search so I'm starting early.

I've just bought a winter project that two reliable sources suggest is a Langford.









I have no idea of its age; it's provenance is only known for the last 15 years. There is no sign of a decal on either deck. If anyone can help with aging the boat, or providing an image of the earlier(?), triangular decal (because I suspect it might be prettier - not to make it look older than it is!) , I would be very grateful.

This looks very much like our Richardson Aquacraft. Same seats, seat hanger, deck and sheer line (from what I can see of it). Is there a serial number on the stem?

Claude

If it is a Richardson, it should have full length, tapered (wide amidships, narrow at the stems), ship-lapped planking.

I guess the deck is a little different. I went out right away and snapped a few pics. The planking is definitely not shiplapped though.

sorry, forgot to mention that the planking doesn't taper on the Richardson. At least not on the one I have.

Geez, I'll maybe one day get this computer stuff figured out. Here's the Richardson seat, a lot like your Langford.

I've removed some of the glass-fibre from the outside of the hull - the planking does not seem to be tapering.

Here's a side view..



The ribs taper in thickness but not in width.

I have not been able to find a serial number.

A bit more...

The canoe is 15 feet long, 34 inches wide. The boards are 3 inches wide and 5/16 finished. The ribs are 1 3/4 wide and taper in thickness from the keel to the gunwales. The seats are raw-hide which matches with other dscriptions of Langford canoes. I have contacted the company in Muskoka. So far, they have suggested that it may be an "Algonquin" model, but haven't given any further comment. It would appear to be Eastern cedar; a rapid search of Google suggests that at least one Richardson example is / was Western Red. The seats are indeed rawhide.

Thanks for the help so far.... Decals anyone please?

P

Hi Grizzle,
I am in a similar situation as you. have obtained a 15' Canoe, with the remnants of a decal, similar to those posted on this site indicating an old Langford decal. I would love to see the original, so I could make a copy. Please keep me in mind if you come across any info.

I did an Ontario wide classified ad search for Langford on Kijiji and came across this ad for a Langford Canoe...

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-canoe-kayak-...oe/1083258076?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

It seems the owner kept it in good condition and there is a reasonable photo of the triangular decal



Hope that helps.

Here's a link to another seller with a green Langford but no shot of the decal in this case...

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-canoe-kayak-...oe/1083054210?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

Funny they seem to be listed at the same price.

I've got a cottage about a 10min drive from Dwight and would often swing by the Langford showroom on Highway 60 to check out their canoes. Atrocious staff and rude (or completely absent) service were the reasons I lost complete interest in the company and never purchased anything from them.

Ironically, your posts got me thinking. I picked up a boat a few years back as part of trade (link here). The owner said it was a Chestnut, but it has very narrow red cedar strips (varying up to 2") much like a Richardson / Rilco that a previous poster suggested. It has been heavily rebuilt in a very amateurish manner over the years. It is also 15 footer, but with a 33" beam and a 13" depth at that centre thwart. Another expert concluded it was perhaps a very late model Richardson /Rilco model Cree or Kiowa made when the company was about to go under ('67) and constructed with whatever materials they had on hand. But there are with many inconsistencies with original Richardson / Rilco builds. To my eyes the overall lines of the canoe look very much like Grizzle's confirmed Langford.


Grizzle's


Mine

The decks are similar too. Mine also also had bulky aluminum stembands and steel Roberston screws which have since been replaced. The seats are also countersunk and plugged like your Langford. While the lacing has disappeared on my canoe and the seats covered in a plywood plank, that alternate lacing hole pattern is still visible on the underside of the seat.

One thing I've noticed with Richardson vs Langford seat lacing patterns is that the Richardson canoes alternated holes on all 4 sides of the seat like so...


...while the few Langford canoes I've stumbled across have straight lined holes on 2 sides like this:


My canoe is up at the cottage at the moment and I'll need to re-examine the hole pattern on the side of the seat once I get up there again in 2 weeks. But it seems more and more that even though I swore I'd never get a Langford, I might be in possession of one after all.

Despite the obvious build quality issues I've been happy using it as my casual lake boat and river poling canoe...