Another mystery

[davelanthier]

Have an 14' Huron canoe with original canvas. On the left bow there was the painted over remains of a 7.5" round decal. Attempts to strip off the layers of paint revealed what appears to be a decal that had white back ground. Unfortunately nothing else remains. Any one know what the decal was?

 

[Ric Altfather]

Dave,

I have a couple of canoes with this same round, looks like a decal and it was an Indian head decal or painted which seemed to be popular back in the day. I love the 3/8" screw eyes that were screwed into the decks also...did more damage than good.

Ric

 

[walt]

I've seen a couple of these over the years as well...I seem to remember them with YAHO painted under the Indian Head...not sure though... but we sure didn't say yahoo when they came through the shop door.
And we call those Huron decks "Christmas tree decks", not just because of the shape but the surprises underneath them...ugh.

 

[davelanthier]

Now, now Walt. Fortunately [or maybe unfortunitely] I have restored many of these Hurons so I know what to expect. There is always a surprise though and hundreds of tacks to replace. When completed they are a sweet paddling canoe.

 

[Louis Michaud]

Maybe the decal bellow? There is another one that Bastien used but it's oval, an indian head with a full head-piece. Can't seem to be able to find the scan...

Louis Michaud
Rimouski, Quebec

 

[chris pearson]

I think it's a Polar Bear peeing in a snow storm decal.

 

[Louis Michaud]

Here's the other logo. It's a poor quality photocopy of a decal sent to me by a member of the Bastien family. No idea what the colors are supposed to be...

Louis

 

[walt]

Sorry Dave, no disrespect meant...well maybe a little.
But I will admit that the most popular canoe at my parents cottage is a 12' Huron that I fixed it up so all my nieces and nephews could learn to paddle solo. And now it has become my Mom's absolute favorite. She's out in it most calm mornings in the summer and at 80 she finds it easy to handle and light enough to get in and out of the water...and you know what? it's great to paddle! Just not so much fun to fix.
Oh and fwiw the logo I remember seeing is similar to the second one that Louis posted.

 

[chris pearson]

Dave, what a nice restoration, great color. It does look like a great canoe to solo. How much do they weigh?

 

[davelanthier]

Simpson Sears advertised the weight of these canoes at 60 lbs. for the 14', 65 lbs. for the 15' and 70 lbs. for the 16'. They were all actually 1/2 a foot shorter than advertised. This is not the run of the mill Simpson Sears Huron canoe. It is better built and has unusually tight planking. I am in the process of restoring two 16' Hurons, one of which has the same tight 3" planking. [ See prior posting ] Did Bastien Bros. build a better Huron canoe and if so can one conclude that these are both Bastien Bros. canoes?

 

[GOT]

that decal...

looks to me like the Chicago Blackhawks team logo- maybe they make canoes in the off season? Just a guess from out here in Canuck land.