Looking to narrow the year of a Penn Yan
- Thread starter Canoeal
- Start date
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Al,
I was hoping Dan would jump in but, are you sure about that S/N?
Per Dan's site, a 16' Rainbow w/mahogany should be RNM xxx.
I don't know when the Rainbow was 1st offered, but I was told that the 16' Owasco was 1st offered in '31, (per a Penn Yan rep) Dan lists them (the 16'ers) starting in 33.
Mine is ONS 62, and has maple decks/trim w/spruce rails, and our (the Penn Yan rep) best guess is that it's a 31 or 32 due to the maple. In the 40's supposedly the trim was mahogany on the ONS.
Mine also has a odd decal.
Dan
I was hoping Dan would jump in but, are you sure about that S/N?
Per Dan's site, a 16' Rainbow w/mahogany should be RNM xxx.
I don't know when the Rainbow was 1st offered, but I was told that the 16' Owasco was 1st offered in '31, (per a Penn Yan rep) Dan lists them (the 16'ers) starting in 33.
Mine is ONS 62, and has maple decks/trim w/spruce rails, and our (the Penn Yan rep) best guess is that it's a 31 or 32 due to the maple. In the 40's supposedly the trim was mahogany on the ONS.
Mine also has a odd decal.
Dan
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
With the Penn Yans I've seen which have their original hand-caned seats, the caning pattern has been "canoe weave".
Sorry, don't have much to add... nor do I have a full run of catalogs to consult. Penn Yan dropped the third letter in 1948. Specs for 1948 and 1949 are spruce gunwales and mahogany trim. Don't know about 1950 or 1951. 1952 and on, gunwales are spec'd as either oak, or "mahogany-finished" oak, and the trim is mahogany.
Is there a decal or evidence of one? If so, which one?
Also, not seeing photos of the rest of the canoe, it remains possible that it was built by someone else. I have seen a couple by others that had Penn Yan style serial numbers.
Hi Al,
Thanks for posting the extra photos - does help. My guess, for whatever it is worth, is that this may be one of the early ones from the late 1920s. The earlier catalogs were more vague about codes and woods used, and the letter coding the length as well as stamping the length is redundant and not seen in the later canoes. The third letter was used in the SN in the early 30s. The deck shape is subtly different too.
Nice looking canoe.
Dan
Thanks for posting the extra photos - does help. My guess, for whatever it is worth, is that this may be one of the early ones from the late 1920s. The earlier catalogs were more vague about codes and woods used, and the letter coding the length as well as stamping the length is redundant and not seen in the later canoes. The third letter was used in the SN in the early 30s. The deck shape is subtly different too.
Nice looking canoe.
Dan
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Agreed, nice canoe.
Did I miss the 17 ft last night?? Oh well.
Ya, I don't know, did you say if it has a decal and if so, which one?
And a bit of a hyjack, how are the seat frames constructed?
One of mine is odd, with diagonal gussets in the corners, crudely machined, I'm thinking they are original but???
Dan
Did I miss the 17 ft last night?? Oh well.
Ya, I don't know, did you say if it has a decal and if so, which one?
And a bit of a hyjack, how are the seat frames constructed?
One of mine is odd, with diagonal gussets in the corners, crudely machined, I'm thinking they are original but???
Dan
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
On the frame with the gussets, they are exposed for about 2" across the corners of the frame, and go into slots in the frame.
