Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
It was offered on the Maine craigslist as a 1950s Old Town, which it obviously was not. The Morrisy-lines picked at me, and when I learned we were only about an hour away from it, Greg Nolan, Fred Campbell and I drove over to take a look.
Got it back to Greg's after dark, so tonight I can only share the pictures taken earlier. Will take more tomorrow.
The lines say "Morris" and the splayed cedar stem says "Morris". No rivets in the stem, however.
Decks and rails appear to be spruce. Thwarts and seat-frames birch or maple. Note that the bolts are counter-sunk. Note that the keel is fastened at every-other rib. Outwales may be replacements... they are fastened with Robertson screws. Stem bands also appear to be replacements as BNM would not remove the last part of the cover-board ("king plank") to extend a stem band waaaay up onto the deck like this. And there is a nice metal Old Town plaque on the stern, with a portion of the cover-board removed to accommodate it (which is why the seller thought this was an Old Town) (the plaque will find a new home on one of my OT factory bricks!).
I'll measure the width/depth of the canoe tomorrow-- it's 16 feet long. In great shape-- no cracks or breaks anywhere--except for a missing bit of coaming. Seats and thwarts appear original to this canoe. My gut-feeling is that it dates to the 1930s, but I'd truly appreciate anyone's thoughts. There's a notion in the back of my mind that this may be a post-fire Bertie Boat. We'd know for sure if Joe Seliga had gone ahead and purchased one when he had the chance.
Yeah, I know BNM loved mahogany, but maybe because of the Great Depression it was expensive, or someone wanted a lighter canoe. And he probably went to open wales by the 1930s.
This canoe will be at Assembly 2015.
Got it back to Greg's after dark, so tonight I can only share the pictures taken earlier. Will take more tomorrow.
The lines say "Morris" and the splayed cedar stem says "Morris". No rivets in the stem, however.
Decks and rails appear to be spruce. Thwarts and seat-frames birch or maple. Note that the bolts are counter-sunk. Note that the keel is fastened at every-other rib. Outwales may be replacements... they are fastened with Robertson screws. Stem bands also appear to be replacements as BNM would not remove the last part of the cover-board ("king plank") to extend a stem band waaaay up onto the deck like this. And there is a nice metal Old Town plaque on the stern, with a portion of the cover-board removed to accommodate it (which is why the seller thought this was an Old Town) (the plaque will find a new home on one of my OT factory bricks!).
I'll measure the width/depth of the canoe tomorrow-- it's 16 feet long. In great shape-- no cracks or breaks anywhere--except for a missing bit of coaming. Seats and thwarts appear original to this canoe. My gut-feeling is that it dates to the 1930s, but I'd truly appreciate anyone's thoughts. There's a notion in the back of my mind that this may be a post-fire Bertie Boat. We'd know for sure if Joe Seliga had gone ahead and purchased one when he had the chance.
Yeah, I know BNM loved mahogany, but maybe because of the Great Depression it was expensive, or someone wanted a lighter canoe. And he probably went to open wales by the 1930s.
This canoe will be at Assembly 2015.