pat chapman
Willits biographer
I'm working on a Willits Brothers canoe built in 1941 and thought I'd post a few details that show some of the interesting manufacturing methods the brothers used.
The first photo shows the deck with the king plank removed to show the cutout in the mahogany decking to allow a C-clamp to be installed during the assembly.
The second and third photos are the bow with the inside stem removed. Unlike typical wood/canvas canoes, the inner planks at the inboard end of the stems that correspond to the ribs in a w/c canoe are not a single piece. Rather they are more like cant ribs. The inside planking was nailed to the inside stem prior to the outside planking added. The inner planking butting against the end of the inner stem is narrower than the other planks.
The last photo shows the shape of the wide, inboard end of the inside stem.