3 Maine Canoes

[jlarrabee]

Hey Guys and Gals,

My father and I just went and picked up 3 more canoes out of a barn. (the number I have almost exceeds my age). I need a little help from you fine folks trying to figure out what they are. The smallest is made of red cedar and looks rather old. It shows signs of rail caps, and the previous owner mentioned that he bought it as a Kennebec.

For the other 1 1/2 canoes they are identical, and purchased 40 years ago from a camp. They have serial numbers that I will try to get a little later from my father as I am up at school and don't have them in front of me.

We are putting these three on my restoration list for the summer. Just waiting for the snow to stop up here in Maine.

Any help would be greatly appreicated and I will find serial numbers, from what I remember is 5 digits long followed with 18...

 

[jlarrabee]

** the canoe ontop of the truck and on the snow is the same cedar canoe mentioned to be a Kennebec

 

[Dave Osborn]

I see a Kennebec deck and typical Kennebec dog eared rib tips and Old Town seat bolts.
Being camp canoes, the seats were often fixed and or replaced using OT hardware and seats.
My 2 cents...

 

[jlarrabee]

So we scraped off some varnish from the roughest canoe to find a very faded Kennebec logo. They measure 17ft long and about 35~36inches wide... and around 12" deep.

 

[Benson Gray]

The Kennebec records are available so let us know once you find the serial numbers. The information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?791 may help if you have any trouble locating and reading them. Good luck,

Benson

 

[jlarrabee]

Benson,
I just got back home to look at the canoes. The first serial number is 102115 18. the other us one is harder to read and still has cracked varnish ontop of it. but i think I got close with 102876 18?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Jackson

 

[Benson Gray]

The Kennebec with serial number 102115 is an 18 foot long "Kineo Special" model shown on pages 250 and 251 of volume four in the Kennebec ledgers. It was planked by F. Roy on December 6th, 1928. The canvas covering and first filler coat were applied by Giroux on December 7th, 1928. Saucier applied the second filler coat on December 13th, 1928. It was railed by Lantigue on December 18th, 1928. The "F 22" (Function number 22 or the keel?) was completed by Bessy(?) on the same day. The "F24" (Function number 24 or the thwarts?) was completed on March 20th, 1929. The "F25" (Function number 25 or the seats?) was completed on March 20th, 1929. The "F27" (Function number 27) and The "F28" (Function number 28) were completed on May 22nd, 1929. (These may be outside stems and a floor rack so please let me know if you see any sign of these options.) The "F35" (Function number 35 or painting) was completed on May 23rd, 1929. The original exterior paint color was gray and there is an "M" in the "Lettered" column so it may have had a name or some other lettering on the outside. It was packed by Murray on May 24th, 1929. It shipped on June, 10th 1929 to location 29-111. This location is probably an order number but we don't currently have enough information to identify it.

The Kennebec with serial number 102876 is an 18 foot long "Kineo Special" model shown on pages 254 and 255 of volume four in the Kennebec ledgers. It was planked by Pooler on July 19th(?), 1930. The canvas covering and first filler coat were applied by Leonard on the same day. He applied the second filler coat on August 30th, 1930. It was railed by Thompson on September 27th, 1930. The "F 22" (Function number 22 or the keel?) was completed by Giroux on November 1st, 1930(?). The "F24" (Function number 24 or the thwarts?), "F25" (Function number 25 or the seats?), and "F28" (Function number 28) were completed by Giroux on April 4th, 1931. The original exterior paint color was green. It was packed by Lantigue on the same day. It shipped on April, 11th 1931 to location 31-152. This location is probably an order number but we don't currently have enough information to identify it.

The scans of these build records can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below. These original Kennebec records are reproduced through the courtesy of the Maine State Museum.

The microfilms and scans of these records were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA). I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson