6 Plank w/ narrow ribs, Canadian?

[Scott Rowe]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and new to old canoes as well. I purchased half of a canoe that the owner said was a Canadian 1904 boat. He gave up restoration attempts and cut the boat in half to make a bookshelf. I plan on doing the same to mine but would really like to know exactly what kind of bookshelf I have.

It is 16 feet (add the two halves together), 36 inches wide and about 12 inches at midship. There are 6 planks per side. The ribs are narrow half rounds spaced at 4 inches OC. There either are several narrow plank repairs made with a completely different wood ( very grainy) or that's how the maker handled smoothing the hull in certain places. It appears to be an open gunwale. I have no decks, thwarts or outwales and only a one foot section of inwale. I also have several floor board clips. The stem and planks joining the stem are screwed none of them being Robertson square screws.

Any help is appreciated in identifying this boat or suggestion on making this the best bookshelf I can make. Thanks.

 

[Michael Grace]

Half of a smoothskin lapstrake, planked in Spanish cedar... hmmm... hmmmmmm...

 

[Mark Adams]

I'm gonna be sick......

 

[MGC]

The rest of the thread

The theme for the next assembly could be infamous canoe shelf makers.

http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=4910&highlight=bites+dust

 

[Scott Rowe]

Some More Pics for ID help

Appreciate the help given so far. I'm much closer to knowing what I don't have other than a full canoe . I examined every unfilled nail or screw hole in this shell to try and understand how it was outfitted. Seems like I have the stern half and there are evidence of seat rails, deck cross pieces and quite possibly a keel (large screw holes full length of bottom). The external garboard seam is filled with a cottony felt-like packing material. I even have what appear to be paddle strike marks. I thought they were clenching marks but they are ONLY on one side of the hull at the paddle insert and retrieve areas; in that they are fore of the rear seat rails near the sheer and aft of the seat rails closer to the keel. Appear to be a left handed paddler. Any idea who it is?

Appreciate input as to who the builder may have been? Could Bowdish have built a smoothskin with half round ribs under their Canadian partners influence?

Also, I'm troubled by the small section of inwale that I have on the port side. It is nailed to the ribs with copper nails but other than for this section I can't find any other nail holes in any other ribs along the entire lenght of the sheer, only larger screw holes which I believe secured the outwale. There are holes like these hidden under the inwale section but adjacent to the nail holes.

 

[Scott Rowe]

Book matched

No pun intended, just the facts. I was cleaning the planking on my mystery canoe and realized the planking was book matched! Also it appears a significantly darker plank was place next to a much lighter plank near the waterline on both sides for aesthetics. At the bilge area (third plank up from keel), the plank has a diagonal grain which curves upward toward the sheer (on both sides). This is the only planking pair with this grain pattern.

Is this significant or commonplace? I have noticed that there are small staple marks along the sheer and outside stem. Might this just be just one of this boat many lives or would a wood and canvas boat ever be built with fully clinched book matched planking? Sorry for all the questions...this antique boat detective work is exciting.

 

[Scott Rowe]

Keel Cross Section

Noticed a material between the internal keel and the garboard plank joint that appear to be a seam sealer. Extending from it is a cottony packing material that seals the garboard plank junction. Anyone know a builder that uses this technique?

The enclosed picture shows the cross section at a scarf joint in the internal keel at midship. Top left is garboard plank, right is horizontal seam material (looks like canvas, army green on one side) and in between is the cottony sealer material that seals seam of the two garboard planks. Botton two layers are the two scarfed internal keel pieces.