A(nother) Question

[Dave Wermuth]

Well I think it's a Dean anyway. I did order the photo essay from Roger MacGregor, Ivy Lea Shirt Company but can't wait the two days it takes to get here.

Can any info be concluded from the following dimensions as to make/model?
Length- 14' 6"
Width- 30"
Depth- 11 3/4"
Depth of stems- 12"
Stems are torpedo shaped.
ribs (54 total) 5/8" wide x 1/4" thick.
ribs are spaced 3" +/- 1/2"
planking is 1/4"; It has 5 boards per side.
Battens are brass and pretty delicate.
Fasteners are flat head copper tacks. I also found steel screws but they were holding the seats and they had been moved aft for some reason.
all dimensions are more or less accurate, give or take.
entry is very fine. Round bottom. No identifying marks yet, still looking.
There are two seat thwarts and no center thwart.
I did not get decks, deck beams, or outwales so no info there but it appears the outwale was fastened by a nail through the plank from the inside by a nail midway between the ribs. that is to say, there does not appear to be evidence the outwale was directly attached to a rib. I have re-stripped, sanded and it is now well oiled. Thanks for any info. I've already gotten some good advice and greatly apreciate it.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

Dave, I'll say it early on - get out the 'glass and epoxy, so you can make a nice user out of it. Without decks etc you're not going to win any trophies for best original condition, so why not make a nice occaisional paddler out of it. It will benefit from the additional rigidity, 'specially when someone my size gets into it... I've got old photos and postcards of painted torpedos, not that it was originally but an owner could have done so. You'll likely find repairs around the brass battens as well as plank replacement exceedingly difficult as well. The museum boat we paddled was glassed but you had to look very carefully, and I'm glad it was since it went from static display to user.
There, rant over.

 

[Dick Persson]

Dave,

As mentioned in my earlier post, it is a small possibility that W. Dean built your canoe, but Lakefield Canoe Co, Capital Boat Works, O.L. Hicks and others built very similar models, with torpedo shaped stems and metallic battens.

W. Dean’s Sunnyside Cruiser, the Sunnyside Torpedo and the Sunnyside Torpedo De Luxe, all metallic joint canoes, had what he referred to as close-ribbed construction with the ribs placed 2 ¼” apart. These models were made in the following dimensions: 15’ x 32”x 12”, 16’x 32”x 12”, 15’ x 33” x 12”, 16’ x 33” x 12”, 17’ x 33” x 12 1/2”, 18’ x 34” x 13”. The stems in his canoes were one piece oak stems with a rabbeted groove to receive the planking.

Dick Persson
Headwater Wooden Boat Shop

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Thanks

I have the original stems. They are rabbetted for planks. I think they are oak. OA length is exactly 14'6" and width is 30". Were Deans called 15' but actual 14'6"?

Thanks for the rant. The more information and opinion I get the better informed my final decisions. At this point i am not considering 'glass, but I have been advised to use cpes, which I think should be done. I'll have to make the deck beams and decks and relocate the seats back to where they belong.

I won't rule out 'glass at this point.

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Also

Dick, thanks again for the input. Also, if Deans had 2 1/4" spacing, then my 3" spacing between ribs would indicate that I had some other treasure. right?