Another Morris

[Treewater]

Just got back from a trip to Allagash and Chamberlain Lakes Maine. Stopped in Gettysburg on the way back and saw where the Maine 20th Infantry saved the North's bacon in 1863. Of course, had to bring back a canoe or two to work on. Found this Morris which was sold to me as a 16 footer, which I wanted. Alas, it is a 17 footer. *#!! People don't know the difference. However, after all the work of stripping the inside the owner let it sit outside on saw horses where it deformed. I am certain it can be restored anyway (when I get to it) but the problem is, I don't know what model it is and thus the desired original dimentions. The extreme outside dimension and small tumble home says it is a model D but the depth is way off, 2 1/2" or so. Anyone make a guess?

 

[Fitz]

The heck with the Morris! How did the trip go? Or does the graffiti tell the story? Cheers, Fitz

 

[Treewater]

My first venture into Maine waters. Good enough trip, interesting old logging stuff, i.e. locomotives in the middle of the woods etc. Steam tramsways to portage canoes, or was that logs? But I hit the rush to open waters by the fishermen. Incredible how much beer and blue tarp they can fit in a canoe. Someone should market a built in keg fore and aft in the canoe. That three high cooler stuff is tippy. I had the only car, and a small one at that, on the Allagash road system. Maybe they don't like small cars or maybe it was the Tenessee plates. In through Greenville out through Millinocket. Really interesting but hardly "remote." Learned a lot, logging, civil War, NAFTA, etc. What's that accent?

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Hi Tim-- Does your new Morris have one heart-shaped deck and one curved? If so, maybe one heart deck cracked and was replaced with the later, curved deck (they were offered in the catalog as replacements).

 

[Treewater]

Hi Kathy,
Both curved. What I get from your posts is this curved deck started about a year before this canoe was made (1918). Am I right?
My question is what model it is so I have some idea of the dimensions I have to force it back into.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Actually, the curved decks are seen in our database beginning with BN Morris 11413, and were placed on The Morris Veazie from the first of these canoes (about 1905)-- although a circular-area was cut out to make a "keyhole" appearance. Morris stopped cutting out the keyhole and began using this style deck on BN Morris canoes as well, although until late in Morris production the heart was also used. Seems it was gradually phased-out-- 15256 has the last heart-shaped deck... and so was the only short-deck-type used from about 1917-on.

 

[Treewater]

My serial number of 15539 would be correct for the shape of the deck on these later Morris. What is different is the angle of the point. I have these two 17 ft Morris and this last has a blunter deck. I'll locate an accurate angle guage and start measuring deck pieces. For any given canoe with any given corresponding length the angle of the point on the deck will identify the unique canoe model. But where's the list?

 

[Kathryn Klos]

I haven't documented the model for most canoes in the Morris database for a couple of reasons-- the first being the difficulty accurately distinguishing the different models, where dimensions of the canoes are apparently only inches apart and time can change the shape of a canoe... and the second reason is that it seems most Morris canoes are model A or B. I'll go through the database and count-up what has been designated (I'm thinking that out of 250 known Morrises, less than ten are thought to be model C or D)... some of the Bs have been designated because the smaller canoes were all model B-- and model B was more likely to be fitted with oars or sail rigs than A (B is wider). I've thought that it might be possible to differentiate models if we gathered a number of Morris canoes together and lined them up, and maybe that can happen at the 2015 Assembly. Let me know what you figure out in regard to your canoes, Tim. If this works as an easy way to figure out the model, others here may want to try it, and maybe we can flush-out a few more Cs and Ds in the database.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

Model-count, Morris Database

I counted 13 model B, one model C and 3 model D... the rest are model A or are undesignated. One Ticonderoga is listed, but I am unsure if the party submitting it based his designation on the deck-type-- all Ticonderogas have the curved deck, but not all Morris canoes with a curved-deck are Ticonderogas! The Ticonderoga has spruce trim rather than mahogany, and the person submitting this canoe couldn't give me the species of the trim.

In the numbers here, I've included as "model B" some "Special Indian Extra Beam" Morris canoes-- this is what the B was called prior to 1905 or so.

All Morris Veazie canoes are Model A. All 12 and 13 foot BN Morris canoes are Model B. These are the only canoes that I know for sure are those particular models... the rest are "best guess" on the part of the person submitting the data. I believe there are two short-deck sizes listed as replacements in the later Morris catalogs-- maybe measuring the angle only works for sorting B from A...?

 

[Treewater]

Deck Angles

Thanks Kathy,
I went to the trouble of getting a protractor and measuring the front/acute angle on these two decks. The bottom deck, 8 degrees, is a 17 ft Model A Morris ca 1914.
The top is a 17 ft (actually 17'4") Model B or Model D from 1918 and the angle of the point is 12 degrees. I recognize the angle changes with the sweep down the deck but the same protractor measures the same depth of run.
There is enough difference to assure me I am either looking at a B or D but the problem is I don't know whether to push the depth to 13" or 14 1/2 ". Since it is now 12", (it was stored outside and clearly deformed) this will be no small matter to get to 14 1/2". On the basis of your count, I'd vote for "B" and that only means 1" of deformation. Perhaps someone has a more reliable method of indentifying.
I'm not sure when I'll get to this canoe but I had expected to find a 16 ft canoe when I picked it up. 15's and 16's being the solo canoe of choice.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

I'm inclined to think it's a Model B. Your information regarding the deck-angles adds to what we know about Morris canoes... thanks.

It would be valuable to measure more decks and compare them... maybe something we can do at an Assembly, where several Morris canoes are available.