Another New Old Maine Canoe

[Kathryn Klos]

Video of Canoe-- first time out!

Thought I'd add the video of our first time out in the ol' canoe to this thread... the preceding posts say a lot about "the EBW".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcqLvWQ7RGk

This was the first time our boy Charlie actually enjoyed riding in a canoe... Bert has always considered paddling a lot of fun, but up until today Charlie would stay at my knees and never looked over the side of the canoe. Progress, for a little old rescue-dog!

Color is washed-out at the end of the video, reminding me of the last days of my first video camera...

Kathy

 

[WoodNCanvas]

Kathy that is a great looking canoe....and the possibility of being owned by E. B. White is very interesting....can't wait to hear more...thanks for sharing....love the Youtube video (amazing as ever)

 

[Kathryn Klos]

We're thinking E.B. White the Maine sportsperson/photographer is the more likely former-owner than E.B. White of Stewart Little and Charlotte's Web... I've nudged "The History Detectives" (PBS series) a couple times. They need to do a segment involving a canoe. This one has a couple interesting directions to explore... and meanwhile, people may learn some canoe-history-- which is definitely part of North American history.

With any canoe, the final test is how well it does on water, and this one was very nice. Too bad we don't know for certain who built it.

Kathy

 

[WoodNCanvas]

Thanks Kathy....and History Detectives would be great doing this as segment....

 

[1905Gerrish]

Rollin,
The green canoe you restored in 2002 pictured have a Gerrish deck plate? Possible to share more photos of the canoe?
Thanks
Zack

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

The canoe did not have a name tag but the family had another canoe and they always referred to it as a Gerrish canoe. They also had another Gerrish canoe with a name tag and both canoes had similar building characteristics.
The inside rails were rabbited to receive the full size rib top so it did not have the tapered rib tops that would normally found on canoes of this age. There was a nice shape on the end of the stem band and the band was riveted to the ribs where the band went past the end of the inside stem. There were leather wrappings at the tips of each stem, a nicely shaped center thwart and the wide fwd quarter thwart.
Overall a very nice little boat!

 

[dtdcanoes]

Hi Rollin....further to your comment
I have an E.M. that is before 1912, a Sportsman model . It is unique as it has a keelson of about 3/8" thick and runs right up to the stem ends on the floor. The keelson is riveted and washered inside and is peened neatly. The rivets were copper and beautifully made with the same size head shown in your pic. I wish I had one to show but I was able to reuse all of them after having them lengthened them some 3/4".....another story. I think in the early days someone in the Bangor area made a lot of these for the crazy canoe guys.
Dave

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

The curved fwd thwart was a fairly common feature on many of the Micmac and Passamaquoddy bark canoes.

 

[David Satter]

I do A LOT of E. B. White reading , the Stewart Little E. B. White. Wouldn't hurt to contact his granddaughter she know most of his history. Maybe theirs a canoe in his past. You can find her at www.marthawhite.net

 

[Rob Stevens]

I am on that, David. I will contact Martha to see if she has a canoe of E.B White, and/or knows of one or more in the family history.

For those who haven't made the connection, E.B. White wrote, "The Wind in the Willows) from which this famous quote comes;
"“Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Here are other examples of his wit and wisdom;

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/e-b-white-quotes

 

[David Satter]

Thanks Rob, all his writing is great stuff. His book on Dogs is a good read.

 

[MGC]

Hmmm...Kenneth Grahame. Poop-poop, right Ratty?
Life on the river.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Kathryn Klos Campbell has an early canoe that has initials EBW on it. She has researched it quit a bit but hasn’t found anything conclusive. Not sure if she contacted Martha or not.
http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/e-b-white-e-m-white-any-family-history.5292/#post-28215

 

[Rob Stevens]

Well, I heard back from Martha, responding to my invitation to speak at next summer's Assembly;

"Dear Rob,
Thank you for the invitation but I think I’ll decline. 2021 seems awfully far away and summer is sailing season for us in Maine. We are a family of boatbuilders, from E.B. White’s son Joel (my father), to my husband and brother and son.
Most of EBW’s “messing about in boats” (a Kenneth Graham quotation, by the way) was in small sailboats, although he did canoe on the Belgrade Lakes (read his essay “Once More to the Lake”) and he owned a couple of canoes. I have his final one, an Old Town XTC which he called “Ecstasy” because of the letters. As far as I know, he never owned an E.M. White canoe.
All the best,
Martha White
White Literary LLC"

 

[David Satter]

https://newengland.com/yankee-magazine/living/homes/house-allen-cove-e-b-white-house-tour/?alid=259651&altk=106848002159c401802e1d3&mqsc=DP4130348&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=NewEnglandNetworkPreview Subs Segment&utm_campaign=Preview 04-02-2020 Historic Homes SUB If you look at the photos of E B Whites barn and house for sale here. there's a canvas canoe hanging in the photo in the barn. I guess owned by the Gallant family who's selling the property in 2017 anyway just thought it was cool seeing a canoe in the barn where Charlotte's web was written.