Built by??

[MGC]

This canoe sold today at an auction in Auburn NY. I decided not to buy but in retrospect I should have taken it home just for the lantern holders. I'm not sure what I was thinking?
At any rate, I am stumped to ID it. The boat was 16 feet long and 31 3/4's wide. The inside rails were mahogany. The outside rails looked like oak as do the decks and thwarts etc. Due to weathering and old varnish, I am not 100% sure about that.
The ribs were untapered. The thwarts and seats were heavy and although not crude, they sure were not as elegant as the decks.
The tacks were all brass but the ribs were attached to the inside rail with steel finish nails. The seats were hung using steel slotted screws. The outside rails were attached with finish nails. The decks were also attached with finish nails.
I would say that the build quality was good but not on par with Rushton or other NY builders. Decent gars, and good fits.
The boat was bought from a camp on Stillwater about 30-40 years ago but there was no history before that (I spoke to the owner). The lamp holders date pretty far back and were common in The Park in the late 80's and beyond.

Thoughts? I'm stumped..

Oh, the other boat....wow, total fire starter. One Rushton IG style deck but the wrong thwarts, stems and other details. Closed gunwale at some point. Another stump the chumps...not from Stillwater....from someones back yard.

 

[Benson Gray]

The untapered ribs and long decks make my guess one of the Charles River area builders.

Benson

 

[Paul Miller]

I agree with Benson the ribs and decks signal Charles River to me as well, but I have never seen a combing like that on CR canoe. You see that type combing on all wood Canadian canoes with a one piece deck and the Willits, most others wrap parallel with the inwale. Even the Canadian two piece deck with a king plank has the other combing.

The thwarts don't look CR style, more like a Thompson.

This could be a workers home built?

Looks good though,

Paul

 

[MGC]

I am not very familiar with the Charles River boats. Was it common practice to use finishing nails on the rib to rails and decking? The nails, two per rib were put in correctly, on a diagonal and with consistant spacing. I actually agree that it could be a "home built" canoe but by someone with access to a decent form and with some experience. Regretably I did not get up under the deck to see if there were numbers on the stems.
When did modern wire finishing nails become available?

One thing I failed to mention that may be helpful. The ouside rails had a convex profile at the top that transitioned into a flat at the bottom. These are visible in the first and third pictures.

 

[Paul Miller]

The "D" shaped outwales on the 1920's OT Molitor and Kennebeck Torpedo were attached with finishing nails and a bear to remove. I've seen them nailed from the inside out and from the outside in. Dave Osborn mentioned he had a Kennebeck that had them going both ways on alternate ribs; a nightmare I'm sure.

Many all wood Canadian's have outwales similar to what you're describing. Those outwales are always nailed from the inside as there are no inwales.

 

[MGC]

My Kennebeck (when I owned one) had the nightmare nails you are refering to. These are not the same.
My cedar strip has the D rails you refer to. These rails do not resemble the typical D shape. The profile is relatively low with the raised part about two thirds higher than the flat. I have never seen a gunwale quite like these but again, I am not all that familiar with the Charles River boats. The Robertson I once owned was not very similar to this one. That is my lone CR experience.