Cool Vintage Dugout

[Dave Osborn]

This canoe was given to me. I don’t have any oral history on it. All I can say is that it is a dugout, 13’ long and 29” wide. It appears to have been well built. It is fair, symmetrical, and lacks tool marks. There are gauge plugs in the hull to give reference for carving the interior to a consistent thickness.

I don’t know if it was a trappers canoe, a hunting canoe, or what it’s purpose was. There is a single thwart amidships, and marks in the stern where a seat board may have been wedged. There are also steel stem bands.
Any ideas, folks??

 

[MGC]

That's pretty amazing...and it looks like it's ready for duck season.

 

[Dave Osborn]

That's pretty amazing...and it looks like it's ready for duck season.

I thought the same think, Mike.
It looks exceeding tender. If you were lucky to get to your hunting spot still upright, you would likely dump it on the first shot!

 

[Mark Neuzil]

I would not want to be in the duck marsh in that craft with an excitable black Lab.

 

[Nick Dennis]

I would not want to be in the duck marsh in that craft with an excitable black Lab.

Is there any other sort of Black Lab Mark? Other than always hungry of course!!

Looks like a nice dugout. I would be keen to see the video of the swimming practise

 

[MGC]

I'd be willing to give it a shot...with the 12 gauge. Ideally that would be in a fairly shallow spot with an old clod hopper gun tied to the boat.
I've yet to have a gun shot dump a canoe. I do have experience with a dog giving it a flip. I would not want to combine those (dog and gun) in a tender craft......

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Hey DAve, is that an inside stem I see? It is the most finely finished dugout I've ever seen. I've only seen three face to face.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Hey DAve, is that an inside stem I see? It is the most finely finished dugout I've ever seen. I've only seen three face to face.

No inside stem. The builder was really good at fine details and symmetry. There is a lot of paint, but I can’t see any tool marks. Very well done.
location

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Maybe your state has an archeologist interested in old dugouts?

 

[WilliamFreed]

Thats amazing. I saw this in backwater tourism.

 

[JClearwater]

Dave,
The Museum of Natural History in NYC has a large collection of dugout canoes, skin on frame kayaks and other aboriginal boats. Most are not on display. Maybe they could help.

Jim

 

[Dave Osborn]

Thank Jim, I’ll check into it.
The Canadian Canoe Museum has a similar, but very different canoe built in Ontario by Payne Brothers, of which three are known to survive.
The thwarts, decks and length of the Payne Brothers canoe are different than this one.
Jed from the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum picked up the canoe last night for their collection.