Great Canadian Canoe...

[Howie]

Yesterday started out bad. I had 'canvassed' a 13ft Tremblay recently in Dacron to keep its weight down as I had hoped to keep it for myself, but when I took it out for a test paddle I found it to be extremely tippy. I was bummed, and promptly I listed it on CraigsList, and poured myself a Scotch. Then about 2 hours later I got a text from a local fella who saw my Tremblay ad, realized that I restored canoes, and offered me his Great Canadian 16 footer below. Sometimes you just live right! He says he bought the canoe about 20 years ago in hopes of restoring it himself, but medical problems made him realize he'll never get to it. He says it's been stored in his garage the whole time he's had it.

It's in very decent shape: ribs seem fine, only a little work needed on the rails, etc... Typical stuff. And it only weighs 60lbs - I'm hoping it'll be below 50lbs when covered in Dacron.

But I am confused: The label on the sides of the canoe proudly declares it to be a 'Great Canadian', yet the metal label on an inner rail says it was made in Worcester, Mass, and declares it to be "Canada At Its Best" and "Made In Canada". I've read that the Great Canadian Canoe Co. folded in 1961. So I'm assuming that the canoe was indeed made in Canada by someone and imported to the US via the Worcester distributor. Yes?

The label lists a serial # of 1453. Does that tell us anything?

O - the label also says its "A Great Piece Of Glass". I've no idea what that means!

In any case I have my next project. Home chores can wait.

 

[Dave Osborn]

It’s a great piece of fiberglass, Howie.
I’ve worked on a couple 3-4 of these. They remind me a lot of Huron style canoes. The workmanship is not the best, but they float.

 

[Howie]

Dave: but it's covered in canvas! No fiberglass anywhere!

 

[Benson Gray]

My understanding is that Great Canadian sold canoes from a number of different Canadian builders and that they were founded in 1969. The information at https://uscgboating.org/content/manufacturers-identification-detail.php?id=4544 indicates that they went out of business in 1999. The catalog at https://www.ebay.com/itm/255503715729 from 1983 may help. There are no serial number records known to exist from Great Canadian. Have fun,

Benson

 

[Dave Osborn]

Dave: but it's covered in canvas! No fiberglass anywhere!

No kidding?? Wow, the ones I’ve seen are glass covered. Lots of it!

 

[Howie]

So... might the presence of canvas imply it was made maybe on the 60s?

 

[Benson Gray]

might the presence of canvas imply it was made maybe on the 60s?

The lack of a hull identification number on the starboard stern would indicate that it was made before 1972. Canvas was available later.

Benson

 

[Bigredmf]

@Howie
Would your Tremblay benefit from additional mass of the paddler?

 

[Howie]

Bigredmf: O, I assure you I have way more than adequate mass.

 

[MGC]

Scotch, like bourbon, solves many problems.
I've bought and owned a few "modern" Canadian canoes that were virtually unused by their original owners. My Chestnut Fox is virtual dunk tank. The first owners paddled it three times, each time ending up in the drink. The second owners passed the story along to me. They paddled it twice, and also dumped it on each outing. Lori and I took it home with a bit of trepidation and fully expected to end up in the Erie Canal on our first outing. We did not, but there were a couple moments when we had a moment of consideration for the previous owners. We've not used it tandem since, but I have found that it is pretty good solo. It heels up nicely and is fairly easy to direct. I don't know if anyone saw the C1 races from the Olympics yesterday? It would not be suitable for that, but I think it would be fun to try it out at lock 32.

Your image of the build tag tells the whole story about your "Great" Canadian's origin. It's built in Granby PQ, province of Quebec. It's an import. These were never held in particularly high regard as most of them were glassed.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

My Chestnut Fox is virtual dunk tank
Boy, do i look look forward to, and enjoy, your prose.

 

[John Sand]

My mystery Huron is fairly tender with two aboard and no cargo. But we're 6'5" and 5'10", making for a high center of gravity. I plan to lower the seats a little. In a small boat an inch makes a difference.

 

[Howie]

Yeah, true. But this thing was tippy even kneeling on the ribs.

 

[Bigredmf]

Bigredmf: O, I assure you I have way more than adequate mass.

Howie
That is too bad!

 

[David Satter]

A friend of mine just told me he was given a canoe. I haven't seen it yet, but he sent me a photo of the tag. Great Canadian. est. 1882 ??? Looks like fiberglass cloth around the tag. I see the name Worcester on it also.

 

[pklonowski]

I could be wrong, but... Looks like a US Coast Guard-approved HIN. The "GRV" indicated G&R Industries, located in Auburn, MA. The last two digits indicate it was built in 1985. That would be consistent with the remaining fiberglass.

Someone else may have a better take on it...

 

[Benson Gray]

Great Canadian. est. 1882

Great Canadian generally listed 1969 as their founding date as shown below in their advertisement from 2010. I don't know where the 1882 date came from. The Ontario boat building site at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_building_industry_in_Ontario says "In 1882, the Gidley Boat Works began manufacturing wooden plank boats on the shores of Georgian Bay" so it may be from that. Great Canadian occasionally sold canoes built in that area.

The hull identification number (HIN) indicates a 1985 build date as Paul mentioned. See https://www.usps.org/national/safety/HIN/HIN.pdf for more details about reading a HIN.

Benson

 

[David Satter]

Thanks, Very interesting