Help identifying this canoe

[dmoore]

Picked up this canoe from a friend.
Length is 17'6"

 

[Michael Grace]

You have a BN Morris, made in Veazie, ME in about 1913-1914. Morris canoes are among the finest cedar-canvas canoes ever made, in my opinion. They are beautiful designs and expertly made. The stem shape, the brass serial number tag, and some other obvious features identify this clearly as a Morris.

Your canoe has the longer Morris decks, and they and seat frames and thwarts are likely made of Central American mahogany. The hull is cedar. Your canoe looks like it's in good condition but it is covered in fiberglass, not the original canvas. The canoe looks like it may have once had outside stems (search these forums for more info on them if needed), and the center thwart is missing. The gunwale on the starboard (right) side might have a crack or break, but this could be an optical illusion in the photo or the gunwale could be misshapen because of the missing center thwart. Other than the fiberglass, all other components of your canoe appear to be original.

There is a great deal of information out there on Morris. Try these sources and search "Morris" on these forums and you'll find much more:

The Morris Canoe: Legacy of an American Family: Klos, Kathryn Hilliard: 9781492746911: Amazon.com: Books

The Morris Canoe: Legacy of an American Family [Klos, Kathryn Hilliard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Morris Canoe: Legacy of an American Family

www.amazon.com

Thread 'When did B.N. Morris Begin Building Canoes?'

Oct 8, 2011

This is the first of two threads I am starting based on research I have done, with the interest of helping to solidify our knowledge base of Morris history, and dispel some of the myths that seem to be living a life of their own... This thread relates to pinning down as accurately as possible, and a second thread, found here: (http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?8323-On-dating-Morris-catalogs&p=44270#post44270) has to do with dating the series of undated catalogs, including the one reprinted by the WCHA many years ago.

The first catalog known to have been issued by B.N. Morris...

• Dan Miller
• Replies: 24
• Forum: Research and History

B. N. Morris | Wooden Canoe Museum

woodencanoemuseum.org

 

[dmoore]

Thank you Michael for the information,
We plan to remove the fiberglass and replace it with canvas.
The outside stems, brass stem bands, outside gunwales, keel and two courting backrests came with the canoe.
Dale