Help needed with a Rushton

stevenscanoe

Curious about Wooden Canoes
The Norumbega Chapter has started a new restoration project, an 18 foot Rushton Indian Girl.

This IG has arrived with no inwales, no outwales, no thwarts and no seats. It looks like a fun project for the Chapter!

For starters we need to know the lengths of the center thwart and the two quarter thwarts so when the new inwales go in they can be in the correct position.

Does anyone have an 18 foot IG that they could take some measurements from? it would be big help,, Thanks in advance!
 
I have what the forum consensus believes to be an 18' St. Lawrence Boat Co. 'Whistle Wing'; unrestored. I understand they were built on Rushton forms acquired after the closure of the Rushton company. Would dimensions from this be of interest?
 
Thank you, Mark and Patrick. Pictures will help. What I need to know are the lengths of the seat frames from side to side and the length of the center thwart. (I took a second look at the Rushton catalog and discovered that all Indian Girls were fitted with only a center thwart.) A tracing of the center thwart would be a big help. Also what is the distance from the center thwart bolt hole to the forward hole for the stern seat?

Thanks!
 
I got a measurement of the center thwart this morning then the power went out in the shop ( different location than my computer). The center thwart is 30 1/2". I can get the other info later. Does your Rushton have decks? The reason I ask is because the grade A models were cherry.To my knowledge they only had one thwart however we are completing a grade B currently. They are ash trim with a different gunwale design. They have three thwarts.

My 18' Indian Girl is a grade A with cherry trim and one thwart, center. I purchased this canoe sight unseen as an American Beauty Indian Girl. It came with a lot of written testimony from various experts confirming it as an American Beauty however when we brought it into the shop last month it sat next to the 16' Indian Girl grade B. We noticed the ends were the same. The American Beauty is supposed to have 24" ends compared to the 21" ends of the regular American Beauty but this one does not. They are 21". This was a special order at 18', that has been suggested as being the reason for the lower ends. I'm curious what your ends measure, are they intact? Does anyone else have any thoughts on this issue of regular ends on an American Beauty?
 
30 1/2, that will be big help.

We have one cherry deck with tip damage but it is good for a pattern. From what I can tell the bow height is 21 inches, definitely not 24.

I find it interesting that they would make an 18 foot canoe with only one center thwart when everyone else used three.

Here are pictures of what we are working with, we have a long way to go.
 

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For what it's worth, here are the dimensions for the 18' Whistle Wing, St. Lawrence Boatworks Co.'s version of the Rushton Indian Girl.

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The lone surviving seat, the bow, rests on rib mounted cleats, through bolted to 3 ribs. Seat rails are as noted in these pictures:
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By the way, this canoe does have 3 thwarts.
 
Thanks, this will get us something to work with. The Whistle Wing appears to have some minor differences from the IG.
 
I have not chimed in here yet since none of my Rushton's SLBC or Brown are 18 foot canoes. There were clearly differences not only between the 16 and 18 foot boats, but also between Rushton, Brown and SLBC. I do not own a Wells so I can't say much about those except that from what I have seen, there is the expected resemblance and enough commonality to make you think that parts were taken from the same source (thwarts, seats, etc.).
What is common between them is style of construction. There are always bow seat cleats. These are always attached the same way. The thwarts have the same distinctive shape, but on close inspection, you will find variation and especially in how refined the form is. The thwarts are never square cut on the ends, at least none of the ones I have seen. There should be two thwarts in an Indian Girl, unless it is a B grade. There is one thwart in an Indian.
A Whistle Wing will also have two thwarts as will a Brown.
Rushton seat frames all are virtually identical dimensionally and never have the coved rounding that is common on other builders (OT) seats. The stern seats vary between builders with SLBC and Brown using a rectangular shape and most (not all) Rushton's built with a trapezoidal shape. Some SLBC canoes are also found with a mildly trapezoidal stern seat. Overall length is not as important as the actual dimensions of the box.
Finally, WRT decks, these are where the builders made a statement and differentiated, and in part because Rushton allowed the buyer to customize. The typical Rushton deck is the short, lobed and somewhat clunky one. In the Indians, the deck is a simple coved shape although the all wood Indian may have a heart shaped deck. In an Indian Girl, the standard deck is the noted lobed deck. A king planked long deck was built by boxing in over the top of the standard deck. A standard canoe would be built and then converted in this case.
Long, single piece (and very elegant) cherry decks could be added to Indian Girls and were available (23 inch) on the Deluxe Whistle Wing. My Brown also has these decks. These long cherry decks, when present, elevate the canoe dramatically. You have one of these to use as a pattern. It will take some skill to duplicate. The coving should also be cherry and how it is secured is very specific. The American Beauty also includes both the higher sheer and these elegant decks. These (Beauty's) are pretty rare, at least from my experience.
Case in point, potato, potaaato, even though there are strong resemblances' between canoes built by these folks, there is also variability. When you restore one, you need to use whatever clues you have from the hull you are working on. Look for evidence of stern mounted seat cleats. Absent those, your stern seat will mount to the inside rail. Find varnish or paint clues inside the hull to show you where the seats were positioned if you do not have the holes present in the rails. Seat dimensions from a Whistle Wing or a Brown do not necessarily translate, but they will be c;lose. What a great project for us to follow. I'm looking forward to updates and wiling to offer dimensions whenever possible.
 
On my so called American Beauty there is a center rib. There are 19 ribs each side of it up to where the stem starts (stem is not touching these ribs). 39 ribs total stem to stem. The center thwart is just behind the center rib (stern/aft) in between the ribs. The distance from the center thwart bolt hole to the stern seat bolt hole is 59". That may change a bit depending on what makes your gunwales fair. The Rushton Indian Girl catalog lists the beam on a 18' as 33 1/2'. I think mine may be 32 1/2". I agree one thwart is a poor design for a 18' canoe. If you PM me I'll send you tracings of the thwart and stern seat. My bow seat is not original. It's a trapezoid shape and made of ash. I have one piece 30" cherry decks. How long are yours? Here's some pics of my Rushton. I've included the Grade B we are currently finishing up on.DSC_0661.JPGDSC_0673.JPGDSC_0662.JPGDSC_0664.JPGDSC_0663.JPGDSC_0665.JPG
 
PM me your address I meant to say for the tracings. The photo of the seats is the bow seat from the grade B on the right which is the same shape of a grade A we did a couple years ago with the bow seat that came with my canoe on the left. I don't think they changed the shape of the bow seat but maybe someone knows something about this. We are still trying to figure this boat out.
 
Our IG has no center rib, there are 18 ribs from the center to the stem, #19 is covered by the stem. A difference from the American Beauty. All of these pictures will help us.
I'll send you a PM about the thwart tracing.
 
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