Recently I acquired this unique wood/canvas canoe and could use some help identifying its maker and age. I have done a lot of research and cannot seem to be able to identify it exactly.
The canoe is 17’ 0” long, 31” wide, 13” deep and weighs about 83 lbs. It has full ribs that are 2 1/8” and taper to about 1 1/2”. The stem is square and not splayed.
From the pictures, you can see it has long decks that measure 33 ½” to the center of the combing and 46” at the sides. They seem to be constructed with two pieces of wood secured by the top center trim piece that ties it all together. It has a closed gunwale and the top trim piece appears to be secured with copper nails.
The seats are original but had been recovered with strips of fabric. There are holes along the inside edges indicating that it was laced seats originally. The seats also have metal standoff brackets to lower the center of gravity, secured with bolts and square nuts. I am wondering if those are original or if they were wooden when built.
There is also a keel. It is not screwed in on every rib. The center three ribs have screws, then it alternates every other rib, and then back to three in a row at the bow and stern.
I stripped off some of the paint on the stem and found a number. I see the number 17 and then a larger than normal space before the number 6225.
There are no maker decals or nameplates anywhere on the canoe. I also inspected closely for small nail/screw holes for original plates in the normal locations and found none.
There is an Indian Chief Decal on both sides of the bow. I found a similar picture of an Indian Chief on this forum with a similar decal, however, comparing them closely, I see that they are slightly different shaped decals and in a different location/orientation on the bow. Some suggested that his decal may have been added later. Was adding an Indian Chief decal a popular thing to do at some point in the past?
I am going to begin my restoration of this canoe very soon and any information would be greatly appreciated.
The canoe is 17’ 0” long, 31” wide, 13” deep and weighs about 83 lbs. It has full ribs that are 2 1/8” and taper to about 1 1/2”. The stem is square and not splayed.
From the pictures, you can see it has long decks that measure 33 ½” to the center of the combing and 46” at the sides. They seem to be constructed with two pieces of wood secured by the top center trim piece that ties it all together. It has a closed gunwale and the top trim piece appears to be secured with copper nails.
The seats are original but had been recovered with strips of fabric. There are holes along the inside edges indicating that it was laced seats originally. The seats also have metal standoff brackets to lower the center of gravity, secured with bolts and square nuts. I am wondering if those are original or if they were wooden when built.
There is also a keel. It is not screwed in on every rib. The center three ribs have screws, then it alternates every other rib, and then back to three in a row at the bow and stern.
I stripped off some of the paint on the stem and found a number. I see the number 17 and then a larger than normal space before the number 6225.
There are no maker decals or nameplates anywhere on the canoe. I also inspected closely for small nail/screw holes for original plates in the normal locations and found none.
There is an Indian Chief Decal on both sides of the bow. I found a similar picture of an Indian Chief on this forum with a similar decal, however, comparing them closely, I see that they are slightly different shaped decals and in a different location/orientation on the bow. Some suggested that his decal may have been added later. Was adding an Indian Chief decal a popular thing to do at some point in the past?
I am going to begin my restoration of this canoe very soon and any information would be greatly appreciated.
