Great work piecing this together, Dan. The serial number research is fascinating. The gaps in production and the transition periods are intriguing. Keep us posted as you uncover more details.
Great work piecing this together, Dan. The serial number research is fascinating. The gaps in production and the transition periods are intriguing. Keep us posted as you uncover more details.
It occurs to me now, re-reading this thread, that I may have accumulated a few WW serial numbers that I should probably organize and pass along. It also occurs to me that I don't have a clue what the SN is on my WW, or if it even has one and with it snowed into a garage in Hannawa, no way to find out any time soon. I'm putting this on my list of things to do.
Please excuse the thread drift. Please move accordingly if appropriate.
I presume by WW you mean Whistle Wing? Here's mine (unrestored).
18' number 561
Just for fun, note that the two boys in the second picture are the children of the little girl in the middle of the first picture! So, grandmother paddling stern in 1926 New Rochelle NY, mother, and uncle of the two boys in bow. The boys names were Arne and Gary. Arne's name was painted on the port bow, Gary's on the starboard; seen here in a remnant canvas piece:
I think the canoe was originally painted gray (seen surrounding the letters) with the aquamarine painted around it later. The aquamarine survives a bit on outwales, stem bands, and keel.
All the info I have for the first picture is, "Gary's uncle, and mother Helen, with grandmother Thea, New Rochelle, NY June 1926. For the second picture of Gary and Arne, "June 1950 Gary in bow Arne in stern, Wildwood Lake, NY". I've been trying to contact family through Facebook for more information about the canoe.
I acquired the canoe from a neighbor of the family in Wappingers Falls, NY who bought it when the mother passed away 25 years ago. That person had hoped to restore it but gave up after stripping the canvas. It sat for all that time, untouched until I bought it. The owner had purchased rib stock, planking, and spruce rails (full length 18') from Old Town, thinking the canoe was an Old Town. I used the rails as inwales for my Atkinson Traveler build.
I tried to move the WW posts above to the new thread, but it ended badly (i.e. inserted above the main post of the thread). Oh well- it's what you get for having a non-ai forum moderator.