Info wanted on 12' wc canoe please.

samb

samb

LOVES Wooden Canoes
I’m the proud new owner of this canoe but am unable to find any identification marks. It is 12’ long and about 36” wide. The canoe looks to have been fibre-glassed from new as I can see no trace of canvas, so I don’t think it can be very old. The inwales are 1”x 5/8” softwood, the gunwales are so bad I can’t determine a size or material. The ribs all look in good shape and the planking also, apart from the top strip in places – but I’ll only be sure when I’ve got rid of the old varnish. I’ll need to scarf on new tips on the stems. It had a keel as evidenced by a line of screws along the bottom. The man I got it from said it had been brought into the UK from the US by a friend many years ago.
Can anyone help me identify it? The nearest I’ve found on the forum is this:

but mine has the planking up level with the top of the ribs.
The boat looks out of proportion wide to me. Would it be possible to pull it in a couple of inches so it looks better? Might the ribs have ‘relaxed’ a little and allowed the boat to spread?
The centre thwart that came with it was not attached, and had very damaged ends so I can’t work out the intended width.
Any help and guidance would be much appreciated
Thanks
Sam
 

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Smaller canoes such as this one can seem disproportionately wide, or "tubby"-- the shorter, narrower canoes can be "tippy" and require a talented paddler. So your canoe may have been made wide from the beginning in order to provide stability.

I hope someone else can help you determine the make. Welcome!

Kathy
 
Is there any validity to my notion that Canadian short canoes were even number in feet of length and U.S. were odd number of feet?
 
I had a 15 foot Bastien Bros Huron, and I have another BB Huron out in the shop, will put tape measure to it tonight and get the sizes, but it is 13 foot or so if I remember correctly.
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far.
One of the good things about not knowing about the boats history, is that I can refurbish and restore it any way I want without thoughts about how it 'should' look. It's going to have ash thwarts and inwales, and mahogany decks and gunwales, and be probably light and dark green - maybe.
Sam
 
Good, Sam! We like to encourage folks to make the canoe whatever it is they want it to be and are here to help achieve that goal--- and yours sounds beautiful. Please post pictures of your progress and launching.

Kathy
 
The Huron canoes were advertised as 14', 15' and 16' but they actually were 13.5', 14.5' and 15.5'. I have never heard of or seen a 12' Huron and this one doesn't seem to be one. Suspect this one is a home built.
 
My other Huron is 13 1/2' with a 32" width across the outside of the planking. It has a very round hull and is about 13" deep.
 
Well, there goes my theory, out the window. I suppose my other theory of Green canoes are US, Red canoes are Canadian is also askew?
 
I think most of the early builders offered several shades of green and one red. Maybe it's a preference-thing, and red is the preferred color in Canada... maybe more Americans are color-blind and can't see red.

Personally, I've discovered a lovely shade of blue...
 
Dave Wermuth said:
I suppose my other theory of Green canoes are US, Red canoes are Canadian is also askew?
Click to expand...

It occurred to me that the database of Old Town canoe build records might help answer this question of regional color preferences since is contains 160 canoes that shipped to Canada and 12,736 that went to the United States. Unfortunately, it appears that your theory may not be correct. It shows that the Canadian color preferences were: 53% dark green, 20% slate, 16% dark red, 2% bright red, 2% New Haven green, and various other colors filling out the last 7%. There were no red, white, or guide's special green ones shipped there. The United States color preferences were: 44% dark green, 9% white, 6% dark red, 4% bright red, 4% guide's special green, 3% red, 2% slate, 2% New Haven green, and the various other colors filled out the last 26%. Oh well,

Benson
 
Dave Wermuth said:
I wonder what else I could be wrong about? I think I am wrong about half the time. If I only knew which half.
Click to expand...

Not an enviable problem....I have been far more fortunate and have never been wrong about anything.
My wife seemingly suffers from a worse problem than what you have and thinks that I am wrong most of the time which makes her wrong most of the time. :D
 
I thought i was wrong once but it turns out i was mistaken. ba doom boom.
I am pleased though to learn that red is the preferred colour in Canada. If anyone needs me I'll be out in the shop painting my green and blue canoes....:D
 
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