I have never owned a Fitch tagged canoe that was either Canadian or built by an obscure builder. That's not to say that isn't a possibility, but it's far from the norm. Most of what they sold was a branded product and more often than not, from a company that was established and advertising. Fitch liked to represent itself as a "premier" supplier.
The lines on this hull do appear to be "Maine ish" as was suggested by Dan. The shaved ribs are often seen on boats built in the early 1900's (or before and not often after that. The un-tapered ribs and somewhat clunky decks don't give much away and there isn't enough of the planking pattern visible to really pin down some of the early Maine builders.
I'm leaning towards this being a hull supplied by a Maine builder who was not one of the better known (there were so many) but one who was influenced by Carleton/Gerrish in their early days. A few pictures of some of the finishing details could help ID it...Stem ends, thwarts, seat and thwart mounting on inside rails etc. Is there a serial number and can we see what it looks like?
Frankly, that no one has stepped up to buy this thing is a bit shocking. It looks like a good enough canoe that does not require any crazy work to restore. Had I not just bought one a few weeks ago, this would have already been up on the top of my truck. Someone needs to buy this before it ends up a bookshelf.
calo-amc_7845
