Is this a Linkanoe? Or maybe something like that?

[Andrew D Merrick]

My dad was a boat builder and restorer of old wooden boats. He passed away last year and I found this in one of his shops. I remember him restoring this and being very excited he found one but I really have no clue what it is. A reverse google image search came up with a Linkanoe but I did not find any manufacturers plate or logos. I would appreciate any information. I am linking to a gallery of pictures on this forum. Hopefully that works.

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• Andrew D Merrick
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• Andrew D Merrick
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• Andrew D Merrick
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• Andrew D Merrick
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• Andrew D Merrick
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• Andrew D Merrick
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[Benson Gray]

That would be my guess. See https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/5913694_21-linkanoe-or-linkboat-sectional-canoeboat-115 for a similar one.

Benson

 

[Andrew D Merrick]

Thank you Benson. That link also gives me an industry term "Link Boats".

 

[Dan Miller]

Tom McCloud wrote a pretty comprehensive article about Ed Link and his canoes in the August 2010 issue (No. 160) of Wooden Canoe. Back issues are available here: http://wcha.org/store/back-issues

 

[Andrew D Merrick]

Tom McCloud wrote a pretty comprehensive article about Ed Link and his canoes in the August 2010 issue (No. 160) of Wooden Canoe. Back issues are available here: http://wcha.org/store/back-issues

Thanks for that Tom! My dad might even have that issue mixed in with all his wooden boat and woodworking magazines.

 

[Dan Miller]

I've just uploaded a Link catalog to the Wooden Canoe Museum: https://woodencanoemuseum.org/manufacturer-catalog/linkanoe-undated

There is also a small history of Link here: https://woodencanoemuseum.org/builder-history/linkanoe

Interestingly, Link boats and canoes, despite having been built for only a short time (an estimated 400 canoes or so were built), they seem to have a high survivorship rate. Probably because they are easily disassembled and stored somewhere safe.

My own Linkanoe is a dump rescue. Until recently, it was a decoration in my living room - half of it stood on end.

 

[mccloud]

Link Aviation Devices at the factory in Gananoque, Ontario, did build a boat exactly as I see in your photos. There should be a Link decal on the bow plate. On the outside of the hull and close to where the sections join should be a serial number in red paint, though often faded and hard to read. There is really no other information available. TM..

 

[Walter Peebles]

I found a press photo of Ed Link at the introduction of his Linkanoe at the Hotel Lexington in New York in December of 1945. The small oval decal is present on the center thwart, but the large round "You Can Take it With You" decal often seen on these canoes and boats is missing. I have a Linkanoe that does not have the decals either, and does not appear to have ever been refinished. I have never found a serial number on mine.

So I wonder if the "You Can Take it With You" decal was a feature of later production, perhaps inspired by the popular play and subsequent movie "You Can't Take it with You" from the late thirties. I suspect this because the underlined "Can" nicely emphasizes its portability, and it would seem odd that Link would have omitted this from the debut of his truly portable canoe, if it was already part of his advertising campaign.

Also noticeable in the photo is about eight inches of lacing at the top of the bow stem of the canvas boot, likely to ensure a snug fit. Has anyone seen a Linkanoe with this feature? It seems likely it was cut from production to save costs. It sure would have been handy on mine, which tore because the boot was so tight and difficult to put on sixty-some years later. Unfortunately, the digital copy I have is too big to post. I'll try to fix that in the next few days.

The following is a transcription of the data on the reverse of the photo:

NEW PLASTIC PORTABLE CANOE​

THE LATEST THING IN OUTDOOR PLEASURE CRAFT -- A STREAMLINED PLASTIC SECTIONAL CANOE WHICH CAN BE PACKED IN THE TRUNK OF AN AUTOMOBILE OR STOWED IN THE CABIN OF A PLANE, WAS UNVEILED TODAY AT THE HOTEL LEXINGTON BY LINK DEVICES, INC., BINGHAMTON, N.Y. THE LINKANOE CAN BE CARRIED IN TWO ZIPPER BAGS, AND ASSEMBLED INTO A FULL-SIZED 14 1/2 FOOT GUIDE CANOE IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES. IT WEIGHS ONLY 65 POUNDS, AND IS MADE OF MOLDED PLASTIC WHICH IS NON-ABSORBENT, DOES NOT WARP AND IS IMPERVIOUS TO SALT WATER, OIL OR GASOLINE. METAL CLAMPS LOCK SECTIONS TOGETHER, AND A CANVAS SHEATH FITS OVER THE HULL.

780633. . . . . . . . . . . NEW YORK BUREAU
NEW YORK -- EDWIN A. LINK,INVENTOR OF THE LINK TRAINER, SHOWN WITH THE ASSEMBLED LINKANOE.
BUR SPEC TOLB #1A 80 CAN

12-28'45 N. E. A.

 

[Walter Peebles]

A little searching in the on-line US patents turns up some interesting insights into the development of the Linkanoe.

The first is US Patent 2,406,085, submitted May 19, 1944 and awarded August 20, 1946, in Link's name. This version of the canoe had only eight sections, many more ribs (as in some of the earlier photos of Linkanoe prototypes), and no canvas cover (though the option of a canvas cover was contemplated). Instead, Link envisioned a system of pneumatic tubes fitting in small half-round grooves between the panels. After assembly, the tube(s) were inflated sufficient to seal the joints. (Link, of course, was well aware of the possibilities of pneumatics from his work at his father's pipe organ company, and the control systems of his own Flight Simulators.)

Furthermore, he proposed ribs that were kerf-cut in such a way that they would lay flat for storage and transport, but bend to the required curve as they were assembled into the canoe. This was pretty ambitious for a time before CNC machining and modern plastics.

A few months later, on August 7, 1944, a patent was submitted by Felix A. Aimonetti, assignor to Link Aviation, Inc., in which the pneumatic tubes have disappeared in favor of a canvas cover. US Patent 2,514,303 was finally awarded July 4, 1950, apparently after the decision was made to discontinue production. This canoe maintains the eight sections (though "a plurality" is contemplated), but dispenses with the flexible ribs in favor of pre-formed ribs, and uses a multitude of small dowels perpendicular to the joints between the sections to maintain alignment.

My canoe maintains the grooves from the first patent, but has dowel rods permanently laid in one side of the joint to align the pieces. This arrangement should be much more robust than the short dowel pins would have been, and is an interesting adaptation of the original machine work for the tubes pressed into alternate service with the advent of the canvas cover.

Both patents contemplate the construction of boats as well as canoes.

I would be interested if anyone has seen either a prototype or a production Linkanoe with the pneumatic tubes, kerf-bent ribs, eight sections, or the dowel pins.

 

[Walter Peebles]

Here is the photo of Ed Link introducing his Linkanoe.