Kennebec 16891

[wildbrooktrout]

Hello--we have a Kennebec canoe with this serial number. My father bought it almost forty years ago, and the man who sold it to him said that it had once belonged to the philosopher William James. He may have had this in writing, but I'm not sure. But since James died in 1910, if he really did own the canoe, he didn't have it for long, since I gather Kennebec only started producing that year. At any rate, if there's any information about this canoe, I'd be grateful for it!

 

[Dave Osborn]

Someone will clarify the age of your canoe, but I just restored and delivered a 1910 Kenebec with sponsons that had a serial number in the 3000's. Based on that, your father may have been hoodwinked as to the original owner!

 

[Benson Gray]

The Kennebec canoe with serial number 16891 is shown on page 181 of volume three in the Kennebec ledgers. This was assigned to a 16 foot long Kennebec model, type 2a. It was planked by Polgorskoy(?) on November 18th, 1922 and the canvas covering was applied by Tuttle on the same day. The first filler coat was applied by Tuttle on the November 25th, 1922. The second filler coat was applied by Thibadeau on January 12th, 1923. It was railed by Ames on June 30th, 1923. The original color was green. It shipped to location "23-539" on July 2nd, 1923. This location is probably an order number but we don't currently have enough information to identify it.

The scans of these build records can be found at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?6974 in response to a request for the Kennebec with serial number 16894. These original Kennebec records are reproduced through the courtesy of the Maine State Museum.

The microfilms and scans of these records were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA). I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to join.

More information about this and other Kennebec models can be found in the Kennebec catalogs contained on the Historic Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection CDs available from http://store.wcha.org/The-Historic-...pany-Catalog-Collection-Version-2-CD-ROM.html on the web.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match the canoe. It appears that William James died on August 26, 1910 so he clearly didn't paddle this canoe. Famous former owners rarely add much financial value to an old canoe if that is any consolation. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson

 

[wildbrooktrout]

Thanks much

Someone will clarify the age of your canoe, but I just restored and delivered a 1910 Kenebec with sponsons that had a serial number in the 3000's. Based on that, your father may have been hoodwinked as to the original owner!

Thanks much for such a fast response!

 

[wildbrooktrout]

Thanks so much! It's great to have this information and be given an idea of where to find more. The canoe is still green and has sentimental value, so we have no concern about how much it's worth in dollars and cents.