Kennebec canoe

[karl]

Hi

My first post here.I have an 17' Kennebec canoe which i hope to post pictures of sometime.As many people here a great deal of interest in sorting out exact models etc. .A local canoe builder helped me identify this canoe(Kit from McCurdy and Reed).Very fine builder if you are not familiar with his canoes.

My question is related to Kennebec canoes in general.
1.Are they desirable.
2.How rare/common.

This canoe 17',open tapered softwood gunwales,slot screws.

I have restored three other boats(two canoes and wc rowboat) and want the right future for this canoe.

Karl

 

[Kathryn Klos]

serial number?

If you can find the serial number and post it on "serial number search", you'll get the original build information for your canoe... the model and year it was built (actually, the dates of various steps in the canoe's construction), original colors and any designs... interesting facts which are available only because the records of the company were preserved, unlike most of the old canoe company records. Old Town and Carleton are the others for which records are available.

If there's a metal plate on the deck of the canoe (usually the stern), you should find a serial number there. The number may also be found on the stem.

More information on Kennebec canoes can be found at: http://dragonflycanoe.com/id/index.html
Click on "Kennebec" on the left side.

You may also want to use "search" at the top of this page to find old discussions about Kennebec canoes.

Kennebec canoes, in general, are "valued" by those who love old canoes because they are well-made, have nice lines, and are fun to paddle. Kennebec was one of the major Maine builders and many canoes were produced, but it's unknown how many are "out there". Generally speaking, if you find an old canoe and restore it, there's probably not another exactly like it even if other canoes of the same make and model exist. Your stamp is on the canoe, along with the history of the canoe itself: where it has been, who has paddled it, what has affected it physically.

I've attached a picture of my Kennebec, which the record shows is a Ketahdin model, built in 1927 and painted red with an arrow (restoration by WCHA member Dave McDaniel). The page from the 1927 Kennebec catalog (available on CD) shows a canoe very much like "my Arrow". Putting this stuff together is part of the fun of owning the canoe.

Please share pictures!

Kathy

 

[Benson Gray]

The short answer is that Kennebec canoes are usually desirable and fall somewhere in the middle of the rare/common spectrum. The build records show that they built about 20,000 of them between 1910 and 1940 but we have no way of knowing how many still exist as Kathy pointed out. The Old Town Canoe company built over 100,000 canoes during the same period as shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/old-town/oldtown_chart.html for comparison. If your desirability question was related to putting a value on your canoe then the information at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?t=57 may be helpful. The bottom line is that if you like it and want to restore it then have fun.

Benson