Looking for Manufacture info

[jd5420]

Recently got this canoe and with it was some paperwork about the rebuilding that was completed 1976 by an individual named Ivan Moore.
Also in the paperwork was a note with the following serial number 10946-6-5-17. Also on the note was Grumman and Marathon, N.Y. I have
contacted Grumman and they were no help.
I have looked the canoe over and did not find a data plate or any numbers.
The front deck look likes a Thompson Brothers variation based upon pictures found at Dragonfly Canoe.com
The length is 15.5 feet, the width at the second thwart is 34 inches, this is the widest point.
There are two nail holes on the front deck that are 2.5 inches apart, and 3/4 inch below the rope hole.
I have enclosed many different pictures with is post.
The canoe has been refinished with a fiberglass shell.

Any information about the canoe would be great.
Thanks.

 

[Dave Osborn]

Thompson Ranger model. This style without seats was popular for camps and scouts.

 

[jd5420]

Thanks for the information. Any Ideal the age? Could the serial number be correct?

Thanks again.

 

[Dave Osborn]

The number may be similar to the hull ID that Thompson put on their boat transoms. Typically...99% of the time there are no serial numbers on Thompson canoes. No records are known to exist.
You may contact Andreas J. Rhude, the foremost authority on Thompson history. He is a member of this forum and his contact info would be under his profile.
If it is sequenced like a hull ID, he may be able to tell you more.
The only other way to date theses canoes is to research the old catalogs to look for nuances in description and artwork.
If I had to guess, probably 50's vintage, as earlier Ranger Models had a slightly different stem profile and shear line.

 

[jd5420]

I can only say thanks for the information.
This site and members have been helpful.

 

[thompsonboatboy]

That number is nothing like any other known serial or hull number of a boat or canoe built by Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. So...maybe it was an ID placed on the vessel by a dealer or maybe it was a canoe of a camp and that was their ID.

Grumman never made anything out of wood as far as I know. They made aluminum boats and canoes.

Andreas - sitting in Peshtigo, WI right now about 300 feet away from the old Thompson Boat factory

 

[MGC]

Marathon is about 15 miles from Cortland. Thompson built boats in Cortland..at what address?

I once heard that the Thompson's were built in Marathon. I don't recall where I heard that and it is completely unsubstantiated.

 

[Benson Gray]

Thompson built boats in Cortland..at what address?

Andreas posted some information at http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/thread/1338383218/Thompson+and+Chris-Craft which says "The Thompson wooden boat factory was across town on Elm Street." The Google maps link at https://goo.gl/maps/uZggS shows some large industrial buildings are currently located where Elm Street intersects with the railroad line. I've never head anything about Thompsons being built in Marathon and didn't find any reference to this with Google.

Benson

 

[MGC]

Andreas posted some information at http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/thread/1338383218/Thompson+and+Chris-Craft which says "The Thompson wooden boat factory was across town on Elm Street." The Google maps link at https://goo.gl/maps/uZggS shows some large industrial buildings are currently located where Elm Street intersects with the railroad line. I've never head anything about Thompsons being built in Marathon and didn't find any reference to this with Google.

Benson

Elm street in Homer, a small town North of Cortland.

What is interesting is that Bob and Ted Thompson were involved in Greek Peak......Greek Peak is closer to Marathon than Homer. I had heard that Thompson one or more forms ended up at the Grumman shop....again, that is completely unsubstantiated but these are all places that are pretty close to each other. The Thompon's must have been through Marathon often if they were involved at Greek Peak.

 

[thompsonboatboy]

Thompson never built watercraft at Marathon, NY. Their facility was at 124 Elm Street in the middle of Cortland, NY. Some of the buildings are still there. They had a major fire in 1932 which destroyed about half of their facility. Another fire in 1942 destroyed the other half. So any buildings there at that location were constructed after 1932. Thompson did have production space in and around Cortland and Homer. For example, the "Royal-Craft' rubber boats were assembled in a rented facility in Homer, not at 124 Elm Street in Cortland.

When Chris-Craft bought Thompson Boat Company of New York, Inc. in January 1962 they almost immediately started construction on a new facility across town for the manufacture of the fiberglass boats. Thompson ceased making wooden boats in July 1965 and the Elm Street location was sold soon afterwards.

Could Grumman have utilized and old wooden canoe form or a wood/canvas form for the design of their own aluminum canoes? I suppose so, but who knows.

Yes, Bob and Ted Thompson, Jr. were co-founders of Greek Peak ski hill. Ted told me that Bob was the one sent out to scout a location and he choose the site. Ted was the head of Greek Peak housing and lodging development for many years.

Andreas