Meramec canoe, serial #142

[Jim_in_No.MN]

I'm about done with work on this 16 ft. Meramec canoe. It's the second canoe I've restored, completing work over the past two years. It was in storage for the 20 years prior to that. It was a mess - fiberglass on the outside, and painted on the inside. I discovered the serial number after a first coat of oil on the inside earlier this year. #142 is stamped on both stems, and it looks like '16' ahead of that. I replaced 8 ribs, some planking, spliced the inner rails in a couple of places, kept the original decks with major splices on them as well, and added new outer rails.

Any guess on the year it was built?

Anyone have photos of original Meramec seats that might have been in this canoe?

Thanks!

 

[Dave Osborn]

You should send contact Wally Hauck at zymostudios@sbcglobal.net
He is the end all for history and holds build dates on St Louis canoes.

 

[Jim_in_No.MN]

You should send contact Wally Hauck at zymostudios@sbcglobal.net
He is the end all for history and holds build dates on St Louis canoes.

Thanks Dave. Wally and I exchanged a few emails. In the last round I sent him some photos but didn't hear back from him after that. I will try sending them again. His spam filters might have caught the last message. He seemed to think it might be one of the earliest known St. Louis Meramec canoes.