Metallic Joint Canoe

[James Carr]

I crossed paths with this metallic joint canoe today. Unfortunately it has fiberglass, the centre thwart and the thwart tags are missing but still a really interesting canoe. It is 14 1/2' long, 30' wide and 12' deep with brass battens. It has very faint numbers on the stem - maybe an 11. Any thoughts on what it is?

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Looks like a Walter Dean from Toronto to me. She sold Ice Cream, he rented/sold canoes.

 

[James Carr]

That was my thought as well. I was hoping to find a Walter Dean catalog online but no luck.

 

[Worth Gretter]

The pictures provoke lots of questions!
Are those seat risers directly behind the rear thwart?
Is the hole in the foredeck for a mast?
Are the fasteners in the tops of the ribs angled down into the outwales?
Very interesting canoe!

 

[Michael Grace]

Short answer, Worth, is "yes." The cleats behind the stern thwart are sometimes seen in Canadian all-wood canoes that were not fitted with seats. A board fitted to the cleats could be dropped in when needed. All-wood and some cedar-canvas Canadian canoes were often fitted for a mast even if not sold with sailing gear. I've always imagined this being a marketing tool, as the insertion of a mast ring/hole and step was inexpensive, especially if done as a matter of routine, and might entice buyers to buy a sailing rig at purchase time or sometime later. Finally, the fasteners at the tops of the ribs are from the inside and into the gunwales.

The canoe above shows how mast partners were put into these Canadian models with peaked decks with angular coamings. Photos below show other mast ring configurations in antique canoes - in standard deck, in a long crowned deck, and in a thwart. The final image is of a modern canoe, a 1984 Walter Walker, showing retention of the same kinds of features - mast thwart, and if you look closely you'll see the gunwale fasteners at the top of each rib.

Search for Canadian all-wood canoes on these forums and you'll find lots more examples showing their construction details (including a fascinating array of construction methods).

 

[Dan Miller]

I was hoping to find a Walter Dean catalog online but no luck.

Your luck has changed. I just posted a 1920 Dean catalog to my site:

Walter Dean 1920 | Wooden Canoe Museum

woodencanoemuseum.org

Dan

 

[James Carr]

Your luck has changed. I just posted a 1920 Dean catalog to my site:

Walter Dean 1920 | Wooden Canoe Museum

woodencanoemuseum.org

Dan

That is great, thank you! Mine doesn't seem to match any in the catalog but that is good to know as well.

On a different note it would be great if more people would share their catalog collection with you to make public. It seems (at least in Canada) that a lot of history is being lost as a generation of builders/restorers retire.

 

[Murat V]

Your boat has those distinctive "Torpedo" stems. If it is a Dean Sunnyside Torpedo, this style was introduced around 1915. Here's an ad listing it as his latest creation with a testimonial from the first person to purchase the model.

Apparently the style become quite popular and was copied by other builders. You mentioned the exterior thwart tags were missing. Is there any evidence of screw holes where they would have been located? If not, there's a chance that it could have been another Toronto builder known for using the close-rib, metallic batten method - O.L. Hicks and Son of Humber Bay. Hicks didn't use metal thwart tags but instead burned a builders mark. This may have faded over the years. Here are examples from a surviving Hicks sailing canoe :

 

[Benson Gray]

Dean catalogs from circa 1904-1906 and 1910 have been scanned although the quality isn't great. The earlier one contains the following description.

Benson

 

[James Carr]

No sign of a burned in trademark. It looks like it did have metal tags originally.

 

[MGC]

The Wooden Canoe Museum is an outstanding source of canoe related information. Most North American manufacturers are represented. The collection is continuously being updated with "new" content.

https://woodencanoemuseum.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/Walter%20Dean%20Catalog%201920%202500%20red.pdf

 

[Dan Miller]

The Wooden Canoe Museum is an outstanding source of canoe related information. Most North American manufacturers are represented. The collection is continuously being updated with "new" content.

https://woodencanoemuseum.org/sites/default/files/2024-05/Walter%20Dean%20Catalog%201920%202500%20red.pdf

Yep, I did that today in response to the thread (noted above). I hadn't put it up before because it was an older scan and I had to do some Photoshop Magic to make it more better.

Dan

 

[Doug]

the firt pictire is of a ematalic jointed racing canoe . What is interesting is the lenght momost were 16 feet by 30 I think.by 10 or 12. I have a simiiarpeterborough ( see other links0 The bow is also a bit different form other racing canoes . I also dont see adjustable thwarts which most I have seen have ( or the rails were removed ( look on sides to see if there is a row of holes where the rail might have been attaached.
One we just looked at had the holes but no rails and no thwards . somewhere there is probaly a makers stamp engraving ets , could be under paint ?
It is a nice boat,