Morris 16 foot serial number 13809

[obriengreg]

I have been spending the winter stripping and canvasing this Morris.
Can anyone confirm the date on this canoe?
16 foot serial number 13809, I am assuming it's 1913.
Has anyone seen oarlocks like this? The arms are original, the oarlocks themselves are not.
How about the wooden plate located at the front of the canoe? It is riveted through the canvas.. looks like a repair, but I don't see any damage.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[Benson Gray]

There are not any known surviving Morris serial number records so there is no way to confirm the date of manufacture from a serial number alone. Your assumption is consistent with the generally accepted theory as described at http://www.dragonflycanoe.com/id/ and elsewhere. I have not seen oar lock arms like this before but I agree that they could be original. My guess is that the wooden plate was probably put in because they anticipated adding a sail rig some day and wanted extra support for the mast step. It looks like you have a very nice canoe there, good luck with the rest of your restoration.

Benson

 

[Dan Miller]

I have a pair of folding oarlocks exactly like yours. The only canoe manufacturer's catalogs I have been able to find them in are from the Racine Boat Company (RacineWis) from the 1920s. The oarlock pads are similar to the ones shown on the "Repair Parts and Accessories" pages of the 1917 and 1919 Morris catalogs. It is hard to tell what oarlocks are shown therein, but they appear to be standard rather than outrigger.

As far as dating goes Morris canoes goes, the theory that the first digit or two indicate the year is popular, but I do not believe it is correct. I agree it appears to loosely follow this, but we do know that the Morris factory burned in 1920, and the canoes that survived and were finished by Old Town were in the 17,000s. (see http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/morris/records/index.html). So, your best bet for dating is the estimate when production started (we know canvas canoes were offered in his 1893 catalog), guess whether the first canoes started with serial number 1, 1000, or whatever, assume yearly production was fairly constant, and extrapolate to 1920 and 17000. Short of having a bill of sale or a date pencilled on the hull, this will be your best bet for dating a Morris.