New to forum from NC...Need help ID'ng this canoe

[Kasultana]

Hi everyone. New to the site but my friend has an 18' wooden canoe that we are trying to identify. Any help on what it is and where we should be looking for serial numbers would be helpful. Believe its a turn of the century model from Maine.

thanks

 

[Dan Miller]

Hello, and welcome to the WCHA Forums!

Your canoe is a Charles River canoe. Three builders used the tri-lobe deck shape that this canoe has - J.R. Robertson of Auburndale, Massachusetts, Waltham Boat and Canoe Company of Waltham, MA, and H.E. Crandell of Worcester, MA. Since the canoe is 18', it is probably not a Crandell, as he only built 17' canoes.

That three builders would build canoes with such a similar feature may seen surprising, However. J.R. Robertson was the patriarch, his nephew Charles Bertram Robertson was the superintendant of the Waltham Boat and Canoe Company, and H.E. Crandell was J.R. Robertson's son-in-law.

Your canoe is probably marked with a serial number on the stem, but no records survive that would tell us anything. You may find a maker's stamp on the ends of the thwarts, right next to the gunwales.

Cheers,
Dan

 

[Kasultana]

Dan thanks for the info. Will check for the serial numbers and stamps. Was hoping that could verify the age.

All in all the canoe is in great condition. Thanks again

Keith

 

[Mark Adams]

except for the fiberglass...

 

[Kasultana]

Was going to ask if this canoe came without canvas or was canvas originally. New to the hobby and this is a bit of a barn find.

 

[Benson Gray]

It was originally covered with canvas as shown at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/robertsn/specific.jpg in the Robertson catalog. More information like this is available from http://store.wcha.org/The-Historic-...pany-Catalog-Collection-Version-2-CD-ROM.html in the WCHA store. This forum has lots of information about removing fiberglass at http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?4035 and other messages if you search around a bit. Good luck,

Benson

 

[Dan Miller]

Most likely it was originally canvassed. If it is a Robertson, J.R. Robertson died in 1938. Arnold Laskey took over the company and ran it until he died in the early 1950s. It is not clear how many, if any, canoes were built after the 1930s. If it is a Waltham, it dates to before 1912, when that factory burned down. It is not likely a Crandell due to the length, in any case, Crandell closed in 1950.

Fiberglass was not used until the mid-1950s give or take.

 

[Kasultana]

Dan/Benson thanks for the info. Will talk to my friend if he wants to invest in the restoration or look to sell the canoe as is. Its a beautiful boat. I'd love to see it restored and back in the water. Thanks Keith