no 4 Cedar rib - painted serial number

[PatBig]

Hello, my cedar rib is nearly ready for relaunch. I have found two numbers painted underneath the stern seat. no other number found anywhere. Does the 4 digits number mean anything?
Thanks, Pat

 

[Kathryn Klos]

If you can post a picture of the entire canoe, someone may recognize it. Many of the boat builders used a four-digit system. There won't be an actual build record connecting to these numbers, but the serial number format and images of the canoe may provide clues as to who made it and the possible time-frame. Things such as whether or not there are closed gunwales can place the canoe into the time-frame when it might have been built. It also helps to know where you found the canoe (city/state/province/whatever) because most canoes stick close to their original home.

Kathy

 

[PatBig]

Thanks. I'll post a couple of pictures of the restored canoe in the proper section. I did post a couple of pics there already of the canoe as I found it about a month ago. Unfortunately I think it was quite far from its origin, in a farm in Southern France...

 

[Dick Persson]

Hi Pat,

The number 4 is the model number and 5453 is the work order number. Unfortunately, the records were lost or destroyed when the Peterborough Canoe Co closed in1962.
However, your canoe has the so called "trademark thwart tags" which came in use after the company got their trademark in 1911. This tag style was used from 1911 to about 1923, so your canoe was most likely built sometime between 1911 and 1923. By the way nice job on the canoe, it looks very good.

Dick Persson
Buckhorn Canoe Company
Buckhorn, Ontario
http://www.buckhorncanoes.com